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OWNERS NEWS - KOA Owners Association
Owners News OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE KAMPGROUND OWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC. Volume 32 Issue 1 January/February/March 2012 • Contents • Presidents Letter.......................................................................... 2 2012 OA Board............................................................................. 4 2012 Disaster Relief Board.......................................................... 6 2011 State/Provincial Presidents.................................................. 7 Gas Prices vs Camper Nights...................................................... 8 Medical Payments in the General Liability Policy Explained...... 14 Meetings Do Matter.................................................................... 15 OA Associate Members.............................................................. 16 Raising the Quality Bar in 2012.................................................. 18 Joke Korner................................................................................ 19 WorkKamper’s Korner................................................................ 20 KOA Spotlight: BURCO.............................................................. 21 Welcome to the latest edition of “Your Partnership with Southeast Publications”......................... 23 2012 Care Camps Board............................................................ 24 A Million Smiles.......................................................................... 25 Care Camps Big Weekend Ideas............................................... 26 KOA Care Camps....................................................................... 27 Announcement of Cancer Camp Grants.................................... 27 A Missionary Visit By Some Of Our Koa Owners...................... 28 www.koaowners.org www.koaowners.org 1 Volume 32, Issue 1 President’s Letter Newsletter Issue 1, 2012 It’s hard to believe that by the time you receive your first OA newsletter of 2012 our season will be well underway for many of you. Garry and I have visited quite a number of campgrounds during our off season and it seems like many of us are looking forward to a good year in 2012 We held our first board meeting this year in Orlando at the Fort Summit KOA, hosted by Elliott Smith. We reviewed the results of our recent membership survey and based on the responses we decided to create a members only section to our OA website, which will be available on Ekamp in about 1-2 months. We discussed with corporate the two resolutions presented at our last annual meeting (eliminating royalties on metered electric sites, and to develop a quality improvement plan for under performing campgrounds). Based on those discussions corporate is reviewing our request to eliminate the royalty payments currently being charged on metered electric sites. They also shared with us their development service plan for under performing campgrounds. The OA board has decided to continue to pursue both these issues at every future board meeting. I will keep you updated on any developments. Remember we contacted you several weeks ago regarding updating our email list of owners. In an effort to better communicate with all owners in the system, get information out sooner, and keep costs down we have sent out an email blast to everyone on our mailing list. If you would send us your email address we would be most appreciative. You don’t have to be a member of the OA to participate 2 in this information sharing, because we want the entire system to be informed of any information we might be passing along. You can send your contact information to [email protected]. Please remember that your state/provincial association will receive a 5% rebate if OA membership in your state reaches 75% of all the KOA campgrounds in your state, and 10% if you reach 100%. We hope you will be able to help us recruit every member in your state/province to become active members in the OA. We will be happy to help you with membership for both your OA and the national OA. Just let us know what kind of help you would like. We are pleased to announce that in 2011 five states have earned royalties from us for reaching the 75% or 100% level of OA members in their states. The five states that earned rebates in 2011 were: West Virginia, Idaho, Illinois, South Dakota, and New Mexico. The Philadelphia Insurance Co. and OIG agency, our partner in property and casualty insurance are again offering to conduct loss prevention seminars at your spring or fall meetings. They would like to have at least 10 campgrounds attend and would offer a 10% discount to any attendees that are in our group program. Please let us know if you are interested in having them put on a program for you at your next meeting. Finally, we would appreciate any updates or changes in your state/provincial association’s leadership and dates of upcoming meetings. KOA has asked us to ask you to let us know if you would like a representative from corporate to attend your upcoming meeting. Again, you can simply contact us at the email address above. Thanks again for your help and support and we wish you all a great 2012 season. Vicki Cole, Owners Association, President Owners News www.digitalwayservices.com Our trained professionals will install a state of the art system that is customized to the specific needs of your park. STOP paying retail prices the old way! Start paying wholesale prices the Digitalway way!!! FREE ESTIMATE OFFICE-817-736-3130 CELL-214-394-9631 www.koaowners.org January/February/March 2012 Digitalway Services is the preferred cable TV installer for KOA owners across the United States. We specialize in bringing cable TV into parks at the best possible price. 3 Volume 32, Issue 1 KOA Owners Association Area 1 TENNESSEE, NORTH CAROLINA, SOUTH CAROLINA, ALABAMA, GEORGIA, FLORIDA, KENTUCKY, VIRGINIA, WEST VIRGINIA KEN BOWMAN FORSYTH KOA 10101 414 S. FRONTAGE RD FORSYTH, GA 31029 Phone: (478) 994-2019 Email: [email protected] Jerry Dale MANCHESTER TN KOA 586 KAMPGROUND RD MANCHESTER, TN 37355 Phone: (931) 728-9750 Fax: (931) 728-9777 Email: [email protected] Area 2 OHIO, DELAWARE, NEW JERSEY, NEW YORK, PENNSYLVANIA, MAINE, VERMONT, MASSACHUSETTS, NEW HAMPSHIRE, MARYLAND, CONNECTICUT, RHODE ISLAND VICKI COLE, PRESIDENT SHELBY/MANSFIELD KOA 35164 6787 BAKER 47 SHELBY, OH 44875-9103 Phone: (419) 347-1392 Fax: (419) 342-5353 Email: [email protected] KARL SCHMIDT, TREASURER ELIZABETHTOWN/HERSHEY KOA 38181 1980 TURNPIKE RD ELIZABETHTOWN, PA 17022 Phone: (717) 367-7718 Fax: (717) 367-3412 Email: [email protected] Area 3 MICHIGAN, ILLINOIS, INDIANA, NORTH DAKOTA, SOUTH DAKOTA, NEBRASKA, MINNESOTA, WISCONSIN, IOWA CARROL MURRAY West Omaha KOA 27104 14601 Hwy 6 Gretna, NE 68028 Phone: (402) 332-3010 Fax: (402) 332-0246 Email: [email protected] Howard Stein Port Huron KOA 5151 LAPEER RD KIMBALL, MI 48074 Phone: (810) 987-7075 Fax: (810) 987-7073 Email: [email protected] Area 4 LOUISIANA, MISSISSIPPI, KANSAS, MISSOURI, OKLAHOMA, TEXAS, ARKANSAS Photo Unavailable 4 GARY WILLIS Brookeland/Lake Sam Rayburne KOA 43235 505 COUNTY RD 212 BROOKELAND, TX 75931 Phone: (409) 698-3422 Email: [email protected] DIANE KING SPRINGFIELD/RT 66 KOA 25137 5775 WEST FARM ROAD 140 SPRINGFIELD, MO 65802 Phone: (417) 831-3645 Fax: (417) 863-0295 Email: [email protected] Owners News Board of Directors 2012 Area 5 ALASKA, WASHINGTON, OREGON, IDAHO, MONTANA, WYOMING KIM CARRANZA TWIN FALLS/JEROME KOA 12109 5431 US HWY 93 JEROME, ID 83338 Phone: (208) 324-4169 Fax: (208) 324-4376 Email: [email protected] HOMER STAVES WHITEFISH/KALISPELL KOA 26161 3191 PARKHILL Billings, MT 59102 Phone: (406) 656-7086 Fax: (406) 656-7086 Email: [email protected] Area 6 HAWAII, CALIFORNIA, NEVADA, UTAH, COLORADO, ARIZONA, NEW MEXICO PAMELA MENDALA SARAH MARTIN CLOVERDALE KOA 5275 BUENA VISTA KOA 6103 1166 ASTI RIDGE RD, PO BOX 600 27700 COUNTY RD 303 CLOVERDALE, CA 95425 BUENA VISTA, CO 81211 Phone: (707) 894-3337 Phone: (719) 395-8313 Fax: (707) 894-9206 Fax: (719) 395-3103 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Area 7 CENTRAL & EASTERN CANADA DAVE BARTON, SECRETARY 1000 ISLAND/IVY LEA KOA 55203 514 1000 ISLANDS PKWY LANSDOWNE, ON K0E 1L0 Phone: (613) 659-2408 Fax: (613) 659-2992 Email: [email protected] Area 8 Koa Inc. Liaison Executive Director Jef Sutherland VP of Franchisee Service PO BOX 3055 BILLINGS, MT 59114 Phone: (800) 548-7104 Email: [email protected] William Ranieri 3416 PRIMM LANE BIRMINGHAM, AL 35216 (800) 678-9976, (888) 461-2062 FAX: (205) 823-2760 Email: [email protected] WESTERN CANADA JIM BROWN HINTON/JASPER KOA 51124 50409 B HIGHWAY 16 HINTON, AB T7V 1X3 Phone: (780) 865-5062 Email: [email protected] www.koaowners.org January/February/March 2012 MICHAEL KUPER, VICE PRESIDENT THUNDER BAY KOA 55120 162 SPRUCE RIVER RD. THUNDER BAY, ON P7B 5E4 Phone: (807) 683-6221 Fax: (807) 683-6222 Email: [email protected] 5 Volume 32, Issue 1 KOA Disaster Relief Board 2012 Chairman Dave Barton 1000 Islands/Ivy Lea KOA 514 1000 Islands Pkwy Lansdowne, ON K0E 1L0 Phone: (613) 659-2408 Fax: (613)6592992 [email protected] Danny Goad 17-139 Bowling Green KOA 1040 Edgewater Lane Bowling Green, KY 42104 Phone: (270) 843-1919 Fax: (270) 843-1909 [email protected] 6 Rick Dillon 38-117 Bellefonte State College KOA 2481 Jacksonville Rd. Bellefonte, PA 16823 Phone: (814) 355-7912 Fax: (814) 353-8207 [email protected] Tommy Martin 61-03 Buena Vista KOA 27700 County Rd 303 Buena Vista, CO 81211 Phone: (719) 395-8313 Fax: (719) 395-3103 [email protected] Howard Stein 22-220 Port Huron KOA 5151 Lapeer Rd Kimball, MI 48074 Phone: (810) 987-7075 Fax: (810) 987-7073 [email protected] Jeff Stovold 55-252 Toronto North/Cookstown KOA 139 Reive Blvd Cookstown, ON L0L 1L0 Phone: (705) 456-2120 Fax: (705) 458-1389 [email protected] Loren Smith 26153 Great Falls KOA 1500 51st Street South Great Falls, MT 59405 Phone: (406) 562-6584 [email protected] Owners News CALIFORNIA/NEVADA Brian Cushman Lake Isabella/Kern River KOA 15627 Highway 178 Weldon, CA 93283 (760) 378-4669 [email protected] NEW ENGLAND Steve Jesseman Littleton/Lisbon, NH KOA 2154 Route 302 Lisbon, NH 03585 (603) 838-5525 [email protected] TENNESSEE/KENTUCKY Rodger Pannell Memphis KOA 7037 I-55 Marion, AR 72364 (870) 739-4801 [email protected] COLORADO Carolyn Stowe Pueblo KOA 4131 Interstate 25 N Pueblo, CO 81001 (719) 542-2273 [email protected] NEW MEXICO Cindy Lewis Tucumcari KOA 31114 6299A Quay Road AL Tucumcari, NM 88401 (575) 461-1841 [email protected] TEXAS Marshal Gray 43111 Concho Valley KOA 6699 Knickerbocker Rd San Angelo, TX 76904 (325) 656-6446 [email protected] FLORIDA Elliott Smith 9205 St. Augustine Beach KOA 525 W. Pope Rd St. Augustine, FL 32080 (904) 806-1431 [email protected] NEW YORK Wayne Hempel Saugerties/Woodstock KOA 882 Rt 212 Saugerties, NY 12477 (845) 246-4089 [email protected] UTAH/IDAHO Oscar Carranza Twin Falls/Jerome KOA 12109 5431 US Hwy 93 Jerome, ID 83338 (208) 324-4169 [email protected] Heartland-AR, OK, KS, MO Terry Haith Oklahoma City East KOA 6200 S Choctaw Rd Choctaw, OK 73020 (405) 760-3022 [email protected] OHIO Garry Cole Shelby/Mansfield KOA 35-164 6787 Baker 47 Shelby, OH 44875-9103 (419) 347-1392 [email protected] VIRGINIA Steven Albrecht Staunton/Walnut Hills KOA 46187 484 Walnut Hills Road Staunton, VA 24401 (540) 337-3920 [email protected] ILLINOIS John Downing 13-156 Rock Island KOA 2311 78th Ave. W. Rock Island, IL 61201 (309) 787-0665 [email protected] OREGON Michael Greig 37-176 Corvallis/Albany KOA 33775 Oakville Rd. SW Albany, OR 37321 (541) 967-8521 [email protected] WASHINGTON Carey Keith 47-161 Seattle/Tacoma KOA 5801 S. 212th St. Kent, WA 98032 (253) 872-8652 [email protected] INDIANA Hope Perkins 14-133 Elkhart/Middlebury KOA 52867 State Rd. 13 Middlebury, IN 46540 (574) 825-5932 [email protected] PA CENTRAL John Dillon 38-117 Bellefonte/State College KOA 2481 Jacksonville Rd Bellefonte, PA 16823 (814) 355-7912 [email protected] WISCONSIN Jeff Irwin 49106 Madison KOA 4859 Cty Rd V DeForest, WI 53532 (608) 846-4528 [email protected] MICHIGAN Cathleen Kuebler 22-225 Traverse City KOA 9700 M37 Buckley, MI 49620 (231) 269-3203 [email protected] PA-WEST Gary Levesque 38-104 Philadelphia/West Chester KOA PO Box 920 Unionville, PA 19375 (610) 486-0447 [email protected] WESTERN CANADA James Brown 51124 Hinton Jasper KOA 4720 Vegas Rd NW Calgary, AB T3A 1W3 CANADA (780) 865-5062 [email protected] MINNESOTA Kim Hornbrook Minneapolis SW KOA 3315 W 166th St Jordan, MN 55352 (952) 492-6440 [email protected] SOUTH CAROLINA Bill Olendorf 40-113 Point South KOA 14 Kampground Rd Yemassee, SC 29945 (843) 726-5733 [email protected] EASTERN CANADA Richard Marcoux 55-208 1000 Island/Mallorytown KOA 1477 CR 2 PO Box 29 Mallorytown, ON K0E 1R0 CANADA (613) 923-5339 [email protected] MONTANA/WYOMING Homer Staves 26-161 Whitefish/Kalispell KOA 5121 Highway 935 Whitefish, MT 59937 (406) 862-4242 [email protected] SOUTH DAKOTA John Adler Hot Springs KOA 41114 27585 SD Highway 79 Hot Springs, SD 57747 (605) 745-6449 [email protected] www.koaowners.org January/February/March 2012 2012 State & Provincial Presidents 7 Volume 32, Issue 1 Gas Prices -vs- Camper Nights And… “Refinish Your Cabins to Refurbish Your Wallet” Loren Smith Prairie Kraft Specialties, LLC Great Falls, Montana PART 1: “Gas Prices vs. Camper Nights” Is Loren an optimist or a pessimist? I am an optimist; however, I am a realistic optimist. Realistic means: Gas prices are on the rise, the national media has it front and center of everyone, and this is the time people are planning vacations. The second reality: We have solid historical evidence that at $4.00/gallon, people start reducing consumption, distance they drive, etc. A third reality (plus a little personal opinion here): this is not a long- term event; however, it is definitely for the 2012 summer camping season. So, what does Loren recommend considering his 35+ years of experience? This is important and “Engineer Loren” likes to enumerate important items: 8 1. Do not hunker down, bunker up and wait for the world to end. That won’t work; however, you need to prepare. 2. Prepare for the upcoming camping season as you would for any other season- assume it will be an average year. Remember, you are not in the middle of camping season yet– it’s only you and mom “working” and you’re getting your campground ready. 3. Store sales will be down as people will “scrimp,” bring food from home, buy at Wal-Mart, etc. Stock up on essentials, but go light on whimsical items. Again, prepare for an average season (see next item). Owners News 5. You need money for debt service (your mortgage payment to the bank, etc.) and focus on that number. Money for debt service unequivocally comes from renting sites. Yes, we make some money from store sales, but nothing like we do from renting sites. Focus on renting sites. You have already bought your sites. Store sales need goods to resell. Notice that I didn’t say to not sell stuff in your store, but focus on getting sites rented. The only expense you have on “sites rented” is the amount of electricity and water someone uses and that’s generally less than $1.00/camper night. The costs of insurance, taxes and your mortgage are not going to change. You must make enough to pay all of these. 6. Don’t categorically discount all your site pricing; however, be flexible. Teach your staff to flex pricing down if it will rent a site. Remember, you “make money on renting sites.” 7. You have little or no control over your expenses with the exception of one – labor. By way of example, you can’t control the cost of your insurance, taxes, royalties, mortgage, and necessary repairs like broken water lines, severed electrical cables, etc.; however, you do have control of labor. The campgrounds that are most at risk are the small “mom and pops,” and to put it candidly, that describes the Great Falls KOA. To control labor, it means you and your partner are going to do lots of the www.koaowners.org work yourselves and you may have to lay off or not hire people that you would have in other years. At the Great Falls KOA, Loren will be hiring and staffing as if it will be an average year. However, the minute we see that it isn’t (think mid May to early June) we will lay off people (if necessary) to accommodate the reality of the 2012 camping season. I will explain what you “want to do” by starting with what you “don’t want to do.” You do not want to operate the entire camping season with a full staff, arriving at the end of the camping season saying, “Woe is me – we had a bad year – I have no money”. Prepare for an average year knowing in your mind it probably isn’t going to be average. It’s going to be down. Then as you see it down, adjust accordingly, and yes, you are going to work harder this year than you did last year. 8. Turn off electricity, fix leaking water faucets, and do those things that will, in small ways, reduce the cost of your operation. You are going to need money at the end of the year for two things: (1) your bank payment and (2) some money leftover for you and mom to take a vacation, because you have worked your butt off this summer! Yes, you read right – you definitely want some money to get away in late fall or winter, relax for a few weeks, and plan for the 2013 season. 9. Loren lives at the edge of the Bakken Oil Fields of North Dakota, Eastern Montana and Saskatchewan. The “Bakken Oil Field” was simply good old U.S. ingenuity and technology. An average well is 10,000 ft. deep. They then drill horizontally January/February/March 2012 4. Do not buy a full year’s worth of stock. Stock your store so it looks full and have everything in place to order as needed to replace. Remember, store sales will be down, but you want to sell all you can; hence, you need a good “full” looking store. Don’t plan to reorder those cute little “tourist trinkets (souvenirs)” five or six times through the course of the summer. It may only happen once or twice. 9 Volume 32, Issue 1 another 10,000 ft. in a 30 ft. wide oilproducing zone. Last year North Dakota pumped more oil than the entire OPEC country of Ecuador and they are drilling like mad. I am not going to spend any time here on why gas prices are going up. It’s immaterial – they are. However, when you look at this with a long point of view, it is my opinion that you will see them drop. Unfortunately, it won’t be this coming summer; hence the reason for this article. 10. Do you quit improving or growing your campground at this time? Absolutely not! You plan and grow your business as long as it makes business sense. Don’t do whimsical things that are simply what you want to do, unless you clearly state in your mind “I am doing this because I want to, and I know I won’t make any money!” Loren likes to speak by example: hence, if installing a 99.9% efficient hot water heater to replace an undersized old 70% efficient one will give you happy customers (you no longer run out of hot water), do it! Take out a small loan, and the 30% plus fuel savings will pay it off in less than five years. PART 2: “Refinish Your Cabins to Refurbish Your Wallet” The second part of this writing concerns what I love to write about: making money. You all remember the nursery rhyme about the shoemaker’s kids who didn’t have shoes; the carpenter’s house whose roof leaked, etc. Well, Great Falls KOA had ugly cabins. A cabin customer’s first impression is the exterior finish and it is important. Over the last month I have had lots of first-hand experience refinishing the outside of 26 cabins, cottages, satellite bathroom, etc. All log buildings. They now look nice and yes, we raised our pricing “slightly” because they do look nice. I expect my cabin nights will be equal to last year, but my overall camper nights will probably be down. However, I will be monitoring it closely and adjust that one expense that I can (labor) to end up with some money at the end of the year. In banking we call this “managing to a favorable outcome.” 1. It’s Loren’s opinion that our franchisor has been too cavalier about what to use for an exterior finish on log cabins. It’s not that they’re bad folks – it’s just that they don’t have the experience. When you look at the exterior finish, not only do you want it good-looking and durable, but you have to think about what happens in four or five years, not what does it look like after I have finished “painting it.” Although some of this may seem self-serving, it is not meant to be. It is meant to state what we have unequivocally seen and observed over the past many years. 2. Placing paint or a heavy-bodies stain on a log cabin is a bad deal. It may look ok right after you are done, but once the paint fades, starts to crack and peel (it will, no matter what you use), it’s going to look ugly and now you are faced with a BIG stripping job. Note the adjective BIG was put in capital letters. If you are faced with stripping a cabin, call us – we won’t bother with that in this article. 10 Owners News • Paint, stains, etc., are a commodity, and, as such, price plays a big role. When a housewife goes to Home Depot to buy a can of white paint, she will buy a medium-priced or lowpriced white paint. It is difficult to sell high-priced premium paint. In simple words, it’s a price-driven market. • All the chemists have said, “It is easy to increase the life of paint, stain, or varnish and increase its UV resistance, resistance to fungal and mildew growth, etc. You just can’t be price sensitive.” If Home Depot is looking for a paint supplier, they know their customers want inexpensive paint. 6. A cabin refinished in the Prairie Kraft transoxide stains unequivocally has a life of 8 to 12 years between refinishing. We can, and do, state that from our personal experience. 7. If we are refinishing a cabin that has been previously done using transoxide stain (such as the Prairie Kraft stains), it is a simple matter to clean the cabin using what is commonly called a “Hotsy,” or a hot water power washer. You don’t need pressure – you need hot. When I say hot, I am talking 265ºF of hot. Yes, water boils at 212ºF (sea level), but water in a “Hotsy” is under pressure, so - like a pressure cooker – it’s not boiling. The instant it comes out of that nozzle, however, it is and it cleans a cabin so easily! 4. At the Great Falls KOA, I am really not interested if a gallon of stain costs me $40 or $60 – I am interested in how long it is going to hold up. The difference of $20 is nothing compared to the amount of work it takes to refinish these things! So, here is the self-serving part. The paints and finishes that have been developed and carry the Prairie Kraft Specialties label were not developed with price sensitivity in mind. They were developed to get every last week and month of life possible out of that finish, so we don’t have to refinish these cabins any more than we absolutely have to. 5. The use of transoxide stains (stains you can see through) are unequivocally the finish to use on a wood or log building. Solid bodied stains are a bad idea if you want to keep the “natural wood look,” which is the only reason to have a log building. Transoxide, transparent stains do not ever need to be stripped. They can literally be washed off when they finally wear out. www.koaowners.org “Hotsy” Presure Washer – See the Steam! January/February/March 2012 3. We have years of experience with many chemists in the paint industry and there is one common, consistent truth. 11 Volume 32, Issue 1 Unfortunately, it won’t strip paint or solidbodied stains but it will really clean up one that is done in transoxide, semi-transparent stains. Oxalic Acid in the Plastic Weed Sprayer 8. After power washing (265ºF water!), use a weed sprayer and spray the cabin down with a solution on water and oxalic acid. As most of you know, Loren doesn’t believe in generalities; hence: • Mix crystalline oxalic acid at the rate of cup per gallon of water. Use hot water. Not boiling hot – hot out of the tap is just fine. • Let the oxalic acid/water sit for 15 to 20 minutes, then take the “Hotsy” and rewash the cabin. Notice I didn’t say blast the cabin – I said wash the cabin! • Oxalic acid can be found on the internet, or we can supply it for $4.40/lb in one, two, or five pound bags. One pound will make four gallons of mixture – enough to do one one-room cabin. In simple words, “it’s cheap.” • Mix the oxilic acid and water in an all plastic weed sprayer. Spray it on the walls after you wash/strip the cabin with the “Hotsy” power washer. Start from the bottom and work up the walls, spraying the oxalic acid mixture on the walls. 12 Oxalic Acid Rinse vs. “Virgin” Wall Owners News • We now stain the trim around the doors, windows, porch posts and rails 206 Russet Brown which is also a semitransparent transoxide stain. This gives you a darker color on the trim than the walls (which are a golden honey yellow.) This combination produces a gorgeous looking cabin. More importantly, it has tremendous life. • Let the cabin dry a couple of days. Take the “fuzziness” off the washed logs with a maroon colored Scotchbrite® pad. • Apply the stain - I strongly recommend the Prairie Kraft 1501 Cedartone Stain - and you will have a gorgeous cabin. If you have lots of cabins, apply the stain with a airless paint sprayer, but, if not, use a brush and/or paint pad and apply the stain as heavily as possible. You will need three to four gallons per one-room cabin to saturate/thoroughly coat the log walls. www.koaowners.org • Front door – Finish it in Prairie Kraft Floor Varnish. The Prairie Kraft Floor Varnish has lots of UV inhibitors and it holds up well. Remove the door from the cabin, take it into your shop, and sand it with a random orbital right angle sander, 80 or 100 grit disks. You can sand an entire door in less than an hour and it looks like a brand new door after you refinish it. We refinish it in the shop where we can control the dust and dirt, then take it back out and re-hang it on the cabin. Here’s hoping you have a great summer without a reduction in business and… the gas prices drop! As always, if we can be of any help or assistance, give myself or Jane a call. January/February/March 2012 Dry “Fuzzy” • If you are in an area of very severe climate (think seacoast) use the Prairie Kraft 205 Cedar Stain. It is darker than the 1501 Cedartone, but it has longer life for these regions. 13 Volume 32, Issue 1 Medical Payments in the General Liability Policy Explained Medical Payments to Others (CGL, Coverage C) Medical Payments to Others is part C of the Commercial General Liability (CGL) policy related to commercial insurance. It is a type of no-fault coverage for bodily injury. No-fault insurance is designed to be good will coverage in which fault doesn’t have to be proven in order to pay for damages resulting from bodily injury claims. It is designed primarily to protect the insured and insurer against lawsuits for negligence. Medical payments to others, as the name implies, is not insurance for the policyholder or employees. Employees are always insured through workers compensation. This coverage part of the CGL extends certain benefits to a person injured on your premises or as a result of your day-to-day business operations. These benefits include necessary surgical, medical, and dental services as well as funeral expenses if death results from the claim. An example: Imagine a typical day at your campground. Perhaps a camper slips by the pool and falls, causing a cut and a broken arm, requiring a trip to the emergency room and fifteen stitches. Your medical payments coverage would pay for all the expenses incurred as a result of the fall. There is no need to prove you are negligent as the owner; you would simply file a claim and the insurer would pay for the damages typically up to $5,000 or the limit on the declarations page. But be sure to note in the example above that the insurance company is not acknowledging responsibility for the injury when they extend the benefits. This coverage is to keep your clients happy and to keep them from filing a lawsuit whereby they must prove negligence. Additionally, the injured party still retains the right to sue you for negligence and collect benefits by settling out of court or procuring a judgment against you if they choose to. The hope of the insurer (and you) is that the injured party will be satisfied with simply having their medical bills paid. If you were sued, the claim would be processed under the liability portion of your CGL. The medical payments coverage part of the CGL does not deal with liability. The liability coverage parts are included in premises and operations, products and completed operations, and personal injury. Make note as in most insurance coverages there are certain exclusions. Injuries to: any insured, any hired person, any person that normally occupies the premise, anyone who can benefit from a workers compensation policy, a person participating in athletic activities, and any injury caused by your “products or completed operations”. Also, these claims must not be caused by any other exclusion that applies to your standard liability coverage. Glenn Sudol is the owner of Outdoor Insurance Group, Endorsed Insurance Agency of the KOA Owners association. Glenn can be reached at 303-951-5051 or by email [email protected]. 14 Owners News MEETINGS DO MATTER By Jerry Dale Manchester KOA From left to Right. Barbara and Jimmy Dale. Jerry and Melody Duncan. Jerry Dale. John and Penny Gorgei. Karen Dorsett. This is the workforce for the Manchester KOA. January/February/March 2012 I don’t know how many times I have heard owners say they can’t afford to take off to attend meetings, convention, etc. This really confuses me because I have never attended any industry function where I did not walk away with new knowledge and ways to make more money. Last year at the TN ARVC Conference Comcast Cable came with some bombshells. They said they were going to make these small individual boxes that we were to give to each camper and have to get back from them when they leave. This was for the new digital cable. At that meeting, we all explained that would not work in a campground situation and we would all just have to disconnect the cable and go to satellite. This year they came back. They told us the plans they had and they made things more workable. For campgrounds they are bringing in a 39 channel head-in unit free of charge and even asked us to come up with a channel list for them. Even though this meeting was in Tennessee, this is where it starts for the whole nation. It always pays to go to these meetings. Sometimes we can actually change things for the better. At this same ARVC meeting, a representative from Tennessee Tourism gave a presentation and afterwards another owner approached her and explained how it was very difficult to rent campsites with an almost 18% bed and hotel tax. The rep went back and asked her lawyers to review the law and see if it should apply to campgrounds. The lawyer wrote back and said that the Tennessee law was never written to include campground RV & tent sites. Only Cabins and Deluxe Cabins should be under this law. The owner took that letter and gave it to her county mayor and he had it repealed for RV and tent sites in that county. That is just a couple of recent examples of what can happen when you meet with other owners. If you say you can’t afford to attend convention, a state OA or other meetings, remember, you can’t afford not to. www.koaowners.org 15 Volume 32, Issue 1 Owners Association Associate Members Call them first! THE FOLLOWING ARE ASSOCIATE MEMBERS OF THE KOA OWNERS ASSOCIATION. PLEASE REMEMBER THAT THESE VENDORS PAY DUES TO SUPPORT THE OWNERS ASSOCIATION: AGS Brian Schaeffer 910 S Crowley Rd, Suite 9-504 Crowley, TX 76036 (877) 518-1989 FAX: (877) 343-9397 [email protected] http://www.agspub.com Let AGS grow your business with unequaled Guest Services Guides and Internet Marketing ANDERSON’S BROCHURE DISTRIBUTION SVC. JOE TICE 3625 FOX HILL DRIVE CHAMBERSBURG, PA 17202 (866) 645-1897 [email protected] Anderson’s distributes campground and RV resort brochures at 21 RV and camping shows in the US and Canada Burco Promotional Printing Stephanie Dula 1900 Hendersonville Rd #10 Asheville, NC 28803 828-252-4481 800-334-3864 [email protected] http://www.goburco.com BURCO specializes in promotional printing for the recreation, golf, and hospitality markets. Campbell Insurance Agency Inc. Craig/Kirk Campbell PO Box 1695 Harrison, AR 72602 (870) 741-5423 Fax (870) 741-4714 [email protected] http://www.insuretheoutdoors.com Campground Insurance including Property, General Liability, Automobile,Umbrella, and Worker’s Compensation. In business since 1916! CHADWICK MFG. LTD. ALLEN SMITH PO BOX 85 CHADWICK, IL 61014 (800) 732-4602 [email protected] http://www.chadwickmfg.com Chadwick Manufacturing Ltd. Has been serving KOA campgrounds for over 40 years Conestoga Log Homes John Brown 246 N Lincoln Ave Lebanon, PA 17046 (800) 914-4606 Fax (717) 306-4490 16 [email protected] http://www.conestogalogcabins.com Conestoga Log Cabins has provided cabins, bathhouses, bunkhouses and commercial buildings for KOA for over 15 years, with over 3,000 cabins sold. Now offering Timberframe cabins Darrell Hess & Assocates Darrell Hess 367 Dellwood Rd Bldg E, Ste 2 Waynesville, NC 28786 (828) 452-1535 FAX (828) 452-3180 [email protected] http://www.campgroundsforsale.com Campground sales Digitalway Services Don Murry 2208 Springfield Rd Springfield, TX 76082 (817) 304-3595 Fax (817) 550-0169 [email protected] http://www.digitalwayservices.com Digital Services builds and designs cable systems for future clients. We set up where the client can pay wholesale rates instead of retail and where they can own their own cable system, being able to customize and pick and choose their own programming. Earth Sun Moon Trading Company Leo Glenn 111 N. Center Street Grove City, PA 16127 888-458-1687 FAX (724) 458-4920 [email protected] http://www.earthsunmoon.com Premium Nature-inspired Shirts and hats - Nature T-Shirts, Gardening T Shirts, Environmental Shirts, Camping & Outdoor T’s, Birdwatching T Shirts EVERGREEN USA LUCAS HARTFORD 10 FALCON ROAD LEWISTON, ME 04240 (800) 343-7900 FAX (207) 784-6475 [email protected] http://www.evergreenusa.com Evergreen is the insurance company owned by the camping industry. For 35 years we have been helping campgrounds, RV Parks & Resorts with their insurance needs Gerber Manufacturing Chuck Gerber 2917 Latham Drive Madison, WI 53713 (800) 393-9923 Fax (608) 271-1920 [email protected] picnic tables INDEPENDENCE BANK MYM CICHOSZ PO BOX 2900 HAVRE, MT 59501 (406) 265-1241 [email protected] http://www.ibyourbank.com Independence Bank is a premier lender for campground purchases, refinances, cabin/ lodges financing and improvement loans JAX LTD. INC. CYNTHIA LEVINE 141 CHESHIRE LANE MINNEAPOLIS, MN 55441 (763) 449-9699 [email protected] http://www.jaxgames.com “We bring families together!” JAX LTD., the fun and games people, is recognized for their exceptional family games, including the long time favorite Sequence game. JAX games are designed with the idea of providing entertainment for friends and family Kramer Kreations Murbles Murray Kramer 9141 Sebring Dr. Pensacola, FL 32506 (850) 458-5858 [email protected] http://murblegame.com Plastic Murbles 3” across and played like bocci ball but they are in bright colors and very light. Leavitt Recreation & Hospitality Insurance Chris Hipple 1001 Lazell St Sturgis, SD 57785 866-465-2797 Fax 865-465-2797 [email protected] http://www.lrhinsurance.com We specialize in resort, campground and hospitality business throught the nations. Coverage designed exclusively for your industry coupled with exceptional customer service Owners News ParknPool Laura Dudley 40 Park Place Lexington, VA 24450 (877) 777-3700 FAX (877) 777-3717 [email protected] http://www.parknpool.com We have grown from representing one manufacturer of commercial pool furniture to now offering superior products from over 40 manufacturing companies. PHELPS HONEY WAGON JAYLENE SHANNON 158 WHISKEY SPRING ROAD DILLSBURG, PA 17019 (800) 463-3707 [email protected] http://www.phelpshoneywagon.com Since 1970 our product line offers RV parks and campgrounds the most efficient and economical method of providing full hook ups to all your sites PHILADELPHIA INSURANCE COMPANIES SUSAN HORTSMANN ONE BALA PLAZA, SUITE 100 BALA CYNWYD, PA 19004 (800) 873-4552 [email protected] http://www.phylins.com Philadelphia Insurance Companies designs, markets and underwrites stand-alone Campground and RV park operators, incorporating value-added coverage’s and services. PHLY is rated A+ by A.M. Best Company RECREATIONAL BUSINESS PARTNERS JOHN HALSTVEDT 1643 24th st WSuite 113 BILLINGS, MT 59102 (406) 294-3860 john@recreationalbusinesspartners. com http://www.recreationalbusinesspartners. com Dan Singer and John Halstvedt of Recreational Business Partners have spent the past 25 years in the campground business, past vice presidents of KOA, Inc. and managed campground sales across the country. www.koaowners.org John is also a past KOA owner. Currently, they help campground owners improve, value and prepare their campgrounds for sale SOUTHEAST PUBLICATIONS USA, INC. Wayne Morris 10601 State Street, Suite #1 Tamarac, FL 33321 (954) 583-3900 FAX (954) 583-2803 [email protected] http://www.sepub.com Since 1986 we have been providing the BEST full color and limited color site maps and area guides, rack cards, specialty advertising promotional products. We also offer free listing service for all our campground clients Rving USA.com Steradian Technologies Jenny Richardson 643 Ferry Street Lafayette, IN 47901 (765) 420-9201 FAX (765) 535-5040 [email protected] http://www.steradiantech.com Lasertag combines fun with exercise! We are a family owned/operated business and we design and manufacture Steradian outdoor/indoor lasertag gear. This game is perfect for all age campers, whether in the recreation center or a small field. Call or email Tengo Internet, Inc. ERIC STUMBERG 106 E. 6TH STREET SUITE 900 AUSTIN, TX 78701 (512) 469-7660 Fax (512) 233-1783 [email protected] http://www.tengointernet.com TengoInternet is the oldest and largest wireless service provider to the outdoor hospitality industry, delivering turnkey Wi-Fi Solutions for over 900 campgrounds, hotels and marinas in North America Texas Meter & Device Steve Swenke PO Box 154099 Waco, TX 76715-4099 (800) 247-5116 [email protected] http://www.texasmeter.com UTILITY SUPPLY GROUP Wade Elliott 26519 Bond Rd NE Kingston, WA 98346-8476 (360) 881-0375 FAX (360) 881-0742 [email protected] http://www.go-usg.com National provider of RV pedestals and boxes. Electric meters, wire and distribution load centers are also available. USG sells the Xlerator hand dryer in KOA yellow. The Xlerator not only dries your hands, but will save you about 90% over paper towels and up to 85% over hand dryers WILCOR INTERNATIONAL MICHELE MEDINA 161 DRIVE IN ROAD FRANKFORT, NY 13340 (800) 356-2345 [email protected] http://www.wilcor.net Wilcor International is the #1 supplier to the vacation industry with the largest variety from one source. We proudly research and develop new and innovative products to help make your business prosper Xzeres Wind Nancy Sage 9025 SW Hillman Ct Ste 3126 Wilsonville, OR 97070 (503) 703-1362 [email protected] http:www.xzeres.com XZERES Wind designs, manufactures and distributes high quality wind energy systems. We combine wind energy solutions with industry leading performance Yara North America Nelson Vargas 100 N Tampa St,Ste 3200 Tampa, FL 33602 813-401-0029 [email protected] http://www.yara.com Used worldwide by wastewater treatment plants, Odorlos Holding Tank Treatment is scent free and is formulated to effectively prevent odor production and accelerate the breakdown of waste January/February/March 2012 Pacific Yurts Inc. Pete Dolan 77456 Highway 99 S Cottage Grove, OR 97424 800-944-0240 FAX 541-942-0508 [email protected] http://www.yurts.com Pacific Yurts sets the highest standard for quality, service, and proven product performance. As the original designer and manufacturer of the modern yurt, we have built a 34 year track record of success and innovation 17 Volume 32, Issue 1 Raising the Quality Bar in 2012 At out February OA board meeting the board asked KOA, Inc to provide a brief update on changes in the Quality Review process. Our thanks to Fred Prichard who has provided the following update. A few key changes were made to the 2012 Quality Review. 1. The minimum score to pass the Quality Review has been raised from 350 to 400 points. 2. A new core item is introduced: “Campgrounds must exceed the bottom 5% ranking of the Net Promoter Scores determined by KOA’s Rate Your Stay Survey.” The yearly Quality Review visit is a snapshot of one day in a campgrounds season. KOA believes it is important that campgrounds operate at the level of quality that our campers expect every day during their season. The NPS survey gives us a much broader look at how the campground is performing to meet those guest expectations. Campgrounds with exceedingly low NPS scores will not pass their Quality Reviews, will not be eligible for awards, and will be expected to work through a plan with their assigned Business Development Consultant (BDC) in order to raise their guest satisfaction scores or they will be removed from the KOA system. The OA board will be updated on further developments on the QR program at each of our upcoming board meetings. Please let us know if you have any thoughts, comments or suggestions by contacting us at [email protected] 18 Owners News Funnies Driving through town in his BMW, a successful young lawyer spotted two men on the side of the road eating grass out of somebody’s yard. Moved by how desperate the men had become, he pulls over to have a word with them, Advice From Dad “Hey fellas, what is going on? Why are you eating grass?” asks the lawyer. A young boy and his dad went out fishing one fine morning. After a few quiet hours out in the boat, the boy became curious about the world around him. He looked up at his dad and asked “How do fish breathe under water?” “We’re down on our luck, have no jobs and are very poor!”, they both respond. His dad thought about it for a moment, then replied, “I really don’t know, son.” “Well then, come with me” the lawyer insists. “I’ll do what I can to help, after all - it’s clear you’re desperate and you’re clearly willing to do what it takes to get by.” The boy sat quietly from another moment, then turned back to his dad and asked, “How does our boat float on the water?” After a fifteen minute drive, the two poor men arrive at a beautiful estate on five acres of land right on the 18th hole of a prestigious golf course. They became excited at the chance to finally get some work. “Sir, we can’t thank you enough! Thank you so much for this opportunity. We will make you happy!” they exclaimed with joy! “Ah, it’s no problem. I’m just happy to help.” replied the compassionate lawyer. You can eat all the grass you want, it’s got to be at least a foot tall by now!” www.koaowners.org Once again his dad replied, “Don’t know, son.” Pondering his thoughts again, a short while later, the boy asks “Why is the sky blue?” Again, his dad replied. “Don’t know, son.” The inquisitive boy, worried he was annoying his father, asks this time “Dad, do you mind that I’m asking you all of these questions?” “Of course not son.” replied his dad, “How else are you ever going to learn anything?” January/February/March 2012 The Compassionate Lawyer 19 Volume 32, Issue 1 “WORKAMPER’S KORNER” We are planning to continue this section of the OA news. If you would like to submit an article on this subject please send your article to us at [email protected] We have a new committee that will be working on providing ideas, suggestions or other comments this year. The committee consists of the following: Workkamper Committee Kim Carranza, Chair Diane King Jim Brown Sarah Martin Please feel free to contact any of these committee members with any suggestions you have on how we can gain more insights into effectively working with our workampers. Workamper of the Year Award With the 2012 season getting underway we wanted to remind you of the annual Workamper Of The Year award. This will be the fourth year we will be presenting this award. We are pleased to announce the KOA Work Kamper of the Year Award will be presented at the KOA convention in Orlando in November, 2012. While the criteria for this year has not been finalized we wanted to remind you to be thinking about the award and whether you will be submitting one of your workamper individuals or couples this year. The general criteria for evaluating nominees for 2011 were: Criteria 1. The Work Kamper nominee must have an active membership in the KOA Work Kamper Program. Their resume may be inactive only if currently working at a KOA Kampground. Also must allow for work kampers that are not full-timers, but work only in the summer months. 2. Demonstrate loyalty to the KOA Organization by choice of campgrounds to work at. 3. Demonstrate outstanding customer skills per the “Making It Great” Program. The Work Kamper nominee is an employee who goes above and beyond on the campground, is a team player and gets along well with peers. Demonstrates positive energy and attitude proving to be an asset to the campground atmosphere. POINTS TO CONSIDER: Competence, friendliness and high customer satisfaction. Willingness to take on projects and implementing them to their solutions. Positive comments from customers about the extra effort and treatment they receive from the Work Kamper. 4. Implements the KOA Work Kamper Code of Conduct as developed at the Work Kamper University. The announcement of the nominating procedures and criteria will be published in September, 2012. Be on the lookout for the announcement near the end of the summer season. 20 Owners News KOA OWNER SPOTLIGHT BURCO Promotional Printing: Your Partner for Success At BURCO, we specialize in promotional printing for recreation – and especially for campgrounds. Our purpose in establishing the company in the early 1970s was to meet a local need for printing golf score cards. Following that first success, we expanded to other businesses and industries that requested our expertise in bulk printing. In the years since, we have found great satisfaction in printing for the leisure market and have worked diligently not only to enhance the public presence of our customers but to find ways for them to increase their promotional reach and market share. It’s precisely that sort of growth that we hope to bring to KOA owners and managers as we announce Max Gunther as BURCO’s dedicated liaison. An experienced professional, Max will work with you one-on-one to determine the best strategies for your location and your individual needs. He knows the campground market and is well prepared to collaborate with you to boost your sales and traffic. Max can also guide you in choosing particular BURCO products to optimize your campground’s print presence, from rack cards and postcards to business cards and site maps. He can also share with you the advantages of our business-boosting ad program, which allows you to provide campground site maps to your customers completely FREE of charge to you and to them. The ad program markets you and other select businesses to visitors, increasing exposure for everyone and providing terrific local information for your campers. The best part is that BURCO takes care of all the legwork. The only thing required of you is final approval of our choices. January/February/March 2012 To learn more about the benefits of our FREE ad sponsorship program for your KOA campground, contact Max Gunther directly at 866-439-4334. www.koaowners.org 21 Volume 32, Issue 1 SE Publications Ad 22 Owners News Welcome to the latest edition of “Your Partnership with Southeast Publications” Every month we send out this In-Site to our valued customers. Whether you are an establishment in which we are providing site maps or area guides for, or a business that supports your local establishment by placing ads for your company or services on the maps and guides, we want you to know what we are doing to help promote you. These monthly updates are intended to keep all of our customers up to date on Southeast Publications and all of our efforts to better serve you. This is just another reason why Southeast Publications is THE BEST in the industry. Thank you and we appreciate your business. In this edition, we want to introduce our new mobile app “MobileRVing”. This is a free app that is designed to assist travelers to find your RV Park, Campground, Marina, etc. while they are on the road looking for places to stay, or planning their next trip. It allows them to search by Name, State, Zip Code, or even by searching parks that are near their current location. This is a free service and we are providing listings for all of our current customers. The MobileRVing app not only directs travelers to the parks and campgrounds, but the Site Maps and Mobile Guides that Southeast Publications has produced are also accessible to the travelers. They will be able to access all of the park’s information as well as the local businesses that advertise on the site maps and guides. For the establishments, this will help promote your park to people all over the world and provide direct navigation to your park. We want travelers to know about the parks and establishments we work with and how much we value them. Users will be able to connect to your park with a touch of a button, either by clicking the link to your website or using the “direct connect” feature which will allow them to call you directly from the within he app, to ask questions and make reservations. We are confident that this latest addition to our services will not only help promote all of the great establishments and businesses that we work with, but will also prove to help increase traffic and revenue for them as well. Thank you again, and we look forward to seeing you all soon! 800-832-3292 ~ “Your Partnership with Southeast Publications” Your Ideas Count... Southeast Publications offers a variety of services in addition to providing site maps and area guides. We also offer a full range of promotional printing materials like rack cards, business cards, brochures, window hangers and more. If there is something you need or would like to help promote your park, let us know. We also provide solutions for website design and development. But, if there is something you need or something you would like Southeast Publications to consider offering, let us know your ideas! Comments or Suggestions? Let us know how we are doing. We are asking that you share your stories with us. We want to post what people are thinking so everyone can see what our valued customers think about the products we provide to them. www.koaowners.org January/February/March 2012 For the local businesses, it will let the travelers know where to go while they are in the area and what local businesses the establishments recommend. By having the ability to access the Mobile Guides, travelers will see YOUR ad. This will help them become more familiar with your services, logo, location, website, and contact information. More exposure for your ad means more business for you. 23 Volume 32, Issue 1 2012 KOA Care Camps Board Mike Kuper-Chairman Thunderbay KOA 162 Spruce River Rd Thunder Bay, ON P7B 5E4 Phone: 807-683-6221 Fax: 807-683-6222 [email protected] Hope Perkins-Secretary Elkhart/Middlebury KOA 52867 State Rd 13 Middlebury, IN 46540 Phone: 574-825-5932 Fax: 574-825-1080 [email protected] Daniel Parent Cardinal KOA 609 Pittson Rd RR 1 Cardinal, ON K0E 1E0 Phone: 613-657-4536 Fax: 613-657-8926 [email protected] John Downing Rock Island KOA 2311 78th Ave W. Rock Island, IL 61201 Phone: 309-787-0665 Fax: 309-787-1320 [email protected] Jim Rogers KOA Inc. PO Box 30558 Billings, MT 59114 Phone: 800-548-7104 Fax: 406-248-7414 [email protected] Jerry Dale-V. Chairman Kim Carranza-Treasurer Manchester TN KOA Twin Falls KOA 586 Kampground Rd 5431 US Hwy 93 Manchester, TN 37355 Jerome, ID 83338 Phone: 931-728-9750 Phone: 208-324-4169 Fax: 931-728-9777 Fax: 208-324-4376 [email protected] [email protected] Kathy Gross Wade Elliott Oregon Dunes KOA Utility Supply Group 68632 Hwy 101 PO Box 267 North Bend, OR 97459 Preston, WA 98050 Phone: 541-756-4851 Phone: 800-800-2811 Fax: 541-756-8838 Fax: 425-222-7845 [email protected] [email protected] Diane King (2010) Owners Association Office Springfield/Rte 66 KOA Administrator: Bill Ranieri 5775 W. Farm Rd 140 3416 Primm Lane Springfield, MO 65802 Birmingham, AL 35216 Phone: 417-831-3645 Phone: 800-678-9976; Fax: 417-863-0295 888-461-2062 [email protected] Fax: 208-324-4376 [email protected] Mike Groseclose KOA Inc. Representative Buckeye Lake KOA Mike Gast 4460 Walnut Rd PO Box 30558 Buckeye Lake, OH 43008 Billings, MT 59114 Phone: 740-928-0706 Phone: 800-548-7104 Fax: 740-928-0462 Fax: 406-248-7414 [email protected] [email protected] Wayne Morris SE Publication 4360 Peters Rd Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33317 Phone: 954-294-8040 Fax: 945-583-4109 [email protected] The healing nature of camping 24 Owners News A Million Smiles Hey KOA do you want to be part of a million smiles??? That’s right a million smiles!!! We currently support 47 Care camps and have sent numerous children off to camp. KOA care Camps as you know allows children stricken with cancer to attend camp for a safe week of fun and to associate with other kids that have the same disease. We are celebrating KOA”s 50th birthday this year and we want to set a goal!!! We want to support 50 Care Camps and produce a million smiles!!!! This seems like a lot but let’s put some numbers together. Stay with me now. Let’s say an average of 100 children attend one of our 50 KOA Care camps, some would actually have less attend where some would have considerably more. Take these 500 children smiling an average of 25 times an hour while some never stop smiling and others try to smile even through their pain. This is the “healing Nature Of Camping” You add this all up and within the week at Care Camps we would see at least a million smiles!!!!!!!! Now doesn’t that make you feel warm & fuzzie inside??? Last year we challenged all of you to raise $1000. By the middle of October we had 33 Kampgrounds out of 400 plus that met that goal. We need your participation to create a Million Smiles... Many of you have signed up for “Big Weekend”(CK&CWUW), consider continuing your fundraising efforts throughout your season!! • This year we are asking you all to step it up a notch. Gather your KOA staff, volunteers, family & friends and together raise funds for the KOA Cancer Camps for Kids!!! Here are three easy ways to help you out with fundraising...1. “Roundup” which is asking the customer to donate their change to Care Camps, you can find out how to do this on ekamp. 2. You can setup your kampsight to donate a dollar to Care Camps upon registration. 3. We have provided you with a convenient coin box to locate at your registration desk. These 3 fundraisers are at no cost to you!! If you want to really get involved then it”s time to think outside the box and try a fundraising event such as a simple 50/50 draw, or a weekend ice cream social or how about a bingo. All three of these fundraiser events are at a minimal cost to you. Yes you can do this, fill out the PLEDGE , let’s all be part of a million smiles....Just imagine...... “ A Million Smiles”.......What a wonderful incentive Thank You KOA Franchisee’s Sincerely, A Million Smiles Pledge for 2012 Please return this pledge form by: We pledge $__________ a day to create a million smiles at KOA Care Camps We pledge $__________ a week to create a million smiles at KOA Care Camps We pledge $__________ for our season to create a million smiles at KOA Care Camps Kampground name_______________________________________________ Email: [email protected] Fax: 205-823-2760 Mail: KOA Owners Assoc. 3516 Primm Lane Birmingham, AL 35216 The healing nature of camping January/February/March 2012 Michael Kuper, Chairman KOA Care Camps Franchisee #____________________________________________________ www.koaowners.org 25 Volume 32, Issue 1 CARE CAMPS BIG WEEKEND IDEAS By Hope Perkins Hello all! Hope here, from the Elkhart CO/Middlebury KOA & I have a great new ‘column’ for you that is generated from you! I have compiled the answers from our survey questions and you may recognize some of the comments in the column. I am happy to assist you in your fundraising challenges by using the very ideas from many of the KOAs out there that have had much success with this BIG weekend’s fundraising. Using the answers as to why fundraising is not a success from the survey, I have matched them with the answers to what fundraising is a success. No matter how big a KOA or how few people attend the event, there is always a way to raise funds for KOA Care Camps. 1. ‘Only a handful of campers come’ – ‘50/50 raffle’ no matter how many people come to the campground, everyone loves to win money! A simple 50/50 raffle where the money is divided between winner and Care Camps can generate a decent amount of money for the fundraiser. Also works for the campground that sees ‘low income guests’, and the people that are ‘sick of giving out handouts’. This type of fundraising has no advance schedule involved, and no extra staff or money involved in the planning either! 2. ‘Winter like weather’, or in Florida ‘too hot for activities’. I had no comments to pair with these items, but here are a few ideas from me – use the weather to create a simple event – Cold out – have a mini-marshmallow roast inside your event hall using unscented candles, tooth picks, and mini marshmallows. This is a minimal investment and you can ‘charge’ for the marshmallows to roast – stating a marshmallow inside will1 Chadwick_AD_122810:Layout 1 12/28/10 roasting 12:41 PM Page generate curiosity and may get your guests in the door. Hot out – water balloon wars or squirt gun wars are always a laugh and can cool one down, ‘charge’ for the balloons or rentals of the squirt guns. Each of these ‘charges’ could be as little as $.25 and could earn some nice change for Care Camps. Heavy Duty American Made Campground Equipment I hope these simple ideas will help you generate funds for Care Camps Weekend and future fundraising all season long! Picnic table frames, fire rings & grills at competitive prices. P.O. Box 85 • Chadwick, IL 61014 [email protected] The healing nature 26 Call toll free or visit our website to receive a free catalog. 800.732.4602 • www.Chadwickmfg.com Owners News KOA CARE CAMPS KOA Care Camps received a donation for $206.00 from the Northeast Campground Association. During the Northeast Campground Association’s 48th Annual Conference on camping and event was held in Sturbridge, Massachusetts on March 22 – 24, 2012, to benefit KOA Care Camps. Larry Brownfield of KOA, Inc. was present to represent the KOA Care Camps. The new KOA Care Camps vest and pins were highlighted during the event. David R. Tetrault, Executive Director of the Northeast Campground Association sent the donation to KOA Care Camps citing our wonderful work with children’s camps across the country especially those located in the Northeast from Maine to Maryland. He stated their 1100 plus members truly understood the “Healing Nature of Camping” and were thrilled to support our endeavors! Announcement of Cancer Camps Grants We have several owners who have volunteered to present the Care Camps grant check in person at one of the cancer camps in their area. If you would like to present a check in person to one of the camps we support please contact us at info@ koaowners.org and let us know if you are interested. We are sorry that we can’t publish the locations of the camps at this time since we don’t know which ones will submit an application. We will keep you offer to volunteer on file and if we sponsor a camp in your area we will let you know. The checks normally go out the first week or two in June. Please let us know if you would like to participate. www.koaowners.org Are the year to year fluctuations in your insurance rates making your stomach do flip-flops? Some insurance companies’ rates vary wildly from year to year. If so, it’s time to get off the insurance rate roller coaster and call Evergreen USA. We’re owned and operated by the camping industry, so we understand your business. And because we base our rates on a long-term, stable approach, you won’t have to fasten your seatbelt every time your policy renews. Discover the Evergreen difference—friendly, knowledgeable service, flexible payment plans, and a 20% discount as an industry association member. Call Evergreen today for a free quote: 1-800-343-7900 Official Campground Insurance Provider ‘Secure’ rating from A.M. Best Company Evergreen USA RRG, Inc. • 10 Falcon Road, Lewiston, ME 04240 1-800-343-7900 • www.evergreenusa.com January/February/March 2012 This year we have invited 50 Cancer Camps to submit applications for receiving a Care Camps grant from us. This is the largest number of cancer camps to date that have been invited to submit an application. 27 Volume 32, Issue 1 A MISSIONARY VISIT BY SOME OF OUR KOA OWNERS From left to right Angela (MCF beneficiary) Jeff & Cathy (Toronto North Cookstown KOA) Esther & Dr Charles Mulli (MCF founders) John & Vikki (team leaders) Kristie & Michael (Thunder Bay KOA) Gwen (team participant) Brian (team participant) The team spent 10 days at MCF where we explored both Yatta and Ndalani which are the two MCF sites. We held the wee ones in the nursery and we visited classrooms and learned what the children dream to be in their future. We were overwhelmed with the gardens, cattle and chickens Dr. Mulli has on site with hopes of having MCF self sustained in the near future. We visited Vipingo one of the 3 communities where Dr. Charles has engaged children in education and a feeding program. Here we also planted trees and helped feed the children. Forever in our memory is the sound of the children singing as we fell asleep and the sweet singing of happy children in the morning! Every day is a Gift from God, and these days were wrapped with harmony… We learned to appreciate every moment, we learned how to pray. The Mully Children’s Family Charitable Foundation (MCFCF) is a Christian humanitarian organization committed to transforming the lives of orphaned, abandoned and abused children in Kenya. In 1989, former street child Ev. Dr. Charles M. Mulli founded the Mully Children’s Family (MCF) with his wife Esther and ever since they’ve been rescuing vulnerable children, giving them a place to call home, with access to education, training, medical care, counseling and parental love. Over the past 20 years MCF has rehabilitated over 6,000 children and currently cares for over 2,000. MCF is the largest home for orphaned children in Kenya, and the only one with a strong emphasis on the rehabilitation of girls. MCF also operates three community day centers which provide food and basic primary education to children who have been orphaned but remain in the care of a relative. www.mcfcf.org | http://www.facebook.com/MCFCF 28 Owners News A N D S U P P L I E R S T O R V PA R K S & C A M P G R O U N D S � � � � � High Efficiency Hand Dryers Electric Meter Kits Water Meters Timer Boxes Photocell Controllers 800-800-2811 (8:30 am EASTERN to 5pm PACIFIC) www.koaowners.org XLERATOR® HAND DRYER GREENSPEC® APPROVED. NOW IN KOA YELLOW! www.go-usg.com January/February/March 2012 NATIONWIDE DISTRIBUTORS 29 Volume 32, Issue 1 @ REQUEST FOR EMAIL ADDRESSES Dear KOA Owners: During recent meetings of the Board of Directors of your Kampground Owner’s Association, concern has been raised about the most effective means to disperse current information to all owners. As an Association we have a list of e-mail addresses some of which are valid and some have been changed. KOA Inc. has a list of e-mail addresses which include some off season addresses that we don’t have but in order to respect the privacy requests of all owners they are unable to share those addresses. Finally we all have e-mail addresses for our campground reservations listed on Kampsight. In order to allow us to better serve you we are sending this out to every known mailing list for KOA Owners. We apologize in advance for sending you multiple messages. Sincerely, Vicki Cole, President Pease indicate below what e-mail address you would like us to use in the future and send it to: [email protected] Your Name _________________________________________________________________________ KOA Name__________________________________________________________________________ City and State How Important Do You Rate WiFi? ______________________________ WiFi is no longer a luxury... it’s a necessity Five years ago, a traveler was likely to have one laptop. Now a family of travelers may have multiple computers, smart phones, tablets and a gaming console—all needing to connect with WiFi. Are you rating the importance of WiFi as high as your guests? ______________________________ Year around e-mail ______________________________ At TengoInternet, we believe that reliable equipment, coupled with awardwinning service and support are critical for success. Let us help you design, deploy and support a network that will make your guests happy and take away your WiFi headaches. OR 90-Day Money Back Guarantee Summer e-mail We are so confident in our WiFi Solutions that we offer a 90-day money back guarantee with every network purchase. If the network fails to perform as represented, TengoInternet will refund 100% of your purchase price ______________________________ 2010/2011 Winter e-mail ______________________________ 30 Supplier of the Year 512.469.7660 | [email protected] | www.tengointernet.com Owners News @ TO EMAIL OR NOT EMAIL Well folks, it was only a matter of time and that time has come for the Owners Newsletter. Everyone these days has a choice to receive newsletters and announcements by email or through the Post Office (snail mail). Please let us know how you would like to receive future copies of the OA Newsletter. You can email OR mail your preference into the OA Office; but please include your campground name and address for tracking purposes. If you don’t want to make a change from hardcopy you don’t need to respond to this survey. I WOULD PREFER TO RECEIVE MY COPY OF THE OA NEWSLETTER BY: E-MAIL:______________________________________________________________________________ REGULAR MAIL:______________________________________________________________________ EMAIL & MAIL:_______________________________________________________________________ Campground Name: ____________________________________________________________________ Campground Address:___________________________________________________________________ Campground City:__________________________________State:____________Zip:________________ Contact Name:_________________________________________________________________________ Email to: [email protected] Mailing Address: KOA Owners Association 3416 Primm Ln Birmingham, AL 35216 Or Email response to [email protected] REMEMBER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO CHANGE FROM HARDCOPY YOU DON’T NEED TO RESPOND Volume 32, Issue 1 KOA Owners Association 3416 Primm Lane Birmingham, AL 35216 KOA Owners Association Owners News 3416 Primm Lane Birmingham, AL 35216 To submit articles or request advertising information, write to the above address or use the following contact information: c/o Jim Ranieri Telephone: 800-678-9976 or 205-824-0022 Fax: 205-823-2760 Email:[email protected] Publication: Owners News is published four times per year by the KOA Owners Association. Printing services are donated by Southeast Publications USA, Inc. Telephone: 800-832-3292 32 Owners News
