What are other FMCA chapters doing? This page is a compilation of reports and activities from chapter newsletters and web pages.
Maine Wheels, March 2001. Eleven coaches parked in the volunteer area at the SEA rally, at least another ten members volunteering for seminar, parking, security, and golf cart duty. The chapter has been asked to participate as volunteers in Information and Tours and in the sale of FMCA merchandise at the Northeast area rally.
The Wagonmaster lists twelve rallies and events planned this coming season beginning with the FMCA winter convention in April and winding up with an October rally still to be announced. The list includes two rallies as guests of the Perfect Circle chapter.
Sam and Pat Allen are the new newsletter editors.
In additions to can tabs, the chapter also collects plastic bread tabs for the Shriners Hospital for Children.
Yankee Travelers, March 2001. They have twelve rallies scheduled this season, April into November. Some are joint rallies.
If I have counted correctly, they list 212 chapter members.
Elk International, January, 2001. This is an International Area FMCA chapter for members who are also members of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE). It holds rallies preceeding the International summer and winter conventions and hosts a social hour during the conventions.
An important benefit of chapter membership is the annual directory of BPOE lodges which have overnight parking facilities for RV parking.
They are online at http://www.elk-international.com.
Jersey Gems, from their web site. The chapter has nine rallies scheduled for the 2001 season, plus the Northeast Area rally and a Christmas party. The web site features a great page of music, such as Country Roads which you hear as this page loads.
NH Wheelers, March 2001. Jim Belanger, secretary/editor for the New Hampshire Good Sam club has been kind enough to forward his club's newsletter to us. Here are some items about that club from the newsletter:
The issues here are: Campground owners feel they are losing business as shown by pictures of RV rigs parked in commercial lots with awnings out and chairs set out. (I haven’t found anyone who thinks this is OK). On the other side of the coin is the freedom to park overnight while traveling. (This probably affects ‘tourists’ more than NH residents.
This year, two bills were introduced into the Legislature to try and correct this problem. Senate Bill 33 and House Bill 476 (SB33, HB476) were introduced to change the wording.
SB33 proposed to change the definition of "campsite" to read: Campsite means a parcel of land in a recreational campground or camping park rented for the placement of a tent, recreational vehicle or a recreational camping cabin for the overnight use of its occupants.
HB476 proposed to change the definition to: Campsite means a parcel of land that is commercially zoned and which, upon payment of a fee, is used for the placement of a tent, recreational vehicle, or a recreational camping cabin for the overnight use of its occupants.
In either case, if a property qualifies under these definitions, that property comes under the NH requirements for providing a suitable waste disposal system. This affects anywhere that the RV traveling public chooses to remain overnight.
As the appointed representative of the NH Wheelers Good Sam Chapter, I attended the hearings on both the Senate Bill and the House Bill. I was authorized to represent the NH Wheelers by vote at the February meeting and the NH FMCA members by the FMCA but I was not able to obtain permission to represent the NH Good Sams members from our State president who was in Florida for the winter. I did inform both committees that there were 1,604 FMCA members and 5,858 Good Sams members in NH. This was interpreted, by some, that I represented all NH Good Sams; not just our Chapter and FMCA. My testimony encouraged the concept of change in the House Bill and supported the Senate Bill. The NH Campground Owners’ Association opposed both bills.
HB476 was heard on Wednesday February 14 in Concord and that bill is still in committee, to my knowledge. The committee was scheduled to meet again on March 7th but I could not attend and I am not sure if they did meet due to the snow storm.
SB33 was heard on February 15. My sources tell me that the Senate version of the Bill was passed by the Senate as presented.
Depending on the results of the House Committee, the Senate and House versions will need to be combined into a compromise bill.
NH Wheelers have winter meetings on the 2nd Sunday of each month at local watering holes. During the camping season, meetings are usually on Saturday during the monthly campout.
They have seven "campouts" scheduled, May thru October.
A good portion of the newsletter is devoted to Jim's participation in the Concord hearings representing his chapter and FMCA. His report follows in its entirety.
NH Camping Bill
|
|
| To the Granite Staters Home page |