Call for Northeast Area Officers from NEA Secretary

If you are interested, please contact a member of the nominating committee.

 

Hello Everyone:

I am hoping by now you have received and read my first email.  As I mentioned in that email you will be receiving quite a few notices/emails from us regarding Northeast Area happenings.

We have 2 Vice President positions open on your NEA Executive Board.  Bud McCormick and Tom Rec will not be running for a 2nd term as they are moving in a different life direction.  They will be missed but we wish them well in their future direction.  Both Bud and Tom will continue in their positions until our business meeting to be held at the 2015 NEA Rally in July.  The new VPs will begin their duties at the conclusion of the NEA Rally.

We are asking you to please forward this information to your membership in a timely manner.  We would appreciate any one interested in running for one of these vacant positions to get in touch with me by email/phone or contact a member of the nominating committee (listed below).

Fred Linberk - Bussin Buddies - fjl57@ sbcglobal.net

Sandie Zern -  Bussin Buddie - sandiez16@gmail.com

Harley Soulia - Green Mountain Chapter - hsoulia@ aol.com

There is no experience required for holding a position on the board, just enthusiasm and a willingness to have fun.  So please consider this opportunity to support your Northeast Area. 

Thank you,

Donna Merlino, NEA Secretary

o/b/o The NEA Executive Board

NEAR Secretary update

I may have messed up the sequence, but this another note from Donna Merlino.

 

Good Afternoon Chapter Officers:

I am your FMCA Northeast Area Secretary, Donna Merlino.  I will be communicating with you on behalf of your Northeast Area (NEA) Executive Board.  We would like to keep you informed in regards to what is happening with your Area.  We would appreciate, and encourage you to share these emails/notices with your chapter members.  If you or anyone in your chapter has questions regarding any of these emails/notices please feel free to get in touch with me or any of the board members and we will do our best to assist you.  I have attached the NEA Executive Board Directory for your convenience.  You can reply to this email address ( neafmcasecretary@gmail.com) or the address listed for me on the directory.  I am accepting emails at both. 

I will be sending these notices to the President, National Director and Alternate National Director for each chapter.  If one or more of these officers are not receiving these emails it may be that the email address I have been given by the FMCA Home Office is incorrect.  Please let me know asap if an address needs to be changed or added to the list.  Some chapter officers did not have a name or email listed for National Director of Alternate but everyone has a President with an email.  Therefore, each chapter should receive at least one copy of these emails.

You will be receiving several emails over the next few weeks so please be aware of the return address and add this to your contact list.  This first email is meant to introduce myself and relay contact information for your NEA Executive Board for those of you that may not have that info. 

The NEA Board would like to thank you for being an officer for your chapter and any other chapter you may be involved with.  You, your fellow officers and members are what makes this Area great.  So thank you for what you do and we hope to meet each of you at the 2015 NEA Rally "Summertime Fun at the Junction", July 8-12, 2015 to be held at the Champlain Valley Expo in Essex Junction VT.  I have included a Rally Registration Form for you convenience.  We have a great event planned and would love to see each Chapter represented.  

Please be on the lookout for further information regarding the 2015 NEA Rally via this email address.

Until then......

Safe travels

Donna Merlino, Secretary o/b/o the NEA Executive Board

NEAR Craft Seminars

Donna Merlino, Northeast Area Secretary has been busy sending out information for the Northeast Area. Below is one of several. 

Hi Everyone:

Joan Lewis, Susquenango Chapter is in charge of putting together craft seminars for the 2015 NEA Rally in July.  She would appreciate it if you would announce to your membership that she is looking for members that would be interested in holding a craft class/presentation during the Rally.  I know that there are a lot of crafty  members out there with some great skills that we would all be interested in learning how to do.  So put your thinking caps on and help Joan put together some classes.  She would like some more ideas & crafty people.  You can email her at seekhim888@gmail.com

Also, George Lewis, Parking Crew Captain would like all those attending in a caravan of 6 or more to drop him an email with a contact person's name and number. His home phone # is 518-399-7072.  or you can email him at seekhim888@gmail.com.  

If anyone has questions about any of these emails you've been receiving please call or email me directly and I will answer to the best of my ability.  Please share all of these emails with your membership as we want to be sure that EVERYONE knows what is happening. 

If your chapter has not attended or has not been represented at the Area Rally in a while, please make this the year you come back.  We miss you and want to see everyone attend and have a good time.  So please come back.

Safe Travels,

Donna Merlino, NEA Secretary

o/b/o of the NEA Executive Board

An example of FMCA Assist

One benefit of FMCA is the FMCA Assist. Charlie Adcock sent the following:

The following is an email I received from Ron South and with his permission I am forwarding it to everyone. Let's keep Ron and Kathy in our thoughts and prayers.  

 

 

Doug,

 

Sorry for not getting back to you about the rally.  I actually am just getting back from Arizona tomorrow, the 8th.   I wanted to let you know how our first snowbird experience went, and to give a testimony to FMCA.

 

We left Dec. 28th for Arizona and arrived on Jan. 1st.  Due to the time of year I thought it would be smart to take the most southern route but we still experienced bad weather.  Terrible ice and snow storms in Texas and severe winds in New Mexico that ripped off one of my awnings.  Quickly got that fixed after arriving and started to have some fun.

 

We went to Sedona, the Mesa Market, visited friends and family, and just enjoyed the weather.

 

On Jan. 29th Kathy was complaining of severe abdominal pain and I took her to the ER in Sun City.  She was admitted with diverticulitis and after 4 days of not responding to antibiotics, surgery was performed to remove a section of colon.  She came close to dying at this point, and also went into kidney failure requiring her to start dialysis.

 

It was also discovered that she had other kidney and bladder problems and this required multiple surgeries.  The total care she received is far to extensive to list.  She was in the hospital 6 weeks, and 3 weeks in a rehab facility.   This was not exactly what we planned for our vacation.

 

Kathy still cannot walk and continues to need rehab.  I knew I had to get her home and I also knew I couldn't handle her for 4-5 days on the road in the RV.   

On 4/1/15 she was well enough to fly home with assistance and I am driving the RV back.

 

The testimony I mentioned earlier is for the FMCAssist program.  As you may know, I joined the FMCA just shortly before being introduced, and joining, your chapter.  Then I came to your Christmas party.  

In the midst of planning Kathy's return, I remembered this program, and it was actually one of the deciding factors in me joining.

 

I called Seven Corners and had the pleasure of working with Wesley Smith.  Wesley scheduled everything for me, and paid for it.  They provided:

 

The flight out to Arizona for Kathy's son to assist her back;

The airfare for Kathy and her son to return to St. Louis (they gave Kathy a row of 3 seats so she could keep her legs up);

The travel expense for a wheelchair van to pick Kathy up at the rehab facility in Sun City and take her and her son to the Phoenix airport;

The travel expense for a wheelchair van to pick up Kathy and her son from the St. Louis airport and take them to our home in St. Charles.

 

What a deal for $40. a year!     Anyway, it's good to finally get back.  I wonder how our next trip will be?

2016 NEAR and International News

I have more news coming. Just check. Tom

Hi,

 

I should have mentioned this is the CAPTAINS list informational letter. Please share with other Chapters and your members.

 

The Convention will NOT be held in Syracuse NY. They are having a major renovation.

 

Next Tuesday at 2:00pm I meet with Jerry Yeatts, Chris Lust and Jim Rosenberg from national at the BIG E  (Great States Exposition Center) in Springfield Mass. for a site inspection & meeting.

 

Wednesday its off to Fryeburg ME for a 2:00pm site inspection & meeting there.

 

As soon as I hear anything and a decision is finalized I will make sure the Northeast gets notified via our website, blog and also have our secretary do an email blast hoping all our chapter emails are current and up to date.

 

I apologize for this second emailing,

 

Respectfully yours,

 

Tom Ziobrowski

NEA FMCA PRESIDENT

NEAR news from Tom Ziobrowski

Below is a update from Tom Ziobrowski about NEAR. Our Jully will be there and we can volunteer if you are going. It's a good discussion topic in May.

 

 Hi Everyone,

 

               Well here is the final compiled copy of the Captains List for 2015. Yes things can still change and we do have a few vacancies. Please be sure to tell your volunteers that when they make their reservations to tell national that you are a volunteer so they can put a card in your packet indicating this for their windshield. We will have copies available at the expo if some are needed as well.

 

                The changes came from the first list sent out sometime ago with a few coming forward and a few bowing out.

 

                Reservations are coming in, Boat Cruise Tickets are selling as well as the Pig Roast Tickets.

 

                Tom Rec has several seminars ion the works.

 

                Bud McCormick has Vendors signed up as well.

 

                A few loose ends to button up, signed contracts for Entertainment, Letter just went out to the VFW. Skip Smith is working with  the Essex Fire Dept.

 

                DonnieO is working on the Chapter ADS which need to be paid for and ADS need to get to Bob Mills for the Program Book, so please remind your chapters, I think deadline is May 31st.

 

                We need door prizes and the stuffed animals for the emergency corps and marines toys for tots.

 

                 I hope you have looked at our website, nmafmca.org. It has been updated by our webmaster Anne Gould and it also contains a blog which Tom Roule from central NY has been blogging stuff as he receives things or hear of other information through the grape vine. Our new Secretary Donna has been on the ball and is doing a great job for the Northeast Area as she does for her own chapter. It's great having her on board. Same goes for your new Treasurer Jim, loved his report after things settled down with him and his wife with coach problems, WE HAD A SUCESSFULL RALLY AND DID NOT GO IN THE RED, Parking crew is in motion with I believe are great staff of parkers are all coming back. We do have a new Director at the Expo, and have had a meeting with him and his assistant and it looks like it will be business as usual, that's a relief in itself. And as you can see by the LIST the staff on board is well familiar with their jobs, so I hope for all of us to have fun working this rally. I do not mean to leave anyone out, each & everyone working at this event play a very vital role.

                 Wednesday evening while the CRUISE is going on their will be a cash bingo like last year and if those playing want another day of it for a couple of hours maybe we can arrange for that.

                  I'll close here before you delete me, I must say with your new board, all you volunteers, the sponsorships, dealers & vendors, including the support given to the program book and all it takes to pull this off, each and everyone of those involved deserve a very  BIG HEARTFULL THANK YOU from myself, my wife, the board and their spouses. You all made it work successfully. 

 

Respectfully,

 

Tom & Connie

2015 Rally update

It's time to think about 2015 Rallies.

• Our first rally is in May at Elkdale campground. There are lots of things to do. Amish cheese factory, casino, chocolate wine, golf and more. Randalls, Baragers, Coluccis and Taylors have worked hard to put the rally together. 
  More details will be in the upcoming newsletter.

• We do not have a wagon master for June, yet. Please consider it. 
   
• The July rally will be part of NEAR in Essex Junction, VT.
  The link for the Northeast application is:
  

  http://www.fmca.com/images/stories/pdf/areas/nea15_registration.pdf 

  
  
• August will be part of the International in Madison, WS unless someone wants to take it.
  

  The link is:

  http://www.fmca.com/conventions-64/madison-2015/3805-family-registration-fmca-madison-2015.html 

If interested, let's discuss caravans to these places in May.

• September will be a joint rally with the Calico Sams thanks to the Shafers.
  
• October is in Cambria, thanks to Harold Wollaber. Did you know there is a Haunted House in Fort Niagara?