FUN TIMES SOUTH FLORIDA UNIT #30

Wally Byam Caravan Club International

March/April 2015

How Rallies are Born

It all started many moons ago on March 20, 2014 when I received an email from Eileen Frerking

who received an email from Tammy Davis and Doug Quara , who received an invitation from

David Sowder of the Florida SunCoast Unit. David had asked that Tammy extend an invitation to

our South Florida Unit members to attend their rally next March 12-15, 2015 at Highlands Ham-

mock State Park. Tammy & Doug thought it would be fun for us to get together with other Air-

stream Units from time to time.

I ,too, thought it would be a great idea for a Buddy Rally. From that time on David & I plus many

others worked on planning the activities. After countless emails and phone calls, on March 12,

2015 the rally began. We had 27 rigs from both Units arrive ready to pitch in and make this a

new adventure. There were a lot of new friends to meet and new experiences to enjoy. And en-

joy we did, home cooked meals, lunches, breakfast, seminars and tour of the park.

Our Unit has voted to support the Wounded Warriors Project each year. A check will be sent to Janie L. Haddaway who is coordinating the funds on behalf of WBCCI. A letter has been sent on behalf of the South Florida Airstream Unit 30, that we would like to support the Wounded Warrior Project with a donation of $300.00 for the year 2015. In addition we are supporting the State Parks we camp in.

This time at Highlands Hammock, Sebring, Fl. we contrib-

uted $100.00 to the Friends of Highlands Hammock.

Tony Laurie

President

Highlands Hammock Tram Ride Owl Alligator

Sunrise at Highlands Hammock

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Buddy Rally at Highlands Hammock State Park, Sebring, Fl South Florida Unit 30 & Florida Suncoast Unit 129

SOUPS ON!!! That was the announcement after South Florida Unit and Suncoast Unit people finished setting up campsites. Our unit joined the Suncoast Unit for a Joint Rally at Highlands Hammock State Park in Sebring, Fl. We all brought one of our favorite soups to share. There were over 21 different soups. Mmmmm good! We ended with a campfire that was to become a nightly ritual complete with marshmallows and s’mores. The next day John Frerking presented a fire safety seminar. It is always good to learn and review ideas for safety in traveling. Remember to check your fire extinguishers and make sure all in the trailer know how to use it. It is also suggested that a fire extinguisher is carried in the tow vehicle. We were reminded to do a pro- pane check throughout the trailer to identify any propane leaks. And lastly don’t forget to change the batteries in the smoke alarms, LP alarms and carbon monoxide alarms. That afternoon we had free time and then gathered for dinner featur- ing smoked meat by the Sun-coast chefs together with side dishes provided by all. On Saturday the women learned about flower arranging by mak-ing a St. Patrick’s Day arrangement, led by Kathy Myers. Very cute displays, ladies! Following this we went for lunch at the Garden Café at McLaren’s in Sebring. What a lovely outdoor café situated in a garden that was previously a nursery. Not to be outdone, the men went to the Sebring Race Track, set up by Doug Quara and viewed some time trials and then out to lunch at Dee’s Place. I heard that the hamburgers were not only big but the best ever tasted. Later our unit had a meeting and not only discussed business but learned about plans for next year’s rallies – thanks to President Tony and Bill (1st VP) and Beth Racavich! Sunday began with a pancakes, eggs, grits, sausage, and biscuit breakfast again featuring the Suncoast chefs. Thanks, men! Then many of the group departed for home though some of us stayed to take the tram ride through the park. We welcome the Keith’s – Pete, Beth, Claire and Caitlyn – as bud-dies for this rally. Lots of fun with friends! Eileen Frerking Unit 30

Master Smoker - Larry Owens

John Frerking - Safety Seminar

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Safety Seminar by John Frerking March 13, 2015

The answers will be posted on Units 30’s webpage.

http://southflorida.wbcci.net/

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Safety Seminar by John Frerking March 13, 2015

The answers will be posted on Units 30’s webpage.

http://southflorida.wbcci.net/

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South Florida Unit 30 of WBCCI

Board & General Meeting at Highlands Hammock State Park Sebring, Fl. Friday, March 13, 2015

Meeting was called to order at 2:30pm and started with Pledge and Prayer. Roll Call of Executive Board for Quorum. Attendees: John Frerking - Past President, Eileen Frerking, Max

Joseph, Myra Joseph, Donna Laurie – Corresponding Secretary/ Trustee, Tony Laurie – President, Susan Quintana – Treasurer, Fran Perrucci, Dave Perrucci, Doug Quara – Recording Secretary, Bill Racavich – 1

st

Vice President, Beth Racavich - Membership, Sissy Towsley - Trustee, & Tom Towsley - Trustee Minutes of Prior Meeting Max moved that minutes be accepted as published. Susan seconded, motion passed. Officer’s Reports Treasurer - Susan Quintana - January report was distributed and discussed. Balance as of Feb 28: $2,540.45 in Wells Fargo Checking. CD $17,003.63 in Wells Fargo CD Max made a motion to approve the

report; Eileen seconded, and was carried. At the Dade City Rally, Max Joseph audited the books. Correspondence - Donna Laurie - Ruth Wilson turned 90 and unit sent birthday card. Sent thank you cards to

speakers at Dade City Rally in January (50th anniversary meeting)

Nominating Committee - John Frerking - Nothing to report Membership - Beth Racavich - Beth called non-renewals; couple from Margate sold their trailer. Other members

Jim and Cathy Coates from Cutler Bay, left message. Another couple called, number was disconnected. Tammy Davis and Doug Quara were contacted. Babs Kall was contacted and will contact again, not in a po-sition to attend events. New member John Magnacca and wife Victoria recently retired, invited for a lunch meeting. They registered for Region 3 Rally. They hope to attend events in the fall. Tony noted a few more new people that have joined having found out about the club via various methods. Eileen Frerking will reach out to the new & prospective members in Jupiter and Palm Beach. Tony has the names of these members.

Newsletter – Eileen Frerking will write an article about the rally at Highlands Hammock. Old Business - Marketing cards are at printers, John Frerking will pick up. Tony will pick up new flag pole. Tony

picked up new processional flags. Unit needs to find a base for the flag for display. Clarify $600 charity budget. Tony wanted to clarify whether the amount was per year and it was confirmed that it was per calen-dar year. Tony had asked John to choose a charity for each rally. Should be approximately $100 per rally. Eileen suggested donating to park systems, in particular state parks. Eileen moved that for this rally we make a $100 contribution to Highlands Hammock State Park. John suggested inviting the Buddy Rally unit for this event to make a similar donation. Tony will ask. On 1-3-14 the members proposed paying new mem-ber registration fee. Other units have reported this method to recruit did not work, so Tony suggested the unit not pursue that strategy; rather should encourage based on group activities.

New business - $300 goes to Wounded Warriors per year. Tony will mail to a specific contact there. Remaining $100 at Unit’s discretion. Tom mentioned that he had heard that Wounded Warriors charity was mismanaging donations and requested it be investigated. Max reported that he already investigated and the rumors were unfounded. John suggested using charitynavigator.com for future charities.

Announcements - Region 3 rally April 29 - May 3, 2015. Go to Region3.WBCCI.net for registration. $200 fee includes days at the site and per person rally.

April 5-11, 2016 Florida State rally will probably be at Sunshine Key Resort. As next year’s president, Bill is looking forward to rallies. Installation Rally November 11-15, 2015 at Jona-

than Dickinson State Park. Reserve through Reserve American. Should register very soon. Sites 8, 9 and 10 have been reserved already by unit members. Park has been renovated recently but might be short of shade due to storms in the last few years. Bill will publish suggestions for activities. Beth verbally reported some suggestions.

Next rally, subject to confirmation, will be January 13-16, 2016 at Lee County Civic Center in Ft. Myers. Bill suggested activity should include Mystery Train Ride. Bill is contracting sites and will need counts for the rally and the train. Also in the area is a large flea market. Bill also mentioned some other activities and res-taurants.

In March 2016, Unit 30 can do another Buddy Rally like this year. As a precursor to the Buddy Rally, unit can be at Easterlin Park in Broward County. Bill mentioned some suggested activities for this rally, too. Then attend the Buddy Rally at Highlands Hammock March 10-13, 2016. Also discussed caravan from East-erlin to Highlands Hammock: March 4-8, 2016 travel on 9

th to Highlands Wed for rally March 10-13, 2016.

Doug made a motion to adjourn, Beth second, motion was approved. Doug Quara - Recording Secretary

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Buddy Rally - Daily Activities Highlands Hammock SP, Sebring, FL

SOUTH FLORIDA UNIT 30 & FLORIDA SUNCOAST UNIT 129

Thursday - March 12, 2015 4pm Social Hour at site #59 (The Owens) there is a small pavilion just north of this site that we can spill over into. Many of the registered attendees are in this immediate area. We will use this site/area for gathering during the event. 6pm Soup night. Last year we all contributed to this meal with various soups and it was a big hit. If you would notify Dave Sowder of what you intend to make so I can publish it for all to see and hopefully not have a lot of duplicates. However no one makes their soup just like others so don’t be afraid to show off. Campfire after dinner.

Friday - March 13, 2015 9am Safety Class by John Frerking. Coffee & Homemade Muffins by Susan Quintana & Donna Laurie 11am Lunch at Village Inn with Bill Faircloth 3101 U.S. Highway 27 South, Sebring, FL 33870 2:30pm Unit 30 Board/General Meeting at site #79 4pm Social Hour at site #59 6pm Potluck Dinner Site 59 Here again let me know what you want to share for 6-10 people. As you can tell from the attendee list this will be a fairly large rally. It has been my experience there is usually more food than can be consumed at this meal. Some of us have Dutch Ovens this would be a good time to bring them and make use of them. What I would like is for each of you to plan to bring a dish to the Pot-lucks. Please respond with what you are planning (does not have to be specific, starch, veg, casserole, dessert, etc is all I need to know). My goal is to be sure we don't have all veg, or all desserts! Contact Dave Sowder by email so he can compose a master list. gatorjds@msn.com Campfire to follow after dinner. Travel slide show at campfire. “We have never done this before but I know a lot of us have traveled to distant locations and I for one would like to see where you have been and learn of your experience.” Dave (after all isn’t this why we have campers?)

Saturday - March 14, 2015 9:30am Flower arranging. Kathy Myers did this last year and it was a hit with the ladies. There will be a small charge $5 +/- for the cost of the flowers and materials. Please notify Dave Sowder as to who wants to participate so flowers can be procured for this event. 11:30am Ladies Luncheon. Sheryl Norris knows some neat places in Sebring. I will need to know how many want to attend so reservations can be made. 11:30am Men day at Sebring International Raceway. This is the weekend prior to the 12 Hours of Se-bring. Cars are tuning up for the race. Last year Doug Quara (a racer himself) showed us the Hotel were he sometimes stays (the staff knew him by name) right on the track. Bring your camera for some shots of these international cars zooming around the corner at the end of a long straight away. We can also buy lunch at the Hotel if one gets hungry. 4pm Social Hour at site #59 6pm Grill night, bring something to put on the grills and we will finish the food we didn’t eat the prior night. Campfire to follow with more travel slides if people desire.

Sunday - March 15, 2015 8:30am Pancake breakfast, sausage & eggs. Coffee, milk & juice. Kitty fee will be determined after I know how many are coming. It is usually $6-7 and collected the morning of the breakfast. Depart after breakfast. Some are staying over til Monday, the wild life tram is running. It does not run on Monday just Tuesday thru Sunday. It leaves 1pm and 2:30 pm Tickets are $5 and must be purchased EARLY the day you want to go. It goes thru an area of the park only accessible via the tram.

Monday - March 16, 2015 Depart at 11am

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April 25, 2015 at 11:30AM Local Unit Luncheon at J Marks Pompano Citi Center 1490 NE 23rd Street Pompano Beach, FL 33062 954-782-7000

April 29-May 3, 2015 Region 3 Rally at Exchange Park in Ladson, SC.

June 26 - July 4, 2015 58th International Convention/Rally Farmington, New Mexico Convention/Rally Fees for registrations received prior to January 1, 2015, will be $425 for couples, $350 for singles, and $125 for each additional adult. Convention/Rally fees for the first 575 to register include 30 amp elec-tricity, water and regular pump outs (No 3 amp electricity or generator section available). http://wbcci.org/activities/international-rally/2015-farmington-nm November 11-15, 2015 Installation Rally at Jonathan Dickinson State Park Book Now at Reserve America. Try to select lower number camp site in loop PG. January 14-17, 2016 (Dates to be Confirmed) Mystery Train Tour Rally at Lee

Civic Center 11831 Bayshore Road, Fort Myers, FL 33917 Phone: 239-543-8368

Camping fee is $100. 2016 (Dates Not Yet Published) Alumaflamingo Sarasota, Fl March 4-8, 2016 Spring Rally at Easterlin Park, 1000 NW 38th Street, Oakland Park, Fl 33309 954-357-5190 Send Camping fee of $159. to Unit 30 treasurer, Susan Quintana. March 9-13, 2016 Buddy Rally — South Florida Unit 30 & Florida Suncoast Unit 129 at Highlands Hammock State Park, 5931 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872 (863) 386-6094 Book your campsite close to #59. Reservations must be made ahead of arrival and can be made up to 11 Month’s in advance. Book early to get a spot. April 5-11, 2016 Florida State Rally at Key West, Fl

Complete information about our rally events, registration and daily details can be

found on our South Florida Unit webpage. >>> http://southflorida.wbcci.net/

Note: Unit 30 Rallies extend thru the last day— Departure is the day following the rally.

UPCOMING 2015 RALLIES

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South Florida Unit 30 held a luncheon in honor of Bill Faircloth on March 13, 2015 at the Village Inn in Sebring, Fl. Twenty one of our members attended along with Bill’s daughter Mary Schuet-tler. Bill is a Past President of our unit in 1982 and served on various committees and positions in WBCCI. His most cherished position was as Chaplain. When a rally concluded everyone went home with the following prayer in mind……...

Member News Unit 30

Heavenly Father every time we drive Remind us of our responsibilities and limitations. Make us careful, alert, patient, courteous drivers So that in all our journeys, We may be under Your protection and in Your presence We ask this in Your Name. Amen Bill Faircloth Bill will turn 100 in November 2015! He lives in his Airstream on his daughter’s property.

Bill & daughter Mary Bill saying grace

A message from Ruth Wilson who recently turned 90!! "Whether you were able to come to my party or you just sent a card. I want to thank you for a very great day in my life. Not everyone reaches this milestone, but you have helped to make this day so very special for me”. Thanks so much. Love, Ruth

Ruth & Bill

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Moved: New Address Joseph R. and Jennifer Turner 10311 Ironwood Road Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410

The Buddy Rally was a great success this year and both

Units decided to meet again next year at Highlands

Hammock! March 9-13, 2016

More Member Activities at The Buddy Rally

David Sowder –Unit 129 Rally Leader Sheryll, Debra & Larry

Flower arranging by Kathy Myers Nice Arrangement!

Tammy & Doug Apple Dessert Gone in Record Time Dutch Oven Dessert –Tammy Davis

Donna, Fran & Beth at Garden Café Beth & Tammy

Sebring International Raceway Practice Lap The Guys

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April Jim Grimes 11 Bob Konnagan 11 Beth Racavich 27 May Jane May 2 Jack Glouner 4 Reid Turner 8 Tony Laurie 11 Max Joseph 14 Barbara Ritchie 27 June Myra Joseph 1 Juanita Coghlan 2 Stewart Dunkel 12 Tom Tisdel 20

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O

N

G

R

A

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S April May Dave & Fran Perrucci 4 Tom & Sissy Towsley 12 June Tom & Jackie Tisdel 2 Bob & Gay Konnagan 13 Tony & Donna Laurie 21

Long Long Honeymoon

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President Tony Laurie 1st Vice President Bill Racavich 2nd Vice President Fran Perrucci Treasurer Susan Quintana Corresponding Sec. Donna Laurie Record Sec. Doug Quara 1 year Trustee Tom Towsley 1 year Trustee Donna Laurie 2 year Trustee Tammy Davis 2 year Trustee Sissy Towsley Past President John Frerking Membership Beth Racavich

UNIT OFFICERS

2015 - 2016 RALLIES

FUN TIMES NEWSLETTER

Tony Laurie, Editor

SOUTH FLORIDA UNIT 3351 NW 69 Court Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33309

April 25, 2015 at 11:30AM Local Unit Luncheon at J Marks Pompano Citi Center 1490 NE 23rd Street Pompano Beach, FL 33062 954-782-7000 April 29-May 3, 2015 Region 3 Rally at Exchange Park in Ladson, SC. June 26 - July 4, 2015 58th International Conven-tion/Rally Farmington, New Mexico Convention/Rally Fees for registrations received prior to January 1, 2015, will be $425 for couples, $350 for singles, and $125 for each additional adult. Convention/Rally fees for the first 575 to register include 30 amp electricity, water and regular pump outs (No 3 amp electricity or generator section avail-able). http://wbcci.org/activities/international-rally/2015-farmington-nm November 11-15, 2015 Installation Rally at Jonathan Dickinson State Park Book Now at Reserve America. Try to select a lower number camp site in loop PG. January 14-17, 2016 (Dates to be Confirmed) Mystery Train Tour Rally at Lee Civic Center

1831Bayshore Road, Fort Myers, FL 33917

Phone 239-543-8368 Camping fee is $100. 2016 (Dates Not Yet Published) Alumaflamingo Sarasota, Fl March 4-8, 2016 Spring Rally at Easterlin Park, 1000 NW 38th Street, Oakland Park, Fl 33309 954-357-5190 Send Camping fee of $159. to Unit 30 treasurer, Susan Quintana. March 9-13, 2016 Buddy Rally — South Florida Unit 30 & Florida Suncoast Unit 129 at Highlands Ham-mock State Park, 5931 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872 (863) 386-6094 Book your campsite close to #59. Reservations must be made ahead of arrival and can be made up to 11 Month’s in advance. Book early to get a spot. April 5-11, 2016 Florida State Rally at Key West, Fl Check our unit website for more information. http://southflorida.wbcci.net/

Note: Rallies extend thru the last day posted — Departure is the day following the rally.