Presidents Report 2018
NWTFC has had another great year. Considering Treks have not been made for ten years our membership numbers continue to grow. This speaks to the uniqueness and quality of the Trek design which is also reflected in the membership of our organization.
I consider myself lucky to be part of such a diversified and talented group. Our Rallies are such fun experiences because our members are willing to participate and organize a wide range of activities and events. Lynn and I are proof that anyone can organize a rally with help from friends and a willing mentor. Thank you Al, Hoop, and Linda.
It looks like we have another year of great rallies being put together. I will leave the descriptions of upcoming rallies to Ron & Mary (our Rally Masters).
Three new members of our executive board have been elected for 2019. Our Vice President, Paula Schull called in a promise and her position will be filled by long time member Dean Bjornson. Mrs. Bjorson, aka, Sue is turning over her Treasurers position to Irva Cooper. Tom Selvidge, a relatively new member has been elected to the open position of the Alternate National Director. I personally thank Paula and Sue for their service on behalf of NWTFC and I am looking forward to working with our new Board.
This year the club voted on and passed our revised bylaws to conform with the FMCA decision to include towable RV’s to their membership. In our club this will only apply if you joined the club while owning a Trek and later for some reason decide to replace it with a towable.
We also voted at the Pt. Townsend Rally to set up a way for our members to pay their dues online. This is an ongoing process. Our Webmaster, Mary Carlson, has been putting a great deal of effort into setting up a paypal account so our dues can be paid through our website. Sue Bjornson and David Pierce have also become involved and get to share some of Mary’s frustration at getting this working. Mary is very patient and persistent so I have faith it will get done.
The issue of the club purchasing an AED has not been resolved. The information Sue Bjornson researched on options to purchase or rent has been posted on our website. We asked members to look at this information and comment. The decision to obtain an AED or not will come to a vote next year so please think about the aspects of this issue in order to make a choice.
I want to wish all a Great New Year of good health and safe travels. Looking forward to seeing you in this new year.
Mike Ashbridge, President
Vice-President’s Report
As per the responsibility of the Vice President the following people were nominated and elected to serve two year terms 2019-2020:
- Vice President, Dean Bjornson
- Treasurer, Irva Cooper
- FMCA National Director, Al Zimmerman
- FMCA Alternate Director, Tom Selvidge
Thanks for stepping up to support our organization!
Paula Shull, Vice President
Secretary’s Report
The NWTFC is currently reporting membership at 83 rigs or plus/minus 160 people for 2018. We have had 23 applications for membership and so far 14 joining and 7 rigs have left us. There are also four honorary members on our membership roster.
Coordination is continuing with our Webmaster and membership lists as well as contact information is available via our website. Further ideas are being explored to motivate members to actively access our web site.
David Pierce, Secretary
Treasurer’s Report
Sue Bjornson, Treasurer
National Director’s Report
The spring planning meeting for the FMCA NW Area was held in April at The Mill Hotel and Casino in North Bend. Because of the passing of my wife, I was not able to attend this meeting. Mike and Lynn Ashbridge represented the chapter this meeting.
The key focus of this meeting was planning for the FMCA NW Area Rally at The Mill in June. NW Trek Fun Club (along with volunteers from other chapters) staffed the FMCA store as the club has done for several years.
2018 NW Area Rally at the Mill in Coos Bay was a success and a funds were realized for the association. Unfortunately it has been announced that The Mill will no longer be a site for the NW area rallies.
Al Zimmerman represented the NWTFC at the national convention in Gillette, WY. Some of the items from the Governing Board meeting.
- John Walker, president, gave a report on the new membership benefits that have been added during the year. Here are some examples: new roadside assistance program for $69 per year, redesigned magazine, revamped FMCA website, new tire discount programs in addition to Michelin, Verizon data phone plans, and more.
- FMCA membership is increasing. Current membership is 76,692. This includes 2,210 owners of non-motorized RVs.
- Definition of a recreational vehicle (RV) that was formulated in 2017 was formally adopted. “Recreational vehicle is a self-contained wheeled vehicle that includes permanently installed cooking, sleeping, and sanitary facilities.”
- 2020 international convention was scheduled for Redmond. However, the price that was to be charged for the fairgrounds was unreasonably high. So the decision was made to change from Redmond to Rock Springs, WY.
- Numerous workshops offered on various RV-related topics. Zimmerman spoke twice on extended trip planning.
- Don Schleusse was installed as the NW Area National Vice President replacing Kathie Balogh whose term was fulfilled.
Al Zimmerman (Natl. Director) and Mike Ashbridge (President + Lynn) attended the fall business and planning meeting of the FMCA NW Area in Kelso, WA on September 25-27.
2019 NW Area Rally will be in Albany at the Linn County Fairgrounds June 6 – 9. Theme for the rally is “Bridging the Gap.” One of the emphases will be bringing all RV types together under the FMCA umbrella. NWTFC will again be staffing the FMCA store along with volunteers from the Oregon River Ramblers and other chapters.
Consideration is being given to selecting the Douglas County Fairgrounds in Roseburg as a future site for the area rally.
FMCA rally dates:
June 6 – 9 FMCA NW Area Rally-Linn County Expo Center, Albany
August 14 – 17 FMCA National Convention-Minot, ND
2020 FMCA NW Area Rally -Douglas County, Roseburg, OR
2020 FMCA National Convention-Rock Springs, WY
2021 FMCA NW Area Rally-Cowlitz County Event Center, Kelso
Al Zimmerman, National Director
Webmaster’s Report
The NWTFC website continues to be useful to our members as well as to anyone looking for Trek information. I receive many emails per month from people wanting to know how to fix their Trek, sell their Trek or buy a Trek. I redirect these people to our page on the History of the Trek and the Trek Brochures and if they have an Isuzu, I point them towards the Isuzu InfoLetter page and forward their email to Bret Medbury, the Editor of the InfoLetters. Most of those who contact me are also directed to Trek Tracks as being the best source of information for all things Trek.
This year we tried out a new concept when we posted information on the AED discussion and asked members to give their opinion on whether to purchase one, rent one, etc. We had 13 members log in and join in the discussion.
Website Stats
We currently have 82 members signed up on the website so they can access the Member’s Only Page. If you haven’t signed up and would like to, check out the Help page under the Member’s Only Page. (Remember, you can each have a sign-in. I have one and Harry has his own.)
In 2018 we had 35971 views of different pages on the site from 11,142 visitors. The majority of views have originated from search engines – we received 7589 views from Google Search, Bing and Yahoo. We received 1685 views originating from Trektrax.com, 698 from IRV2.com and surprisingly 263 from Facebook.
Following are the top pages visited:
- Trek Brochures: 8,519 views
- Home Page: 5,126 views
- All Things Trek: 2.050 views
- Club Newsletters: 1,330 views
- Isuzu Trek Documents: 1,221 views
- Trek History: 1,120 views
- Isuzu InfoLetters Index: 1,070 views
- Upcoming Rallies: 781 views
We currently have 147 followers. These people receive an email each time I post something on the website, such as when a new member has joined, when a new rally is posted, when the newsletter is posted, etc. If you haven’t signed up yet, the sign up form is found on the Home page of the website.
And finally, our newest feature – PayPal – is now up and running. Those in the USA and Canada will be able to use it to pay their dues. They can pay using their personal PayPal account or with a credit card.
If you have questions or need help, please send me an email at mailto:NWTFCwebmaster@gmail.com
Mary Carlson, NWTFC Webmaster
Rally Coordinator’s Report
Hi Ho Everyone,
Time for a year-end rally report so here goes. We had three rallies this year which is the goal of the club.
DUNE COUNTRY RALLY (PRE-RALLY) was hosted by Al Zimmerman, and Dan & Debbi Mass in Florence, OR.
If Al is putting on a Rally you can be sure to be well fed. Looking at the rally report it started with fish tacos the first night, and a continental breakfast Sunday morning. A potluck Monday night and sausage and pancakes Tuesday morning followed by a spaghetti dinner that night.
The highlights included some classic cars at the park, discovering Darlingtonia State Park and the carnivorous plants. Some went for a dune buggy ride. A tour of U.S. Coast Guard Station Siuslaw River, followed by an informational presentation on the history of the Coast Guard. Then everyone got a tour of the station’s 47 foot motor lifeboat.
On Monday seven couch’s headed off to the FMCA NW Rally at the Mill in North Bend. More details can be seen by going to the NWTFC’s web site and clicking on the Rallies page.
Next we have PORT TOWNSEND 4.0. The big news was we had RAIN for the first time and boy did we get some rain. Those who went for a bike ride needed to trade their helmets for a paddle and a life jacket. Other than that the weather was ok. This is a KISS rally (keep it simple stupid). There is so much to explore in and around PT that most everyone can find something they like.
Three of us went for a walk at the local golf course trying to find where we hit that little white ball. About 8 or 10 rode bikes to the Port Townsend Brewing Company a few miles out of town. We timed our ride back to the marina just in time for the monsoon.
We had 27 coaches and Honorary members Stan and Barb Shackle in attendance. The standard heavy hors d’oeuvres and desserts were on the menu for the first night. The second night we had a pot luck and take a friend out to dinner on the third night. Sunday was a very busy day starting out with the gnome making class in the morning, followed by a CPR and the defibrillator class put on by Port Townsend Fire and Rescue. We had approximately 50 people in attendance for the class and I think everybody learned a whole lot. That was followed by a taco feed and then the business meeting.
Lastly we have the RALLY IN THE REDWOODS in Klamath, CA. Looking at the rally report they had a rousing game of card bingo. Friday 14 people went on a jet boat excursion on the Klamath River. The real high point was seeing a GOLDEN EAGLE and a couple bears. Nancy and Dick Harris picked some blackberries on a bike ride and came back and made blackberry crumble. Saturday morning Al Zimmerman made breakfast for everybody. Some made a trip to the Abalone Bar and Grill at the casino in Klamath. They didn’t say anything about winning any money. A trip to Fern Canyon was also on the agenda, it was used to make some of the scenes from the first Jurassic Park movie. Also some members went out to see the giant redwoods. It was a great rally and everyone had a good time.
We have three rallies on the books for next year and we are looking forward to seeing many of you.
We wanted to take a minute to point out that most of the rallies put on over the last 10 years are hosted by the same people. We have 80+ members in NWTFC and we need new members to step up and share some of the fun, beautiful places that you’ve been to over the years. There is lots of support if you are interested in putting on a rally.
These are the people who have put on most of the rallies over the past 10 years.
- Blocks 5+
- Keelers 5+
- Zimmermans 5+
- Andersons
- Burchett-Mahugh 4
- Beers 3+
- Paschall-Braden 2+
- Bjornsons 2+
- Shulls 2+
- Wrights, Ashbridges & McKees, Coopers 2+
- Webber-Plank, Wilhelm and Baker and Vandergriff/Caughron
See you down the road –
Ron and Mary, Rally Coordinators