First Quarter 2007

From The President's Corner,

Year 2006 Activities Review:

What a very successful year the SOITC has had since our official start up Memorial Day weekend at the Elkhart Fairgrounds in Goshen Indiana. Because of efforts by the board and club members our SOITC organization is steadily growing and becoming successful.

Listed below are significant business actions and tasks that have been accomplished for our entire membership since our inception as a recreational vehicle club. Those events are:

• Approved charter and by-laws with a volunteer elected Board emplaced
• Retention and expansion of Dealers and after market RV suppliers for future club events
• Establishment of a club website and a members and non-members internet forum
• Development of a universal club informational brochure / flyer
• Approval as registered non-profit activity within the Indiana Secretary of State's office
• Approval as a U.S. Federal Internal Revenue Service officially recognized 501 c (7) non-profit activity
• Purchased SOITC Liability Insurance coverage for the Board of Directors as well as club members for national, regional and chapter regularly schedule rally activities. We also now have bond coverage of the Board Treasurers position.
• Developed and implemented a low cost, e-mail mass mailing notification, process for dissemination of timely information and data to our membership
• Developed and implemented a Quarterly Club newsletter with an Editor that assists in gathering subject matter for future publication within the Club’s Secretary matrix of activities.
• Board can provide limited supplemental funding to either regional or state chapter formation activities thus enhancing the goals and charter of the Club recreational activities.
• Board contracted for and made deposits for future National rallies, 2007 Branson MO., 2008 Amana Colonies IA, 2009 Elkhart Fairgrounds, Goshen IN.

Year 2007 Goals & Objectives

• Continue planning and organizing recreational and informative rally activities that educates our members as well as providing a relaxing and social atmosphere.
• Continue to develop dealer support which will pay the purchasing suites owners SOITC membership fee. These types of dealers are important. They provide support as our “Foundation Sponsors”. These sponsors add new members.
• Through both members and non-member's support, work toward our Suites forum internet site becoming the principle communication tool for constructive and informative exchange of information thus improving our knowledge of RV locations, service issues and just good general exchange of common subjects and issues.
• Continue to solicit all members to expand the information available about the SOITC in their travels and trips in the US and Canada.

SOITC 2007 Branson Rally Update by Wayne Rothwell

Can you believe that in just less than three months we shall be gathering for our 2^nd annual rally activities? Since we've last talked a lot has been ongoing and the end results will be a great benefit to our Club members and future possible members.

Sponsors Donations;

• Wheels RV dealership is contributing 2 door prizes of $250 for some lucky winner. They have also already contributed $250 towards our Club operating expenses.
• Liberty RV has contributed $300 towards our operating expenses and
• Robert Crist RV & Company has contributed $500 that is assisting in purchasing rally gifts for attendees 'Welcome Packets.
• Fantasy – Creative RV Tours has donated a gift certificate that is worth up to $1,000 and can be used for one of 32 RV caravan recreational events.
• The EDA supplier who sells the Quad step is donating a quad step again this year as an activity prize.
• Still coordinating with several other Suites dealer who have shown interest in supporting other possible rally activities.

Ongoing Planning and Actions;

• All necessary deposits for hosting this year rally have been formalized and we are now confirming our food caterers selections through ABC group reservations management.
• In the near future , after Board review and approval, we shall be posting a detailed rally schedule of the Club meeting agenda and seminars that will be presented at the rally
• Working with ABC group reservations for discounts to attend additional Branson Shows. Listed below are the top six activities, in addition to the shows that are part of the rally schedule, which can be seen by suites attendee’s if the minimum number of individuals is prepaid. These shows are available during the free time we have set aside in the master Rally schedule of events.

· Hamner Barber Variety Show - $13.20 each must have 15 people for this rate.  8:00 p.m. Friday.

· Yakov Smirnoff - $26.95 each must have 20 people for this rate  Sat. 9:30 a.m.

· The Lowe Family - $20.90 each must have 15 people for this rate.  10:00 a.m -  Sat.

· The Branson Brothers Show - $16.50 each must have 20 people for this rate.   Friday. – 8:00 p.m. & Sat. 2:00 & 8:00 p.m.

· The Shoji Tabuchi Show - $42.90 each must have 15 people for this rate.   Friday 7:30 p.m. - Sat. 3:00 p.m. 

· Presleys' Country Jubilee - $24.56 each must have 15 people for this rate. Friday - 8:00 p.m.

Wayne Rothwell will be more than happy to make your reservations for you, however we will need to gather the information on how many for each show and collect the money.  If you want me to make the reservations, ABC will need the information NO later than April 15th. Please contact Wayne at e-mail: gthrower@frontiernet.net if you are interested in attending any of the shows. (Note – once we have enough participants signed up, the full payment is required. Please no credit cards and once enough participants are determined the full payment will be required by check payable to SOITC, by April 7^th) If any questions call Wayne Rothwell 928-587-8634.

MASA's RV emergency medical services provider, has agreed to host a pizza and refreshment lunch on Friday May 18^th for all attendees. This is a change to our master schedule which previously reflected we would be having lunch on our own. We shall be updating the master schedule posted on our club website to reflect this change.

Door Prizes-

We need our members help again this year with door prizes that shall be raffled off through ticket sales just as we did at our Elkhart rally in 2006. Please assist us with contacting dealers in your areas for possible support and bring their donated item to the rally. The raffle ticket sales will be used to supplement our future rally cost for 2008 activities.

Rally RV Spaces-

We still have room for 35 (+) more RV sites for Select, Mobile or Elite suite owners and their coaches. If you are planning to attend, you will have a great experience in meeting new acquaintances’, be professionally entertained by good quality Branson shows and enjoy relaxing and entertaining food, fun and RV hospitality provided by the number one Good Sam rated campground staff for 2006, as well as previous years awards.

HOW SUITE IT IS! RGV Luncheon

2007 is the second year in a row that Suites owners spending some, or all, of the winter season in the Texas Rio Grande Valley (RGV) have met together, and enjoyed a time of lunch and general get-acquainted discussions. Last year, there were a total of 20 Suites owners in attendance, representing 10 Suites. This year we had a total of 86 Suites owners attending (SOITC members and non-members), which represented 43 Suites. WOW, that is a drastic increase in Suites owners at the RGV winter meeting, just getting together to visit and have a good time! Even with these numbers, there likely were numerous other Suites owners in the valley area, that would have come, but just didn't get the word.

Obviously, with the number of owners showing an interest in meeting together, the logistics of communicating meeting schedules and finding places large enough to accommodate everyone that wants to attend gets more difficult. More is better, and these challenges can be dealt with, by those who are certain to be assuming such responsibilities for the next RGV Suites meeting in 2008.

Thanks to Robert, Ponch, Don and Jay

Greetings from the Central Region

Right now temps are below freezing in many parts of our region, so what could be better than planning your summer travels. The Central region has several outings planned for 2007.

The National Board has created a SOITC promotional brochure which is a great piece to give to other suite owners who would like know more about our club and the SOITC forum. If you would like to receive copies of the brochure please email central@suitesowners.com

CENTRAL REGION 2007 OUTTINGS:

June 8 -9, 2007 Shipshewana Indiana

Couldn't make the Branson Rally?  Get that Suite out of winter storage and join us for the weekend in Shipshewana, Indiana. The Shipshewana area is always great fun with the flea market is every Tuesday and Wednesday, so plan to come early. 

Our outing is planned for Friday and Saturday night.  We plan a gathering around the campfire on Friday night, bring your chair, your favorite beverage and maybe a snack to share.  There will be plenty of conversation as we get acquainted this evening!

OITC

The area around Shipshewana offers plenty of activities, but please be back by 5:30pm because arrangements are being made for a Thrasher Dinner, a home cooked Amish meal in a local Amish home.  Cost for the Thrasher Dinner is $15.00 including tip which includes two meats and all the trimmings.  Oh, did we mention there will be plenty of homemade pies!

Send an email to Bonnie Barrett (dannie_bonnie_barrett@hotmail.com) to let us know that you will be able to attend, then call the campground for reservations. The Barrett's cell number is 574-527-6092 

For more campground information. 
Shipshewana Campground South Park
1105 S. Van Buren St. (SR 5)
Shipshewana, IN 46565
Phone: (260)768-4669
E-Mail: spark@amish.org Shipshewana South Website

Full hook up camping cost is $36/night plus tax.  Please make your reservation directly with the campground

August 7 - 10, 2007 Lake Delton Wisconsin

We would like to get a group together in Wisconsin next summer for a camp out. 

The dates are August 7th check in thru August 10th.  The cost would be $99.45 less 15% for the three nights.  We will be camping at Country Roads Motor Home RV Park at Lake Delton, WI which is within a mile of Wisconsin Dells.  This is a lovely campground with level pull thru sites, lots of pines and wonderful owners.  If you would like to checkout the site map go to www.4countryroads.com.

We have not formed a local club yet as we have not located any Suite Owners in our area.  If anyone is interested in helping form a local club you can contact LeAnn Good at leanngood1@earthlink.net or 608-359-3219 cell phone. 

Our event is open to all Suite owners!

Sept 21 - 24, 2007 Effingham, Illinois

Probably the last thing on our minds right now is camping. BUT, the Indiana and Illinois clubs are going to have a joint campout next September. We have reserved 20 spots at the Camp Lakewood campground  http://www.camplakewoodcampground.com/ in Effingham Illinois. It is at the intersection of I-57 & I-70 and its only 200 mi from Chicago & 64 mi from Terre Haute & 95 from St Louis & 165 from Paducah.  

The reason I'm sending this out so early is that there is a LOT of stuff going on in Effingham that weekend and we may not get any more sites if we have more than 20 units able to attend. We will have a couple of planned activities for the weekend and here is a list of what's going on in Effingham that weekend.

For more info call Tom Brockman at 217-691-3152

In addition to get all our Suites together, the Effingham region has lots of optional activities:

· Barnstorming Days

· annual Corvette Funfest Days

· Ingram Pioneer Long Cabin Village Craft Show

· Harley-Davidson's annual Chromecoming Open House and Tailgate party

Ice Storm 2007 by Cherri Strohofer

Living in the Midwest, you know that the weather can change in the blink of an eye and you also know that every now and then in the winter 'that' storm will come along. 'That' storm happened this year the week of February 12^th.

The weathermen were predicting significant precipitation, but who can trust what they say? The rain started late on Monday night and by Tuesday afternoon ice was beginning to form on almost everything. The trees were really pretty with the ice hanging in them and sun hitting them just right. Bob even said that it looked like someone had dumped a can of silver paint on everything. None of our pictures really tell the story.

Bob called late Tuesday afternoon and said the lights had finally gone out after flickering off and on almost all morning. He said he was really glad he filled the camper up with propane that weekend and he was starting to fill the trailer with water. He was sure we would be spending the night in our Mobile Suite (I'm glad I married a boy scout!). I hadn't thought of any of that, not even the option of staying nice and warm in the trailer. After I got home from work and fixed a quick supper on the camp stove we started getting the big generator ready for the night. We needed to take if off the truck and put it outside (Bob didn't want to get the truck dirty).

We spent about an hour getting the generator ready. We got it hooked up to the shop crane and set it outside the shop door. I told Bob that the electric was probably going to come on now. We got everything setup outside, Bob raised the door on the generator and grabbed the key to turn it on and just like that the lights were on (not because of the generator). We almost stayed in the trailer that night anyway because we were sure the electric would go back off, but we lucked out. Less than a mile up the road all the lights were still out.

But, our adventure wasn't over. Thursday night at 9:52 p.m. there go the lights again! I was glad I left the lantern by the chair but Bob didn't have a light handy in the shop and by the time I got over there he had finally found the door. It gets really dark out in the county when all the lights go out. We didn't wait to see if the electric would come back on right away. We started getting everything ready and since we had already had a practice run it didn't take anytime at all. Had the generator going and the heat pump running in the trailer within half an hour. I'm sure we were one of the few if not the only place on our road that watched TV the rest of the evening and were able to get hot showers. I really appreciate my Mobile Suite even more now and I'm really glad Bob was a Boy Scout because he was definitely prepared. Hopefully the next time an ice storm hits this area we will have already hit the road for a warmer sunnier climate. Happy winter!

Suite Outings 101

Several people have asked how do they get a group together and I thought I would share some ideas which might help with the planning process.

Our weekends outings are simply to get Suites Owners together, enjoy a dinner together and share a common interest. In the Central region our outings have been about 6-11 suites and those who attend are always willing to help.

The planning is a few easy steps.

1. Select a campground and call them for available dates for a group of 10. We have found that those campgrounds that offer long pull thru's will make parking a breeze. Ask about a clubhouse that can be used for a pot luck dinner. Perhaps the campground has a community fire pit for an evening campfire. Typically the campground will reserve space without a deposit for a period of time which will give you a change to promote your outing.

2. Often there are local community events or festivals which will enhance the activities offered during your weekend say. The most recent outing in Illinois simply had a casual Friday night campfire get together – we found a restaurant down the street that had a $7.95 all you can eat buffet, Saturday night we did a pot luck dinner and Sunday morning the guys cooked the gals' breakfast. The weather on Saturday night turned out cold so we enjoyed games in the clubhouse, and oh! it was Halloween, the costumes worn gave us a lot of giggles!

3. Once you have the weekend details nailed down the next step is getting the word out. We suggest that you send your regional director an email. They will ensure the date is added to our website, the SOITC forum and will also send updates to the membership. Check out the SOITC website calendar for examples of the information that others will find helpful

Finally, let the campground know if you need anything special, also keep in touch with them regarding the reservations which will ensure an easy arrival.

We hope that many of you will consider a get together – we found that when members welcome non-members as guests, the non-members join the ranks of the SOITC. As you pull out on Sunday you realize you have met a great group of people, made some new friends and will be looking forward to the next event.

Miscellaneous Items

Don't forget that the final payment for the Rally is due by April 1. Email secretary@suitesowners.com if you have any questions regarding your payment.

We are looking for input on the newsletter format. If you have suggestions or ideas let me know. You can email me at robertsquality@seidata.com. Thanks Cherri