Click here for Annual Meeting of September 12, 2009
Minutes of prior meetings follow below.
Click here for Business Meeting of May 16, 2009
Click here for Annual Meeting of Sep 8 2007
Click here for Business Meeting of May 19 2007
Click here for Annual meeting of Sep 9 2006

Granite Staters Chapter of FMCA
Annual Business Meeting September 13, 2008
   (Includes reports of FMCA and Northeast Area meetings)

President Bill Elkins called the annual meeting of the Granite Staters to order at 9:05am on Saturday, September 13th, 2008 at the Sandwich Fairgrounds in Sandwich, NH.

Other officers present included Vice President Gus Swanson, Secretary Bill McShea, Treasurer Betty Robicheau, and National Director Peggy McShea. Other committee chairs present were: Membership – Glenn & Bobbie McCracken, Wagonmaster Linda Porazzo, and Webmaster Bob Burnham.

The rally was attended by 29 family coaches, and approximately 44 family members were present and rose for the Pledge of Allegiance and a moment of silence for our troops and the people in the way of Hurricane Ike.

The Secretary’s report of the May, 2008 meeting was read, and approved by unanimous vote after a motion was made and seconded to approve.

The Vice President discussed rallies as well as his concern about declining participation and ideas about the future of the Chapter. Gus described his efforts to consider developing pre- and post- rallies for the 82nd Intl. Convention at Bowling Green, OH next July. Interested members should contact him for more info.

The Treasurer’s report was read by Betty. The Treasury started this period with a balance of $5633.48. Various amounts are committed to existing expenses that include pre-paid memberships thru 2013, the Automatic External Defibrillator (AED), and deposits on future rallies. At this time the Treasury has approximately $2700.00 uncommitted. The Treasurer’s report was moved, seconded, and unanimously approved.

The National Director presented governing board reports from the Convention at St. Paul as well as from the Northeast Area Meeting:

Highlights from the St. Paul Convention: 368 (72%) of 513 chapters were represented and conducted the business of the Family Motor Coach Association. About 2500 family coaches and 600 show coaches attended, and about 175 children participated in the youth program. FMCA membership is down from about 130,000 in 2004 to 112,562 and FMCA continues to wrestle with more magazine advertising losses due to slow sales in the industry. However, the Governing Board was able to arrive at a balanced budget without increasing FMCA dues, and approved spending cuts in other areas.

The Northeast Area meeting resulted in establishing a committee to work on by-law changes for the area; another committee was formed to study the feasibility of continuing to hold NEAR at Essex Junction for an extended period of time. Dates for future NEAR rallies are August 12 - 15, 2009; August 19 – 25, 2010; and, August 18 – 24, 2011. (These reports will be posted in their entirety on the Granite Staters web page.)

Glenn McCracken spoke as Membership co-Chair about a 13 – 15% decline in our membership since last year – continuing a trend in recent years attributed in part to the current economy and in part to an aging population.

Bob Burnham our Webmaster responded to a comment about a problem with the rally application form (on-line) and will correct that.

Peggy McShea – acting in her role as historian/photographer – requested that anyone who had taken pictures at the rallies in Fryeburg and Loudon contact her and send them along via e-mail or snail mail for our photo albums.

Our Wagonmaster Linda Porazzo recognized and thanked all of our members who served as rally hosts from 2008, and appealed for more people to host events rather then the two or three couple who are doing two and three rallies a year.

In addition, Linda discussed her plans for future Birthday Bashes at Sandwich and reducing entertainment costs for this annual event. She also thanked Dave and Delores Selvis for stepping up to host a rally at Goose Hollow next year.

Under Old Business, Bobbie McCracken took the floor to discuss the types of events and activities that are available in NH (and Maine) each year, and asked the membership to consider hosting an event that tied to one of those activities that others might be interested in attending. President Bill Elkins asked if anyone would be interested in coordination a January dinner as we’ve done the past few years, and suggested he’d help them get that event organized.

Bob Smith discussed the NEAR newsletter contest, wondering why the Granite Staters weren’t involved and if having an on-line newsletter prevented us from participating. A lengthy discussion ensued about whether to again start sending the newsletter out by USPS. During this discussion, Betty Robicheau suggested that the next year’s rally schedule (as known at that time) be sent out along with the annual membership list mailing. This discussion was temporarily suspended to proceed with the Nomination of Officers.

Bob Smith took the floor as speaker for the Nominating Committee and proposed the following slate of officers for the next two year term:


      Gus Swanson, President
      Peggy McShea, Vice President
      Betty Robicheau, Treasurer
      Bill McShea, Secretary
      John Landry, National Director
      Dick White, Alternate National Director

A motion was made and seconded that the Secretary cast one ballot for this proposed slate of officers which was unanimously approved by the body.

Under New Business, discussion resumed on the topic of our newsletter and mailing it via USPS. Bob Smith, Louise Parsons, Dick White, and others spoke to the issue, but Peg White reminded everyone present that before any action was taken, someone would need to volunteer to serve as newsletter editor. After more discussion, a motion was made, seconded and approved to cease discussion on this issue.

At 10:36am another motion was made, seconded and approved to adjourn the meeting.

Respectfully submitted,

William E. McShea
15 September 2008

FMCA 80th International Convention
Navigate To The North Star State
Minnesota State Fairground St. Paul, Minnesota

When the Governing Board Meeting was called to order on July 14, 2008, 368 out of 513 chapters (72%) were represented in St. Paul, Minnesota. Almost 2500 coaches and 175 youth attended this International Convention.

National Treasure’s Report
Report indicated that there are presently 112,562 FMCA members, down from 130,000 in 2004. There has been a significant reduction in magazine advertising from manufacturers due to slow sales. This combination of less members and manufacturers’ advertising has resulted in operating losses over the past two years. The 2009 budget, as presented to the board, showed a deficit of $508,000. FMCA staff has also been reduced due to attrition.

Budget Committee Report
Most of the Governing Board meeting was spent working on balancing the budget. If not balanced, the Governing Board would have been required to do a mail-in ballot vote to raise the dues from $35 to $49 a year. After many cut backs the board achieved a balanced budget.
Some of the cuts of interest are: · no atlas to new members · a slight charge for using the mail forwarding service · cut backs on entertainment costs for summer and winter conventions, and · Governing Board to receive information via internet rather than snail mail (this is being worked on).

Member Benefits:

Constitution and Bylaws Committee Report

Convention committee Report

Policy and Procedure Committee Report

President’s Council Report
Accepted and Filed

Commercial Council Report
Accepted and Filed

Education Committee Report
Accepted and Filed

Governmental & Legislative Affairs Committee Report · Accepted and Filed · Committee is working on a Lemon Law for motorhomes

New Business
A motion was made to have one international convention a year. This would help save fuel cost for the members. It would be a summer convention rotated among three areas of the country- east, central, and west. This could not happen until 2011 as conventions are booked until then.

Respectfully submitted August 15, 2008 –

Peggy McShea, F175310
National Director, FMCA Granite Staters

Northeast Area Rally
August 7-10, 2008
Essex Junction, VT

The Northeast Area Rally was held in Essex Junction, Vt. on August 7-10, 2008. There were 600 plus coaches in attendance, and 97 show and 12 demo coaches.

Business Meeting – August 9, 2008

No old or unfinished business

New Business

Peggy McShea F175310
National Director FMCA Granite Staters

Granite Staters Chapter of FMCA
Minutes of Annual Meeting September 8, 2007

The second business meeting of 2007 of the FMCA Granite Staters was called to order by President Bill Elkins at 9:03am on Saturday, September 8, 2007 at Sandwich Fairgrounds in Sandwich, NH. This meeting is the annual business meeting of the chapter, and historically, the occasion of its annual birthday celebration.

Other officers present included Vice President Gus Swanson, Secretary Bill McShea, Treasurer Betty Robicheau, National Director Peggy McShea, Alternate National Director Gerry Goulet as well as Membership Chairs Glenn and Bobbie McCracken, Wagonmaster Linda Porazzo, and Newsletter Editors Dick and Peg White.

Approximately 50 family coaches attended this rally and 80 members were present and rose for the Pledge of Allegiance and a moment of silence for our military and members of the chapter that we've lost over the year.

President Elkins introduced Sam Allen, the newly elected National Vice President for the Northeast Area. Sam and his wife Pat attended the rally for the entire weekend, participating in events and talking with many members of the Chapter.

Sam offered an apology for himself and on behalf of the Northeast Area Rally (NEAR), for events that transpired at that rally in Augusta, NJ that involved several members of the Granite Staters. Sam related that as long as he was serving in his new role he would do everything in his power to prevent similar incidents in the future.

In his closing remarks, Sam went on to challenge the members of the chapter to find and recruit new members for both the Granite Staters and FMCA.

At the request of the Secretary, a motion was made to waive the reading of the Secretary's report of May 19, 2007 because that report had been available to all members on the Chapter's web site. The motion was seconded and passed by a unanimous hand vote.

The Treasurer reported a working balance of $1,307.66 in the Treasury. Betty went on to explain that there was a total $3,795.52 in the Treasury with a reserve of $367.86 for AED batteries as well as a reserve of $2,820.00 for multi-year membership dues. The club has $700.00 outstanding in deposits and reservations for future rallies. The Treasurer's report was moved, seconded and passed unanimously by those present.

The National Director gave brief reports on the Northeast Area Rally held in July in Augusta, NJ and FMCA's 78th International Convention held in August in Redmond, OR:

  1. The primary business conducted at the NEAR was the election of new officers, and they are:

    President – Sam Allen
    1st Vice President – Steve Sponenberg
    2nd Vice President – Paul Dubois
    3rd Vice President – Lou Snow
    Secretary – Cathy Taylor
    Treasurer – Eleanor Rizzi

  2. At the International Rally in Redmond, 402 of FMCA's Chapers (79%) were represented when the Governing Board was called to order to conduct the business of FMCA.

  3. The final count for FMCA's 78th Convention at Redmond was 2640 family coaches and 834 show and demonstration coaches.

The Membership Chairs noted that our current membership is at 155 families, with approximately another 40 member families that have not renewed. A list of current members will be sent out by US Mail and will include the tentative rally schedule for the 2008 season.

Bobbie McCracken spoke about the success and enthusiasm of the Grandparents Weekend Rally and a discussion ensued about the idea of conducting family weekend rallies every so often. The idea was well received, especially as a way to attract new family members.

The Wagonmaster and host of the weekend's Birthday Bash discussed the remaining activities available for people who wanted to participate, and then thanked by name all of the people who hosted/co-hosted rallies in the last year.

The Newsletter Editors related that the next letter was due out on November 1st, and articles for it needed to be to them by mid-October.

Bill McShea noted that Max Durbin (FMCA Government & Legislative Affairs Committee) had commented to him about the help and support he had received from the Granite Staters, and particularly from Jim Belanger and Dick White for the RV Friendly signage initiative and legislation, as well as for other local issues that impacted RVers.

Dick White went on to describe that while RV Friendly signage had passed the legislative hurdle here in NH, it still needed to be implemented. Seven states have currently adopted this program. Dick also noted that the acquisition of the Chapter's AED (Automatic External Defibrillator) was a direct result of support provided by Roger and Evelyn Merrill, and donations by members of our Chapter.

Bill McShea reminded members there was information available in the hall for FMCA's MEDEX program (along with wallet cards) and also for the FMCA sponsored Five Star Insurance Program for recreational vehicles.

Bob LaBonte suggested that because of the number of people arriving a day early for our weekend rallies that we should consider making them 4 or 5 day events.

Under New Business, Bill Elkins related that Sandy Percy has had to resign as the Chapter's Sunshine person and that role would now be handled by Bev Wasson and Sandy Baker.

Anticipating the election of officers next year, President Elkins proposed members names for the Nominating Committee and those are: Clayton "Bucky" Buck, Steve Ford, Bev Wasson and Bob Smith. Officers will need to be elected/re-elected at our September business meeting next year. It was moved, seconded and passed by the members present to accept the proposed members for next year's Nominating Committee.

In other new business, a motion was made, seconded and passed by unanimous vote to provide Chapter support for Security and Day Gate duties at next year's NEAR to be held at Essex Junction, VT next August.

A final motion was made, seconded and passed to adjourn at 10:16am.

Respectfully submitted,

Bill McShea, Secretary
12 September 2007

FMCA Granite Staters
Business Meeting of May 19th, 2007

The first 2007 business meeting of the FMCA Granite Staters was called to order by President Bill Elkins at 9:30am on Saturday, May 19th 2007 at Sandwich Fairgrounds in Sandwich, NH.

Other officers present included Vice President Gus Swanson, Secretary Bill McShea, Treasurer Betty Robicheau, National Director Peggy McShea, as well as Membership Chairs Glenn & Bobbie McCracken, Wagonmaster Linda Porazzo, and Newsletter Editor Peg White.

Approximately 50 family members were present and rose for the Pledge of Allegiance and moment of silence for our military and law enforcement. Sandy Baker then read a patriotic Memorial Day article.

At the request of the President, a motion was made by Stet Hunt, seconded and passed, to waive the reading of the Secretary’s Report of the Annual Meeting held September 9th, 2006.

The Treasurer reported a working balance of $931.89 in the Treasury as of 05.19.07. Betty went on to explain that at the end of 2006, there was a balance of $3,729.27, and as of 05.18.07 there was a total balance of $4,176.89 with most of that amount held in escrow for the members that have paid their dues ahead of time and for future years.

Granite Staters clothing and inventory was discussed, and a motion was made, seconded and passed, to pay our new clothing supplier $30.00 to develop a template for our logo. (Rather than carry and maintain an inventory of Granite Staters clothing, members will eventually be able to buy Granite Staters clothing directly from the vendor.)

Glenn and Bobbie McCracken (Membership) reported we are presently 187 members strong, and reminded everyone that dues are $15.00 a year or $65.00 for 5 years.

Peg White (Newsletter) discussed problems with being able to maintain winter addresses for those members who head for warmer climes. Peg also discussed the status (favorable reception) for the RV Friendly Signage bill working its way through the NH Legislature, and the acquisition of the Automatic External Defibrillator, which has been purchased for the chapter with donated funds. The AED will travel with the coffee supplies. After a question was raised about whether the chapter refunds the dues of members who have paid for five years and who might be forced by certain circumstances to resign from the Granite Staters within that period. Stet Hunt proposed a motion to refund dues to those members who might be forced to leave the Chapter early. This was seconded and extensive discussion followed. The motion failed.

Bobbie McCracken offered a motion to research FMCA by-laws in regards to refunding dues, and look at developing an amendment to our by-laws to reflect that. That motion was seconded and passed.

Peg McShea (National Director) discussed her visit to FMCA’s 77th International Convention in Perry, GA in March. The final count for the “Georgia Jubilee” was 4,830 coaches, including 3,820 family coaches, 260 exhibitor live-in coaches, 556 display coaches, and 194 demo units. Peg also described the benefits of the FMCA MEDEX program and passed out additional information she picked up in GA.

Linda Porazzo (Wagonmaster) discussed the reason for moving the May meeting from Hopkinton (unexpected high costs) to Sandwich for this rally and meeting. She also discussed the rally schedule for the rest of the year, including the June rally at Riverbend in Rumney, the NEAR rally in NJ in July, Grandparents Weekend in Fryeburg, ME the end of July, Seven Maples in Hancock, NH in August, and the annual meeting and Birthday Bash again at Sandwich Fairground in September.

Bill McShea spoke about FMCA’s new RV insurance program and passed along some of the information he had learned while he was in GA, and urged members to take a second look at the comprehensive program being offered at competitive costs.

Peg White again discussed the costs associated with publishing the newsletter at the frequency the members have wanted. Peg and her husband Dick had provided the officers with an extensive spread sheet which illustrated various methods of printing and distributing the newsletter using various resources. Mail costs have just increased again. Members engaged in a lengthy discussion about ways to trim costs.

Brownie Abbott made a motion to publish the newsletter on the Granite Staters web site, and our members who do not have web site access, would be asked to notify the Membership Chairs (McCrackens) that they’d still require US mail delivery. This motion was seconded by Don Percy, and after more discussion, comments, and questioning, the motion passed.

Fred Rhine made a motion that the Officers notify all members of this change via a postcard that would include our web site address. This motion was seconded and passed.

Glenn McCracken made a motion that the Granite Staters membership list be mailed once a year to existing and new members. Stet Hunt seconded the motion and it passed after discussion by the members.

Gus Swanson made a suggestion that the Granite Staters publish just 4 newsletters a year on the web site.

Stet Hunt made a motion that was seconded by Bob Parsons for the officers to discuss and decide on what dates the newsletter would be published and be on-line. This motion also passed.

In a separate discussion, the Officers have agreed to publish the newsletter on the following dates: January 1st, March 1st, May 1st, July 1st, and November 1st.

Bob Parsons made a motion to eliminate the free camping fee incentive that the chapter offers to two couple who agree to host a rally, starting in 2008. This was seconded by Stet Hunt and discussion followed. Eventually the motion was defeated by hand vote.

President Elkins entertained a motion to end the meeting, and with a second and general approval of the members, the meeting ended at 11:35am.

Respectfully submitted,
William E. McShea, Secretary
31 May 2007

Granite Staters Chapter of FMCA
Minutes of Annual Meeting September 9th, 2006

The 11th annual meeting of the FMCA Granite Staters was called to order at 9:03am September 9th, 2006 by Vice President Bill Elkins at Sandwich Fairgrounds in Sandwich, NH.

Other officers present included Bill McShea, Secretary; Betty Robicheau, Treasurer; Gerry Goulet, Alternate National Director; as well as Bobbie & Glenn McCracken (Membership), and Linda Porazzo (Wagonmaster). President Fred Rhine and National Director Evelyn Merrill were unable to attend this rally/meeting.

The approximately 80 members present for the meeting rose for the Pledge of Allegiance and a moment of silence for the victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and the recent passing of Joyce Sandstrom (who was the Sunshine person).

The Secretary’s report of the Business Meeting of June 10th, 2006 was read, and motions were made and seconded to accept the report, and the members voted unanimously to accept.

The Treasurer reported a balance of $2,988.62 as of August 30, 2006. After further discussion about the state of the Chapter’s Treasury, motions were made and seconded to accept the report, and the vote of the members was unanimous to accept.

The Secretary read the report of the National Director Evelyn Merrill which discussed the FMCA Governing Board meeting held August 14, 2006 in Charlotte/Concord, North Carolina, and the approval of a number of committee reports as well as the removal of several executive board proposals.

The proposed FMCA budget for 2007 is $16,134,010.00, which is $208,790.00 less than 2006.
There were 3,105 coaches at Charlotte, 81 for the youth program and 1053 display coaches.
Future approved rally sites include:
Perry, GA – March 2007;
Redmond, OR – August 2007;
Pomona, CA – February 2008;
St. Paul, MN – July 2008;
Perry, GA – Winter, 2009;
Louisville, KY – Summer 2009;
Albuquerque, NM – Winter 2010;
and Redmond, OR – Summer 2010.

The Membership Chairperson discussed a drop in the membership which is currently down from 231 to 184 coaches. While some members have not renewed their memberships, it is felt that the dynamics of the club is changing and that many older members are leaving the RV community. That coupled with the higher costs of fuel are causing a lot of RVers to curtail their camping. Glenn McCracken discussed the present membership rate and proposed increasing it on an annual and five year basis to help offset administrative costs and the cost of the newsletter. The proposal was made into a motion and was moved and seconded. It was pointed out by Glenn that the members had asked for more newsletters just within the past year, and that increasing the number of issues has increased the Chapter’s costs. The Bylaw revisions also caused a special newsletter mailing.

An extensive discussion ensued about attempting to manage costs by reducing newsletter distributions, and suggestions including posting the newsletter on the Granite Staters web page, or sending it only as electronic mail.

The question was called for, and was moved and seconded but failed to pass. After more discussion, the question was called for and this time moved, was seconded, and passed.

The members then voted nearly unanimously to raise the annual membership rate to $15.00 and the five year rate to $65.00. Discussion continued for some time about how the Chapter might manage costs, and it was decided to try to source a clothes vendor that would handle the Granite Staters logo and provide the Chapter’s line of clothing direct to members via e-mail/on-line and US Mail services.

Wagonmaster Linda Porazzo discussed the tentative plans for the 2007 season, and then introduced various rally hosts to talk in more detail about their plans:
- John Violette spoke about a possible rally for our ‘snowbirds’ in Clermont, FL in March;
- John Violette and others will host another rally at Hopkinton in May, and hopefully the weather will cooperate;
- Bob Smith talked about the Granite Staters volunteering for Security at the Northeast Area Rally (NEAR) in Augusta, NJ in early July;
- Bobbie McCracken discussed the plan for a grandparents weekend at Fryeburg Fairground later next July;
- Louise Parsons talked about a rally at the 7 Maples campground next August; and,
- Linda spoke about the Birthday Bash in Sandwich next September. Linda also noted that she continued to look for hosts for rallies in June and October.

Bob Burnham the Webmaster described recent updates he’s made to the web page, and encouraged everyone to use the site.

Bill Elkins chaired the Bylaws Committee which was forwarded by mail to all the members of the Chapter in anticipation of a vote at Sandwich. Bill read a synopsis of the changes and entertained a motion. John Violette made a motion to accept the Bylaw revisions that was seconded by Gerry Goulet. The member vote was unanimous.

Bill McShea then read a number of actions that the Chapter took since 1995 that amount to ‘standing rules’. All of these actions had been voted by either the members or the Officers, and they will be added to the Appendix section of the revised Bylaws as Standing Rules.

Dick White distributed a packet of information and provided an update about RV Friendly Signage. RV Friendly Signage is a yellow smiley face with the letters “RV” inside which is being used on highway signs in some states across the country to denote RV friendly services. Dick related that it was too late to introduce this to the NH State Legislature this term, but asked that we contact our own legislators to introduce and support the idea for NH, and to ask their sponsorships for the program.

Dick also provided an update and distributed more information in regards to the purchase of an automated external defibrillator (AED). The cost of this device runs between $1700 and $2300 dollars, but is coming down. The American Red Cross sells a unit between $1400 and $1600 and provides training for a number of people. Dick also discussed how the unit might be carried and located at rallies.

As a result, a motion was made and seconded to start a fund to acquire an AED. Dick White’s company would contribute $500, and other Granite Staters members could make their own private donations until enough money is secured to purchase one. The Granite Staters Treasury funds would not be touched. The motion was unanimously passed, and donations should be directed to and make out to Dick White.

A motion was made from the floor to recognize the contributions that Evelyn Merrill has made to the Granite Staters by providing the Merrills with a “no fee” life time membership. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously, and the Secretary was directed to send a letter thanking Evelyn and noting the vote of the membership.

Bill Elkins discussed the large tent that the chapter had purchased several years ago and suggested that it should be sold and replace with a couple of “pop up” tents. The size of the tent makes it difficult to store, move around, and to set up. A motion was made and seconded to attempt to sell the tent, and it passed unanimously.

Bob Smith introduced the slate of officers developed by the Nominating Committee, and after the vote was called, a motion was made and seconded from the floor and the members voted the slate in. Another motion was made from the floor and seconded for the Secretary to cast one vote to accept the slate from the Nominating Committee. The new Officers of the Granite Staters – who will fill a two year term – include Bill Elkins, President; Gus Swanson, Vice President; Bill McShea, Secretary; Betty Robicheau, Treasurer; Peggy McShea, National Director; and Gerry Goulet, Alternate National Director. The Nominating Committee included Bob & Marilyn Smith, Bob & Louise Parsons, and Clayton & Thelma Buck.

All business taken care of, a motion was made, seconded and affirmatively voted to adjourn the meeting at 10:55am.

Respectfully submitted,
Bill McShea, Secretary
15 September 2006