GMCWS General Membership Meeting
Preferred RV Resort, Pahrump, Nevada
April 30, 2017
President Nick Roenick called the meeting to order at 9:30 a.m.
Invocation was led by George Beckman, and the Pledge of Allegiance was led by Ralph Mundia.
President Roenick thanked the hosts of this rally, Donna Ventura and George and Jodell Banovich, for all their hard work.
President Roenick introduced officers present:
- Carol Minnie, First VP. Carol thanked everyone for helping with the ladies’ programs and went over the day’s schedule.
- George Beckman, Second/Technical VP. George thanked this rally’s presenters: Frank Condos, Jim Kanomata, Armand Minnie, Dave de Graffenreid. The presentations were well done and very informative, including those dealing with the interior of our coaches. He already has at least two presenters already lined up for the Fall Rally in Paso Robles, and encouraged members to consider being presenters, even though they may think that their topics(s) may not be interesting.
- Dave de Graffenreid, Treasurer.
- Donna Ventura, Secretary and Newsletter Editor.
- Armand Minnie, Webmaster.
Absent: Sharon Work, FMCA Representative.
President Roenick once again expressed the need for an FMCA Alternate National Director; details about this position can be supplied by Sharon Work – please see Donna Ventura if you are interested.
Past President present – Armand Minnie - was acknowledged, as were birthdays for Bobbie Schultz and Ron Johnson (he’s 94!).
Guests
Several guests were recognized: Daniel and Marjon Jacobs, from Landgraaf, the Netherlands; Daniel McCarthy, Sparks, NV; Loran and Colleen Watson, Orem, Utah; Barbara Peckle, daughter of Jim and Adelle Decheine; Steve and Nancy Ferguson, Sierra Vista, AZ; and John and Cathy Ruff, Arizona City, AZ.
President Roenick presented the Jacobs with a red GMC light for coming the longest distance. The Jacobs in turn presented the club with a story board/collection of GMC motorhome cartoons and witticisms – very clever and funny.
Fall 2016 Minutes
The motion was made to dispense with the reading of the minutes of the Fall 2016 Membership Meeting, as shown on the GMCWS website. The motion was seconded and accepted by the members present.
Treasurer’s Report
Dave de Graffenreid: Our Treasury was on a downward slide, but is now recovering, due in part to the following changes from 2015 to 2016: The largest expense – rosters and newsletters – cost $1200 less, and we collected almost $1000 more in dues. For more details, see Dave. Several members asked why do we carry that much in the treasury? Joe Nehl summarized the feelings of several members that we should spend the funds on our members and club activities; further discussions will be held by the Executive Board. Hoss made a motion to accept the report as presented; motion was seconded by Jim Kanomata; motion passed.
Budget Issues
President Roenick stated the need to dispose of our outdated and non-functional audiovisual equipment. The President will work with Doug Norton to ensure that said equipment is donated or otherwise disposed of.
New Name Badges
President Roenick proposed that we explore new name badges for the club, with interested members footing the cost. The original badges are either old or lost. A good portion of our members don’t have GMCWS name badges except for rally specific badges. Terry Taylor can engrave them, dependent on the style we select. The Secretary would like to see a more interesting design than the one that other GMC clubs have. ACTION: President Roenick will talk more with Terry Taylor.
Election of Officers for 2018
All current officers have agreed to serve for another year. No additional nominations were made from the floor. Therefore, a nominating committee for the Fall election of officers is not necessary.
Recruiting New Members
President Roenick stated there are at least 8 GMC Motorhome Facebook sites, containing lots of technical information. Viewing these pages isn’t the same as attending a rally, where there’s even more technical information and lots of social interaction. Encourage non-member GMC motorhome owners to attend a rally so they can see how valuable the rallies are both technically and socially.
Newsletters
Sandy Clark has volunteered to be our next Newsletter Editor – thank you, Sandy! Please send rally photos to Sandy Clark for next newsletter. Some rally photos appear on our Facebook page but aren’t sent to the Newsletter Editor. We want to show our members what a good time we have and entice them to come to the next rally.
The possibility was raised of charging members who choose to receive paper copies of the newsletter via U.S. mail. Members who don’t come to rallies get their information from the newsletters. If we charge them for the printed newsletters, will it discourage individuals from joining? Discussion: If we have sufficient funds in the Treasury to cover this expense, why make this change? Some members felt that member dues include newsletter and rosters.
It was also pointed out that some members complain if there is any increase in dues; however, they don’t come to the rallies to hear the pertinent discussion. Therefore, to ensure that your voice is heard, come to the rallies.
Hoss Hauge moved that GMCWS charge an extra $10 per year for members who choose to receive printed copies of our newsletters; Jim Kanomata and Ralph Mundia seconded the motion, and it was passed by members present. The $10 will be paid at the time of annual dues renewal. ACTION: Secretary will revise the dues renewal form, and work with Armand Minnie to revise pertinent web page(s).
Future Rallies - Dates
Fall Rally - October 5-9, 2017, Wine Country RV Park, Paso Robles – a great venue. Hosts will be Ben and Mary Price, with assistance from Dave de Graffenreid. Space is limited to 50 coaches, so be sure to sign up early.
Spring 2018 - April 6-12, 2018, at Lazy Days RV Park, Tucson, AZ. This will be a 5-day rally in conjunction with GMCMI. Armand and Carol Minnie will be our rally hosts. Cost should be approx. $400. Armand is working with Kim Weeks, GMCMI, to have a GMCWS day, with the goal of getting more members from the GMCMI community to join GMCWS, since there will probably be GMCMI members there who don’t normally come to our rallies. Proposed activities include helping MI with their daily breakfasts, games hosted by Dave, and GMCWS-sponsored ladies’ events and entertainment. In addition, we will invite others to participate in our activities. Kim has agreed to park us together. Jim Kanomata indicated that he will sponsor a margarita bucket, as well as donate $1200-$1500 worth of goods for raffles. He will also give first-timers a gift certificate for $50. A member asked that Armand check for motel availability in the area. Pacific Cruisers plans to have their official meeting at this rally. Apportionment of the official rally fees being paid to MI hasn’t been determined at this time, per Armand.
Future Rallies - General
For future rallies, Bobbie Schultz recommends we explore Elks Club sites - they have some very nice RV parks.
Several members would like to see the rallies be longer than 4 days, to justify the distance and gas expenses. It was suggested that there is nothing precluding members from planning activities either before and/or after the official rally dates. President Roenick indicated that, based on feedback from members, rally fees over $400 would mean fewer might attend, and with rising costs, it is very difficult to keep rally fees for a 4-day rally under $400. Dave de Graffenreid says we should nevertheless try to keep it under $400, hoping for more participants. He suggests extending the rallies to 5 days, as has been done in the past, and have more members working on meals. Also, a heavy menu of hors d’oeuvres will suffice instead of dinner.
Closing
Again, many thanks to the rally hosts and seminar presenters. President Roenick also thanked Jason Hilling, Banquet Manager for the Nugget, and Chef Bill and the wait staff for an excellent job.
Motion to adjourn was made by Ruth Beckman, seconded by George Beckman. Motion passed. Meeting was adjourned at 10:30 a.m.