GMC MOTORHOMES INTERNATIONAL

2009 SPRING CONVENTION

Dothan, Alabama

March 22 - 27, 2009

The 54th GMC Motorhomes International Convention

Dothan, Alabama

 

2009 SPRING CONVENTION REPORT
Peanut Festival Grounds
Dothan, Alabama
March 22 - March 27, 2009

We had another excellent convention at Dothan. The facilities were perfect with more than enough room, and the weather was great until Thursday, when, shall we say, things went downhill in a hurry. 128 coaches were present, 26 of whom were vendors, and we had 5 off site registrations. Attendance was very close to the budget, and we will break even, or be slightly in the black, which is our goal. We do not plan for a profit at conventions, but aim to break even over a number of conventions. Our thanks to the vendors for such a great representation, and all the work they did to make the convention a success! The Sunshine Statesmen put up a tent as a meeting place for off hour's gatherings, which proved to be a popular place about 5:00 in the afternoon. Jim Bounds and Jim Kanomata installed one side of a four bag system on Forest and Pat Crow's coach, and Forest finished the job on the other side later. A number of new windshields were installed, and lots of new window seals were installed at the expense of Jim Bound's calloused fingers. Bob Drewes also has a new Manny transmission which was transported to the convention by Jim Bounds and installed by Drewes, Inc. Our thanks also go to the Dixielanders and Sunshine Statesmen for all the help in parking under Jeanne Slaten's and Jim Buchanan's excellent direction, serving meals, and keeping the place tidy. The Dixielanders served one meal in a record 18 minutes, and the food for all three meals was outstanding, with the ribs probably the favorite. Most people appreciated the very full schedule, but some thought it did not allow enough time for personal endeavors. For those in the latter group, we encourage them to feel free to take liberties with the schedule at all GMCMI conventions.

Winners of the Thorley headers donated by Jim Kanomata for the membership drive were Ray and Connie Curtis (new members), and Dick and Jan Paterson (recruiters). Jim, we again thank you for your support for this effort. We recruited 74 new members and 25 existing members recruited new members. The raffle was again very popular with $2345 in proceeds. Winners of the raffle were:

Quadra-Bag Rear Suspension donated by Jim Kanomata & Jim Bounds won by Alan Henderson

GMCMI Full Convention for Two to be used within 3 conventions won by Bill & Nita White (the previous winners Michael and Lorraine Beaton were present)

Stainless Steel Air Bag Nuts donated by John Wright won by Dale Frahm
DVD (GMC Motorhomes - Start to Finish) donated by Bill Bryant won by Gerald Bowden

Clothes Hangers donated by Dale Frahm won by Mary Robertson

GMC Schematic Enlargement donated by Alan Henderson won by Michael Beaton

Lighted Entry Handle donated by the Ken Robinson & Paul Smith group won by Jane Ropp

Radiator Guard donated by Blaine Merrell won by Edith Walters

Cabinet Pad Safe donated by Frank Jenkins won by Joyce Murdock

Set of 4 GMC Glasses donated by Gene Dotson and Jim Buchanan won by Blaine Merrell

4 Tire Pressure Sensors donated by Tom Hampton won by Bill White

5 quarts of Amsoil oil and filter donated by John Richardson won by Ed Whitson

GMC Towels donated by BJ and Glenn Herzberger won by Lorraine Beaton

Grease Fitting Kit donated by Gary Kosier won by Luther McConnell

Copper Exhaust Manifold Gaskets donated by Dave Lenzi won by Jean Price

Halon Fire Extinguishers donated by Ralph Kennerkrecht won by Bill Kittredge

Windshield Wiper Hardware Kit donated by Ken Henderson won by Larry Stroud


Lessons (re)learned from this convention are: 1) Golf cart rentals are very important to many of our members. We rented 16 carts and could have rented more if they had been available. 2) Full hookups are also very important to many. Some would not have come if full hookups had not been available. 3) Meals are best served by members. The lines moved very rapidly, servings were uniform, with food left over for seconds.

Pueblo is coming up next on Sept. 27. Pueblo is in the heart of some of the most beautiful scenery in the country. The grounds are very nice, and the facilities are excellent. Western States will have one of their annual meetings in conjunction with the Pueblo convention and we look forward to a resounding success as in Santa Rosa. The Mountaineers are already busy gathering up information on things to do and sights to see in and around the beautiful state of Colorado.

The Spring of 2010 rally will be at the KOA at Montgomery, TX starting Friday, March 19 and will run through Wednesday, March 23, with departure Thursday. Note the shift in starting day from the traditional Sunday to Friday. This is due to a number of requests to have seminars on weekends so those who have only a few days due to work schedules can attend some seminars.

Ray and Carol Swartzendruber

VP Administration
GMC Motorhomes International
574-457-6448

 

Revised Program

View Dan Gregg's Photos of the Rally

Videos of Vendors Row
Vol. 1
   Vol. 2
by Ray Swartzendruber

Dothan Television News Coverage

Read the Dothan Eagle Newspaper for their front page coverage of our convention

Alan Henderson won the raffle for a Quadra-Bag Rear Suspension donated by Jim Kanomata of Applied GMC and Jim Bounds of the GMC Co-op

Bill and Nita White won the raffle
for a free GMCMI convention.

Ken Henderson had a post rally get together at his place near Americus, GA with about 13 coaches attending. See Dan's photos on his BLOG.

 



Shortly before Bob & Marlys Drewes arrived at the convention, like two miles, the transmission showed signs of not working normally. A call to Jim Bounds ensued and arrangements were made for him to bring a rebuilt Manny transmission, also a floor jack, trans jack, and an engine frame when he came to Dothan.

The fairgrounds OK'ed us to do the work of replacing the trans right at the fairgrounds. The fairgrounds people were very helpful in any way they could, as they furnished blocking material and other equipment for us to do the job.

Bob, with the help of three well experienced pro's, Bob Miller, Larry Weidner, and Larry McLaughlin, replaced the transmission on the site. What a seminar that was! It was really a fun time to be working with such a good crew. In just over three hours, the old trans was removed and the rebuilt one was bolted in place. The weather was really great for the day this was done, and the coach was parked on a hard-top road to do the work.

Bob & Marlys want to give a BIG 'THANK YOU' to all who helped during this time, it is a great example of how GMC'ers will go to extremes to help each other.

I have put some pic's on the www.gmcmidwestclassics.org website of the transmission swap. It is on the "Photo" page or you can view them at this link:
http://tinyurl.com/dl2v6g

We wish everyone a Blessed Easter

Take care from Bob & Marlys Drewes in Flandreau SD

 

 

MEMBERSHIP DRIVE Completed

By becoming a new member of GMCMI between November 3, 2008 and March 27, 2009 you will be automatically entered into a drawing to win a set of Thorley headers, donated by Jim Kanomata at Applied GMC, for your GMC. 

If recruited by a current GMCMI member, that member will be entered into a separate drawing for another set of Thorley headers, also donated by Jim Kanomata at Applied GMC.  The member / recruiter will get another chance with every new member recruited.

The drawing will be held at the spring convention in Dothan, Alabama.  Member, new or otherwise, need not be present at the convention to win. A cash equivalent VISA card will be offered at winner's discretion.

Sign up ONLINE, or download and PRINT an APPLICATION for mailing.

RESULTS

We gained 74 new members during the drive.
There were 25 recruiters.

AND THE WINNERS ARE

New Member:      Ray and Connie Curtis

Recruiter:             Dick and Jan Paterson

 

Original Invitation

The Spring 2009 convention will take us to Dothan, Alabama which is in the southeastern corner of Alabama. The site is relatively new and is the home of the annual National Peanut Festival. About half the campsites will have full hookups available, and the rest will have water and electricity. We will have breakfast, church service, limited activities, and dinner on Sunday, and begin a full complement of seminars and other activities on Monday. Dothan is a clean, rapidly growing city with a number of area attractions. Some of the more notable are the Army Aviation Museum, the Botanical Gardens, and the Agricultural Museum and Planetarium.

For those of you who want to see what it looks like on Google Earth or just want to locate it on your GPS, the coordinates are 31° 08´ 35.26" N 85° 24´ 14.36" W