Southeast President Letter
I hope this letter finds you enjoying adventurous summer travels! We are in Virginia Beach and in just a few days we will be heading towards Shawnee. We are looking forward to a great Southeast pre-rally and the 2017 National. There is still time to register for Shawnee! Registration available at www.myamericancoach.com In July we will be attending the American Coach Chapter of the FMCA pre-rally in Indiana. There is still time to register and details are on our rally schedule.
We have recently completed a series of RV Maintenance adventures. Our first stop was the Spartan service center in Charlotte, Michigan. This was our first visit to this facility and I am positive that we will be going back! We use our coach a lot and it is reassuring to have the chassis inspected and maintained by the manufacturer.
Our next stop was a two week stay in Decatur. This was a longer stay than we had expected, but we are grateful that we were able to share our time with friends that had service appointments also. Our service appointment turned into an extended mini rally with social hours, dining out and arranged tours. We were amazed by all the changes since our last visit there just over a year ago! The “Camp Decatur” building addition is complete and the waiting rooms are a significant improvement. A big change is that the service center is now the REV Technical center, handling repairs on not only American Coach, but Fleetwood, Holiday Rambler and Monaco coaches. This place is busy! One very positive addition is a courtesy (free) laundromat with three washers and driers that are accessible to customers 24 hours a day, that addition sure helps when you are parked without water and sewer.
We toured the Winchester street facility where American Coaches are now built. This is also the site where the other REV tag axle coaches (Holiday Rambler and Monaco) are built. Our tour guide Tom told us that if the 39’ Revolution is brought back, it will be built at this location.
I recently received very sad news from Carol Thompson. Carol’s husband Don passed away from cancer on May 2nd. Don and Carol just recently joined the ACA and Southeast and they attended our December Rally in Sarasota and the Regional at Lazydays in January. Carol was kind enough to send us a card and wanted me to share it. “Please let everyone know how much we appreciated the kindness and understanding shown to us at the two rallies we were able to attend, I will never forget the great people we met in the “Southeast” ACA. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Sincerely, Carol Thompson.” We spoke to Carol and I am sure we passed on the sentiment of all of us that we hope to see her at future rallies.
Our updated website is (www.southeastaca.net) working out very well. Our webmaster and treasurer Keith Landers has made it possible to join Southeast, renew annual memberships and register for southeast rallies, using a credit card if desired. Mailing in membership and registrations forms remains available but since this update became available in early March, nearly all transactions have been completed using our secure on-line program. I also encourage you to visit and “like’ our Southeast facebook page at www.facebook.com/Southeastaca
Welcome to Southeast’s newest members! Arnold Bierman, Orlando FL, Carl & Barbara Bullock, Newtown, PA, Richard & Susan Bunkley, Brunswick, GA, Edward & Alice Galuska, Hernando FL, James & Robin Giles, Simpsonville SC, Charles & Joan Imhoff, Webster FL, John & Sheila Konnick, Ocala FL, Brett & Sandy Sloan, Hawthorne FL, Sherwin Truax, Port Charlotte FL, and Donald & Connie Whitecotton, Mary Esther FL.
Ray and I feel very fortunate to be a part of this chapter and we hope to see you soon!
Pauline Shea