| Excerpts from Mar/Apr 2000 Newsletter | |
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PRESIDENT'S COMMENTS |
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| Dear Friends, | |
| When you received your last newsletter, Lois and I were traveling on the West coast. We would really like to thank Diana and Bill Allen for doing a fine job with that issue. We also would like to congratulate them on becoming our regular newsletter editors and publishers. | |
| Our trip from Florida to California which covered 6,500 miles and 13 Flying J's allowed us to visit several Discovery friends. In Las Vegas we stayed at Dick & Alice Bohn. I really want to thank Dick for chairing our business meeting in Pomona. We hope many of you were able to attend this meeting. We did not win enough money in Vegas to buy a new coach, but we did leave with enough to travel on to Albuquerque to visit with Ken and Jackie Adams who are hosting the Balloon Fiesta Rally in October. Boy, do they have some good places picked out for our dining enjoyment during this rally. | |
| We watched the new year's millennium come in while we were parked with another 175 RVs at Santa Anita Race Track and then on New Year's Day we watched the Rose Parade live and were able to see "our float", the one which we had helped prepare with flowers the previous day. They even entrusted me with glue to put on petals while another lady put on the orchids. | |
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From Pasadena we traveled on to Tucson to see Bob & Kathy Nelson, who have a beautiful home set in the carved-out side of the mountain. Would you believe he actually parks his D beside the house after he winds up the mountain? The D really was great on this trip, but we did have to change oil at 45,000 miles after we returned to Florida. |
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| In early March we headed to Titusville, Florida, to attend the Space Coast Rally hosted by Candy and Glenn Smith. What an action packed rally this was; how they squeezed six days of activities into 4 days, I'm not sure, but we really do appreciate the fine job they did in hosting this rally. For those of you who missed out, there still may be a chance - Candy has agreed it should be an annual event, but Glenn is still thinking about this. | |
| As you know, Ron & Sarah Hyslop are hosting our pre-rally for the International Convention and some of the things they have planned will make this event one you won't want to miss. | |
| Having completed our first year of operation since our organizational meeting at the Perry, Georgia, Convention in March, 1999, I want to thank each and every member for joining and also thank the officers for all of their efforts during the past year. I especially want to thank Bill Scheerer, our treasurer and membership secretary and his helpful wife Nancy. Bill has put in many hours collecting the dues, depositing the checks, paying our bills, etc. He also handles the name tags and prepares the labels for the newsletter. Thanks, Bill, for such a fine job. | |
| As we enter into our second year, I invite each of you to become active in your chapter by inviting others to join, attend a rally or convention, and write an article for our newsletter. We really need volunteers for hosting a pre-rally in Oklahoma City, in March 2001. The Mardi Gras Rally for February, 2001, has been scrubbed due to lack of interest, but the Discovery Alaska Caravan is still on for late May of 2001, until early August, returning for the Summer Convention to be held in Bend, Oregon. This caravan will be limited to 10 coaches, so make sure your name is on the list if you have any interest. | |
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Happy Discovery, Jim Campbell |
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FMCA MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS |
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One of the benefits of being a member of FMCA is receiving the annual membership directory. In the current directory there is a wonderful article beginning on page 216 that lists many, many other benefits. Described in the article are activities, web sites, discounts, mail forwarding and message services, and insurance coverages (page 228). One of the insurance programs available to you is designed to cover the deductible and co-insurance costs you are required to pay out of your pocket when such expenses are incurred at least 50 miles from your home. Reading about the many benefits is well worth your time. |
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HAPPY ANNIVERSARY |
| Discovery International members noted the first anniversary of our FMCA Charter March 22, 2000. The officers met and presented our program to the National Director and his staff last March. From a humble beginning of 22 members to our current membership of 187 families, "We've Come A Long Way Baby!" Since our formation, we have traveled to Middle Amana, Iowa, for a pre-rally of 33 Discovery coaches. We completed our first caravan from Middle Amana to Ames. Twenty-eight of the 33 coaches, lined up according to color and traveled across Iowa from Middle Amana to Ames. Fifteen Discoverys gathered for "Fun in the Sun" at Vero Beach, Florida, last November. It has been a very busy year for the members and officers of Discovery International and looks like it will be even busier in 2000, with Titusville already in the history book and Maine and Albuquerque on the horizon. Our membership continues to grow as Discovery owners "discover" the benefits of becoming part of Discovery International. |
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Submitted by Bill Scheerer |
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IT'S A FREEBIE!!! |
| Carefree of Colorado is offering a free Force Shield and free installation to promote their Force Shield program. If any chapter member is interested in receiving this service at no charge, please read to following: |
| If you have a 97-99 Discovery, please contact Nick Kraus, Engineering Manager at C. O. Tools, Inc. in Elkhart, Indiana, for additional information. The telephone number is 219-262-1527 |
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COMMUNICATING IS SO IMPORTANT |
| All of us have had the experience of backing our Discoverys into spots while having to rely on our spouse or traveling companion for hand signals or radio comunications in order to avoid a mishap. A refined communications system is the only way to handle these delicate maneuvers. At our rally in Titusville, Virginia Wampler shared with us a story that vividly illustrated the importance of understanding hand signals. Be sure to ask Virginia to tell you the story. |
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I'M A SENIOR CITIZEN |
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SPEAKING OF TITUSVILLE RALLY |
| Twenty Discoverys and their owners participated in the rally held March 4-8 at The Great Outdoors (TGO) in Titusville, Florida. The rally opened with an evening gathering that provided an opportunity to get-acquainted. Door prizes were awarded to each couple and were provided by Camping World, Discovery, Flying J, Freightliner, Lazy Days, Progressive RV Insurance, RV Alliance and Woodall's. |
| On Sunday, there was a "Then-and-Now" Tour which included a tour of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, including the lighthouse, and Kennedy Space Center (KSC). At the KSC Visitors' Complex, we got an insider's view of the space shuttle program beginning with the IMAX theater showing of "The Dream is Alive." Some of the highlights included the Apollo-Saturn V Center with a visit to the firing room theater and re-creation of the Apollo 8 launch; the LC-39 Observation Gantry (launch sight of the space shuttle) and space dots - ice cream of the future! We walked through a mockup of the International Space Station Center and saw the astronaut living and working quarters. The day ended with dinner at the infamous seafood restaurant, The Dixie Crossroads, known far and wide for excellent food! |
| Monday began with a bus ride from TGO to Port Canaveral where we boarded the Sterling Casino Cruise Ship for a 4-hour cruise with buffet, entertainment and other activities as determined by each individual and returning to TGO at 5 p.m. The "big" winner of the day was Diana Allen, but the amount remains a secret. (Estimates ranged from $67 to thousands!) |
| Tuesday's send off was a spectacular breakfast prepared and served by our hosts. The menu included orange juice, sausage-egg casserole (recipe included in this newsletter) bagels, doughnuts, fresh fruit cocktail and coffee. Farewells began shortly after breakfast and concluded by noon. |
| In addition to scheduling picture-perfect weather for the interesting and entertaining activities planned by our hosts, they arranged to have a pair of Sand Hill Cranes visit the rally area with their two-week old hatchlings. |
| Glenn and Candy wish to thank all of the attendees and hope to see them and many more in Fryeburg, Maine, in July. |
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Submitted by Glenn and Candy Smith |
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IT IS A GREAT RECIPE! |
Sausage-Egg Casserole |
Submitted by Candy Smith |