NEAR 2013 has been Cancelled

Some rumors that the 2013 Northeast Area Rally is cancelled have been confirmed. Below is the note from Paul Dubois (NMA President) and my opinion (only mine!).
I thought NEAR might be a replacement for our July rally if we didn't have a wagon master.

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From: Paul DuBois
Subject: Re: NEAR - 2013

Hi Tom  The rumor is true. Our Northeast Area Executive Board voted not to have a rally in 2013. This was not a decision that was made lightly but was necessary due to the lack of support from the chapters. As you are aware we have lost money since the economy took a hit in 2008. Although initially the losses were not significant and we continued hopeing for bettor days this has not happned. The lack of family coach attendance has caused a lack of vendors and therefore a lack of income. When our rally was in August we were very successful however the first meeting that I attended upon becoming Northeast Area VP I was informed that National was changing their convention to August and due to the Bylaws an Area rally cannot be held within 30 days of a convention. This caused us to change our rally to July. When I immediatly contected Tom Oddy at the Expo the only dates available were the present dates we have. At the annual meeting during Sam Allen's last year as President the membership agreed to a five year contract with the Champlain Valley Expo. That contract is still in effect. In order to cancel the 2013 rally we had to negotiate with them and they agreed to let us skip a year if we agreed not to have a rally at any other location during that period and to agree that the contract remained in effect and that I would remain in office to the end of my term. Unless we get more support from the chapters in our area than we presently do,  I fear for the future for any area rallies after our contact expires. For example we only received ads for our program book from 14 out of 41 chapters this year. I sent out 188 e-mails announcing the cancellation of the rally a few weeks ago and I received 23 bounce backs for undeliverable and only one reply and that was from Perfect Circle stating that they may be turning in their charter in the spring due to apathy in getting officers for the chapter. If these conflicting dates with our rally and lack of attendance continue to exist then I think that sends a signal to the Executive Board that the Area Rally is no longer important to them and should be discontinued.

Paul DuBois

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Below are my thoughts to Paul

Thanks for getting back to me Paul. Just a couple thoughts-

• Sharon is AND of Pen-NY Mixers and should had got an email at one of our addresses, but didn't.
• John Pangburn is ND of Fingerlakers and I would be surprised if he didn't let me know.as pres elect.
• Walt Linden ND of Pen-NY Mixers is a good friend and hasn't mentioned the cancellation.
• I was one of the one's who objected to a long term contract with any location when I was Pen-NY Mixer pres. So, while sympathetic to your problem, I understand chapter positions.
• Too bad chapters are turning in certification, but FMCA has lost sight of the purpose of the organization with lots of silly by laws about number of officers and structure..

At the risk of sticking my foot in my mouth stating the obvious, Article 3 of FMCA Constitution states the mission -

3. Mission and Purpose:

A. The Mission of FMCA is to bring together motor coach owners who share similar interests in congenial traveling, recreational, and social activities in order to preserve and perpetuate the traditional ideals and spirit of friendly and wholesome family fellowship as manifested by the founders of FMCA.

Most of us who run rallies have not committed to a place that requires vendors to survive.
I wish you and the executive board best of luck. You clearly have a challenge.
Take care, Tom