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2007 Annual Reports

President’s Report

Let me open by wishing everyone a very
Merry Christmas and a safe & happy 2008!

Our members enjoyed some awesome times this year! Thanks to wagon masters, Williams, Turner/Harris & Keeler, we had exciting, well-attended rallies at Anacortes, Diamond Lake & Ocean Shores – and Bob & Peggy Beers organized an extraordinary tour of Alaska, enjoyed by a half dozen couples. Great pics have been submitted for our website and history album – thanks Peggy! Our members also ‘actively’ attended the Safari International pre-rally at Mt. Hood, the FMCA Convention in Redmond, and the Monaco Family Round Up in Salem. We supported these rallies with volunteers, i.e. bartenders, FMCA stores sales people, and as Monaco sheriffs. These members have my heartfelt thanks!

The 2007 election went off without a hitch as well as the bylaw amendment vote to retain members who are no longer Trekkers. Thanks Greg – for an exceptional website voting booth and your support in club matters. So many of our new members joined because of this site! Have you checked out its web hit counter? 9,500+ hits in 2007 – more than ’05 & 06 combined!

It’s official – our voters have overwhelmingly agreed to the bylaw change allowing former Trek owners to remain as active members. Our Affiliate members will have all benefits except voting in balloted elections or amendments of our laws, or holding elected office.

I’m glad we’ve accomplished the bylaw change to retain those who must switch from Trek ownership. We’re happy to welcome our new members – and will miss those friends who have left. Our membership remains at approx. 65 coaches. If you haven’t yet paid your 2008 dues, contact Lou Eddy ASAP with your check and Barb Brown with any changes in your membership status or contact info.

Your club is viewed highly within the NW by FMCA, Monaco and other Trek Clubs nationwide, thanks to our members who continue to plan rallies and participate in its activities — keeping it all FUN! Stay active in the club and support 2008-09 Prez Stan and board members, Lee, Lou, Cherry, Judy (Keeler) & Peggy. We all love to see your “Good Times” on our website and our club album! Send reports/photos to our Webmaster, & Sandy Gilson, club historian.

Great rally ideas for 2008 take months to plan and get announced, so make your move now! It’s never too early to get it on the calendar. Your rally may be the most memorable of 2008! Enlist the help of another couple if it’s an adventurous one. Our Rally Master, Lee Keeler, is a great source of help and will schedule your rally to eliminate conflicts with other popular events to encourage good attendance.

I’m gratified so many of you have offered to help with our FMCA Prize Booth effort in Albany this June. As Chairman, I’ll keep in touch with all who expressed interest or who would like to volunteer their names before the next planning meeting in April. Please contact me if your plans change.

Well, my 2nd and final year as Club Prez is drawing to a close, and I really thank board members, committee chairs and all club members for your support during my term. I feel we accomplished amazing things together that’ll benefit the club for many years to come. My special kudos go to Judy Schindler for her 4 years service as FMCA National Director, the only continuously serving board member since club inception and charter. I hope you continue to actively participate in all we do!

Thanks – It’s been FUN serving as your president.

Respectfully submitted,

Ed Block

President -NWTFC


Vice President/Rally Master 2007 Report

It is my pleasure to submit this annual report of the North West Trek Fun Club Rally Master.

During 2007 we had five (5) great Rallies:

Our first rally was hosted by Roland and Suzan Williams in conjunction with the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival at Anacortes, WA, April 14 – April 17. The Williams hosted the early arrivers on Friday, April 13 to a wine and cheese tasting at their home. We had typical Northwest weather some very nice and some stormy. Activities included tours of the largest tulip fields in the U.S., tours of the Sea Bear Sea Food Packing Plant and San Juan Yachts Boat Building and a sunset dinner at the Oyster Bar Restaurant.

The second rally was a Trek Alaska Rally hosted by Bob and Peggy Beers. This was a rolling rally of many thousand miles and was started on June 8 and ended on August 6. This group consisted of seven Treks. They saw many wonders of the far Northwest and enjoyed great food and reported having minimal mechanical problems. One needs to read the more detailed report from the Beers to really get the feel of this great trip.

The third rally was a pre rally with Safari International to the FMCA National Rally. This pre-rally was held at Mt Hood Village RVC Resort, Welches, OR, August 7,8,9 & 10th. NWTFC was well represented with 10 Treks present.

Our fourth rally was a pre rally to the Monaco Home Coming event and it was hosted by John & Marie Turner and Dick & Nancy Harris September 13 – September 16 at Diamond Lake, Oregon, a beautiful part of the Umpqua/Rogue River area. The Wagon Masters acted as guides and showed many of the local sites to the group. It was fun times and a great rally of relaxation and back to nature.

Our fifth and final rally was hosted by the Keelers at Ocean Shores, WA, on October 5 – October 7th. There were 11 Treks present and the weather was typical fall coastal weather with a lot of the liquid coming down. The early arrivals enjoyed two days of sunshine and the late to leave also got some more sunshine. This is a Western Horizon RV Resort and their chef provided a great Roast Beef dinner on Saturday night and we were entertained by two sisters, Kit – Kat, who played the guitar and sang a few oldies, a little bit country and a little bit rock’n roll. Several of the group enjoyed dinning at the local casino that has great food and ocean view.

As Rally Master I would like to thank all those that hosted the rallies during 2007 and also all of those that participated. We all have to give a little to make any organization successful and the NWTFC has a lot of givers and we appreciate your loyalty and team spirit. Let’s make 2008 a year to remember with more great rallies.

Respectfully Submitted

Lee Keeler

Vice President / Rally Master NWTFC


Secretary’’s 2007 Report

In finishing up the second year of my two-year term as Secretary, I look back on 2007 as being the “frosting on the cake.” My first year’s term was spent learning the job. I feel that my second term allowed me to consolidate my learning and become a significant contributor to our Board and club membership as a whole.

I see the Secretary’s job as that of facilitating club communication and supporting club officers, the Rally and Wagon Masters and the Webmaster. My most significant achievement in 2007 was completing job descriptions for club officers and Wagon Masters and updating the NWTFC Rally Guide.

Club membership has grown to 64 members. This is an increase of 16 members over our beginning membership of 48 on January 1, 2007. One of our new members is a result of FMCA’s sending letters to Trek owners in our area who do not have a fun club membership. A copy of that letter is sent to me so that I may contact the potential member, offering membership in our club.

Recently I reviewed our website for members who have not submitted their pictures. I sent individual emails to each member, urging them to share their photos with us. I believe this effort achieved only one new photo, so far.

I am happy to retain active participation in our club by serving in the newly-created , appointed position of Membership Director for 2008. This position was carved out of the Secretary’s job duties and involves close coordination with our club secretary, webmaster and treasurer relating to new member applications. I look back fondly on 2007 and am looking forward to 2008. I want to specifically express my thanks to Jeanette Block who has nurtured me through this year and has written so many of the rally reports for me. THANKS, Jeanette!

Respectfully Submitted

Barbara Brown

Secretary NWTFC


 

Treasurer Report NWTFC 2007

The NORTHWEST TREK FUN CLUB is in a positive financial position. We started the year with a balance of  $992.07. Through 30 November 2007 we had an added income of $1146.00 with the majority of these funds coming from dues. We also had extra income from a MONACO donation for one of our rallies to the sum of $200.00. During the early part of the year the club undertook a project to provide ID badges to members at a reduced cost by using the Monaco donation for that reduction.  The end result was that we were able to sell the badges for $5 each and the total cost to the club was $150.69.  We finished the year with a balance increase of $314.16.

In summary, we are healthy financially. Primarily , this is because we have kept expenses to a minimum.  Many Officers spent their own funds to carry out the routine duties of their office and should be complimented for this contribution to the Club.  2008 promises to be another great financial year.

Respectfully submitted,

Lou Eddie


NWTFC Web Site Report 2007

The year 2007 was another good year for WWW.NWTFC.COM . The site was moved to a new Internet service provided which allowed us to take advantage of new and better Technologies to provide photo albums and members only management.

We experienced no down time and of this writing have had 9876 visits, more than the prior two years combined. The increased attention to the site can be attributed to greater member participation, a better search engine visibility, and good exposure on the TREK TRACKS message board.

Cost of the site for 2007 was $70.86. Of the 15 new members applications submitted this year, 11 were submitted through the site. So we can again say it paid for itself. Even though the 2008 cost will increase by $10 for 2008 the NWTFC board has authorized the addition expense to maintain the WEB Site.

Several things were added to the site. The most notable are the Good Times rally write ups provided by our Wagon Masters and development of a Road assistance Web Page. Road assistance has links to current gas prices, Camp Ground searches, Trip Planning from FMCA and Good Sam, a dump station locator, and a WIFI hot spot locator.
In 2007 the NWTFC successfully used the newly implemented Voting Booth to hold 2008-2009 Officer elections and to allow the entire membership to vote on Bylaws amendments. There was good participation for both web based Ballot processes.

Things planned for 2008.

1. NWTFC Forum. We have installed and are currently testing a Forum/Message Board for Member use. The forum will provide Open discussion boards of member desired topics like Rallies, Tech, and Good Times. I will also have private areas for the NWTFC Executive Board and FMCA Business. Private boards are limited access area primarily provide for development board level club business prior to release to the general membership.

Features of the Forum will include:

Ability to email registered members
Ability to connect to online forum members via Instant Message
Ability to connect via voice using SKYPE (a free VOIP system)
Post and read messages in topics
Ability to create new topics within a forum
And much more

2.Member Chat Room. A simple chat room is also being tested in conjunction with the Forum. The intent of the chat room is to allow an on line meeting place for all active and online forum users.

3.The Rally Attendance System. A suggestion was made that members who intend to participate in non-NWTFC rallies may want to indicate they plan to attend. This would allow the club to organize events, parking, caravans, etc. This would not be registration for a rally just a way to indicate intention to attend and to see who else in the club is planning to attend. The Attendance system was broken during the year and will be repaired.

Our World Wide Web presence continues to be a success and we will, with your help, continue to have one of the best TREK related Website out there.

If any member has suggestions to enhance the site please feel free to contact me at Webmaster@ NWTFC.COM .

Respectfully submitted,

Greg Hollister

Webmaster – NWTFC


FMCA National Director 2007 Report

The NWTrek Fun Club just keeps getting better and better!  After just 3 years we have nearly 60 members.  And what fine members they are!  Trek owners are friendly, helpful and fun-loving.  Our Club certainly reflects these traits!

When the NW Trek Fun Club was established, we voted to become an FMCA Chapter.  FMCA has requirements that we must meet in order to be a Chapter, but the benefits we receive outweigh the hassle.  Besides a good magazine, prize gifts to the Club, advertisement of our events, notification of regulatory events that may impact us as RVers, liability insurance, and MEDEX, FMCA provides several other services that you can find in their magazine.

Our very own Bob Beers was elected as a Vice President for North West Area of FMCA!  He also was elected to be the National Director of Safari International.  Happily for us, Peggy Beers will be our Alternate National Director to finish out Bob’s term.

This year our Club supplied volunteers for the FMCA Store at the Redmond Rally.  Next year we will again manage the FMCA Prize Booth at the NW FMCA Rally in June.  We always have a good time at our volunteer stints as we always pick something fun to do.

Thank you for letting me proudly serve as your National Director for the past 3 years.  Next year Judy Keeler will take over.  How fortunate we are to have her perform this job for us!  Judy will do an outstanding job.  She will have excellent new ideas and new approaches.  Yes, the NWTrek Fun Club just keeps getting better and better!

Respectfully Submitted

Judy Schindler

FMCA National Director


FMCA Alternate National Director 2007 Report

The NWTFC just keeps improving with age and the wonderful people who choose to become involved in guiding it along.

The two month Alaska Rally was a real biggie for Peggy and me. It is just amazing how people can come together from all over the country, with the only common thread of being a Trek owner, and have such a marvelous time.

Members of NWTFC nominated me to run as VP for FMCA NW and National Director for Safari International. When I was accepted for both, I asked which you wanted me to run for. The answer was both, as both need significant changes. When the votes were tallied I had won both offices.

Since taking office in July for FMCA NW, I have been very active in making our voice heard at the FMCA Executive board. I have also formed a small group of very experienced FMCA people who are in the process of formulating suggestions to make FMCA a better place for all members. If you have ideas to share with us, please do so. Peggy and I were also selected to sell advertising in the brochure for the June Albany Rally. If you have any contacts who might want to advertise, please send us an email.

I will take office with Safari International on January 1, 2008. There are some monumental challenges required within SI and I just hope the Lord gives me guidance to work with the other officers to bring resolutions to the table.

Peggy and I will be visiting Safari and FMCA rallies all over the country in 2008. We start at the Safari Pre-Rally in Victorville, CA and end the year in Tampa, Florida. By then, we will have attended 8-10 rallies. We will leave the Trek at NWTFC members Al & Cathy Cooper’s place and fly home for the 08/09 Holidays. Fly back to Tampa and then head west for the FMCA convention in CA again.

All together, you have made NWTFC the success that it is. We hope to share your friendships for many years to come.

Respectfully Submitted

Bob Beers Alt. National Director

 


 

YEAR-END 2007 REPORT “CLUB Historian”

CLUB HISTORIAN / MEMORY ALBUM

The Club History Albums are now contained in 4″ ring binders each bearing our Club Logo – allowing for easy addition of pages (cover stock & decorative paper in page protectors) as additional memorabilia or photos are often submitted piecemeal to the Club Historian. I have saved articles, rally announcements, etc. and created collages of digital images covering all 2007 activities in which our members took part.

I thank Donna Weibel for her service as Club Historian through 2006 and Sandi Gilson for taking on this position for 2008. With the new year, Sandi will be sent a new album to record club activities with rally announcements, news articles, photos and pamphlets. All photos /CDs and articles are shared with our Webmaster for even more photo coverage in our Website’s “Good Times”. Until the June 4-7 Albany FMCA rally, the completed albums will remain with me as I will be creating a ‘Chapter Fair’ display to promote our club, and the albums will be a key part of it. The theme this year is “Christmas in June” and I’d appreciate a volunteer or two to ‘man’ the Chapter’s table for the 1-2 hour one-day event.

Respectfully Submitted

Jeanette Block

 


YEAR-END 2007 REPORT ON “CLUB GOODIES”

LOGO PINS: Start of 2007: (76) 1-1/4″ diameter Cloisonne pins of the original 200. The $45 mold remains in the Pin Depot archives for future orders on-line. April, 2007: Our supply was too minimal to complete the new plastic ID badges. Club purchased 100 more in polished gold. June – fifty-eight logo pins were glued to complete ID badges purchased in bulk order. 44 gold and 62 nickle pins remain. For plastic badges logo pin requirements, post backings have been removed from 12 additional gold pins. Members can glue these on with easy directions provided.

PLASTIC NAME BADGES: Direct badge ordering form for Badges R Us in Members Only under Club Goodies. To date, 58 have been ordered — 54 of these subsidized by the generous Monaco donation in early spring. Thanks to Ed for gluing a postless logo pin to each of these before I mailed them to member couples — but in the future, the member will also purchase the pin and attach it to their badge per gluing directions provided.

WINDOW ID’S & NAME BADGES: I’ve printed 8-1/2 x 11” Trek Logo Window ID’s for our new members, Rose, Rose, Moran, Towry, Kummerfeldt/Gabel and Pierce — and will also send these members (12) simple, 3″ x 2″ personal IDs on yellow cover stock. The club is fortunate for the donation of lamination by Penny. The club has supplied the manila envelopes for this mailing – and will cover postage. Members will supply their own badge holders or may choose to buy a Badges R Us plastic ID and logo pin. GUEST BADGES: A supply of pin-on 3″ x 2″ badge holders have been purchased and inserts printed with NW Trek Fun Club and ‘Guest’ name line on each. . . to identify visitors at club activities. Will be sent to our Club Rallymaster to supply wagon masters.

EMBROIDERED LOGO ITEMS: Direct-order embroidery and an extensive range of quality products is available from Charles ‘n Pete Designs of Vashon Island, WA. (Contact information in Club Goodies on our website). My pre-paying for popular items to offer at rallies will be discontinued . . . with the hope members will take the initiative to place an order themselves. Cara does an excellent job and is happy to embroider our logo or a graphic design of your choice on your own clothing – as well as monograms – for amazingly low prices.

CALLING CARDS: Thanks to our Webmaster, you’ll find templates for NWTFC calling/greeting cards for front & back information. The front can be customized and the back club info has been updated. They print up nicely using pre-scored business card forms.

Respectfully Submitted

Jeanette Block

Committee Chair