Page 10 - Summer 2018 GMC Vintage RVing

tThe New FMCAI was unable to attend the FMCA 98th International Convention in Gillette, Wyoming but our GMCMI VP Northwest, Jerry Work, was able to attend. Jerry also serves on the FMCA Governing Board and is the GMC Cascaders FMCA National Director. Here is his report:At times I have been openly critical of what I saw as amateurish leadership unbecoming of an organization with some 75,000 family memberships – likely representing over 150,000 people.We just concluded a National Governing Board meeting at the FMCA International convention in Gillette, Wyoming. It was a first class Board meeting, run like a Swiss watch, and saw nearly 70 percent of the 365 board members in attendance from around the country. I am happy to report that the adults are definitely back in charge and the organization is back on a strong footing.Financially, the drain on reserve funds has stopped and the budget is truly balanced for the first time in a long time. All activities now are fully allocated overhead costs so there is no more subsidizing one activity by another. The year-after-year drop in membership has been reversed and we now have experienced 17 months of net membership gain with the slope of that curve going up. From 2009 to 2015 FMCA only had three months of net membership gain. There has been a 50 percent increase in membership since the low point. The net asset value of the organization is growing as well.Since the FMCA Assist program was offered as a free member benefit in 2014, more than 500 families have suffered a catastrophic event requiring help under that program. So it has had a great positive impact for a lot of families. And, the program partner has now reversed its policy on supplying drivers for coaches over ten years old. They now say they will supply drivers for any age coach so long as it is safe to drive. However, the loss ratio appeared tobe increasing at a far greater rate than one would expect. The program partner, on their own, ordered an internal and external audit of program costs and found a couple of their employees had improperly charged other losses to the FMCA account. Those employees are no longer there and the budgeted rate was decreased dramatically allowing FMCA to put additional money into educational programs and back into reserves.The revised/modernized web site has also been a success. Sixty percent of new members now join through the website and people visiting the site now stay longer and click around far more than they did on the old website.Bottom line, this meeting was respectful, orderly, and finished before lunch. A far cry from previous meetings for which I have been critical in the past! My hat is now off for a well run organization doing great things for its members.Stay for Less at KOAStay for less, thanks to FMCA’s partnership with Kampgrounds ofAmerica (KOA).New members receive the gift of a one-year membership to the KOAValue Kard Rewards program. With Value Kard Rewards, you receive ten percentoff your daily registration rate at any of KOA’s 500+ campgrounds in North America. In addition, you’ll earn points that are redeemable toward dollars off future stays,and you will have access to exclusive KOA member-only offers!Call 800-543-3622 for more details.MCMI.COMfmca reporJohn SmyrskiUpcoming FMCA International Events!FMCA will be returning to Perry, Georgia in 2019 for the second year in a row. It was not an easy decision and not one the FMCA Executive Board was in total agreement regarding. But FMCA found themselves between a rock and a hard place. Do plan on attending one of the International Conventions, they are quite an experience!99th International Convention & RV Expo March 13-16, 2019Perry, GeorgiaRegistration opens September 12, 2018100th International Convention & RV Expo August 14-17, 2019Minot, North DakotaRegistration opens February 13, 2019Attend an Area FMCA RallySouth Central Area RallySeptember 19-22, 2018Heart of Oklahoma Center Shawnee, OKEastern Area RallyOctober 3-7, 2018York Expo Center York, PAFor more information and registration: site.fmca.com/fmca-event-registration10 GMC VINTAGE RVING MAGAZINE | G