Covered Wagons President's Corner

Another exciting rally year is behind us and we are all preparing for the Holidays and looking forward to the New Year. I would like to personally thank all of you who attended Covered Wagons or FMCA rallies in 2010, with a special ‘Thank You’ to the many who served as rally hosts/co-hosts or assisted the Chapter in other ways. Our chapter could not survive without the support and efforts of our members!

As we look ahead to 2011, we mourn the loss of several members who have made that final journey we all must make. We are left with the memories of better times; memories that help us appreciate future rallies even more. We also regret the loss of several members who, for one reason or another, have decided not to renew their membership in Covered Wagons. We hope your decision was not due to something the chapter did wrong (if so, please let us know) but we will always welcome you back as members.

Wagonmaster Loren Brown has discovered some timing problems with the 2011 Rally Schedule approved last October. The COE campground at Melvern is already full so we will not be able to hold our May 27-29 rally there as planned. We will vote to make schedule changes for the May and October rallies at the winter meeting on January 29, 2011 at the China Star restaurant in Overland Park, KS.

WOW! The Six-State rally in Shreveport, LA was a fantastic success for the Covered Wagons Chapter. We managed to win First Place in the Chapter Fair held during the Ice Cream Social on Thursday. This was the first time Six-State had such an event and it was so successful (25 chapters had booths) the plans are for it to become a permanent part of the annual rally. My special thanks go to Bill and Sharon Keegan, Norma Robbins, Jean Brown, Wanda & Rod Ryel as well as all of the members who attended the rally and stepped right up to help Covered Wagons win the big prize! There were around 650 member coaches at the rally and our members working the booth felt like every person attending the event stepped up to throw the bean bags at the Clown! We hope to place some photos of the event on the website in the near future so be sure to check back next week.

I just checked with Becky at the Big Red Barn RV Park (417-358-2432) in Carthage, MO, site of our October rally. She said she currently had 20 reservations which should guarantee another wonderful rally. Please contact Becky ASAP if you plan to attend and have not yet called her. The rally dates are October 22 – 24. Since we did not have a business meeting in September, there are several items to be decided this month. One of these is to fill the three positions on the Nominating Committee to serve for the next two years. If you would like to nominate someone, or volunteer to serve, please contact me.

Covered Wagons members had a good time at the August rally held at Eagle’s Nest RV Resort east of Clinton, MO. Hosts Retha & Frank Whitehead and their co-hosts Hal & Marilyn Heineken made sure everyone had a wonderful weekend. There was one guest coach, Virginia Barrett (sister of Raymond Hughes), and we hope she enjoyed our company enough to become a Covered Wagons member.

Our chapter was suffered a terrible loss just prior to the August rally when Charter Members Tom and Linda Stidham were killed in a traffic accident near their home in Edwardsville. Thanks to all of the members who attended services for them on August 28^th. Tom and Linda will be greatly missed by all who knew them. Our condolences also go out to Donna Nusser who lost both her mother and brother last month.

Later this month many of our members will be attending the Six-State rally in Shreveport, LA. Bill and Sharon Keegan, along with help from several other members, have been working hard on preparations for the Chapter Carnival to be held during the ice cream social. It promises to be a fun event and we have information that over a third of the chapters in the Six-State area plan to participate in the competition for prizes. (We just know that Covered Wagons will have the best one—regardless of who wins the prize!)

I will be contacting several members in the next few weeks to ask them to fill a position on the Nominating Committee. There will be three members elected at the October meeting to serve on this committee for the next two years. If you would like to nominate someone, or volunteer to serve, please contact me. Thanks in advance for helping the chapter!

We had a great turnout at Rutlader’s Outpost for the July rally—a total of 23 family coach members and one guest coach, Don & Mary Ann Kjellerman from Grain Valley, MO. The Kjellerman’s said they enjoyed the rally and we look forward to seeing them at future rallies as members! A very special thanks goes to Dick and Pat Crovisier for doing such a great job as our co-hosts. We all worked hard but had a great time—and that’s what Covered Wagons is all about.

Most of you are aware of the tragic and sudden loss of his son suffered by Rod Ryel. Those who attended the July rally expressed their sympathy with a card and contributions to defray some of Rod’s expenses. We recently received a note from Rod and Wanda which read as follows:

Thank you for all the cards & expressions of sympathy. We were astounded & ever so grateful that you took up a collection to help with our extra expenses. From travel & funeral expenses to buying a cemetery plot to extra house guests—it is quite a financial toll on top of the emotional shock. Thank you so much for thinking of us & making such a practical contribution to our needs. Your generosity is overwhelming.

Wagonmaster Loren Brown has informed me that the Branson pre-rally (prior to Six-State in Shreveport, LA) in September will not include any organized schedule. Participants will be free to do there own thing and meals or other ‘get togethers’ will be decided on the fly.

Hosts Frank & Retha Whitehead and their co-hosts Hal & Marilyn Heineken have sent out the schedule for the August rally at Eagle’s Nest RV Resort near Clinton, MO. There is still time to contact Eagle’s Nest (660-477-3336) for a reservation! Hope to see you there!

Fortunately, the heat and humidity did not keep the Covered Wagons Chapter from enjoying an excellent schedule of activities at our June rally at Council Grove Reservoir in Kansas! I want to extend a special Thank You to rally hosts, Jean and Loren Brown, along with co-hosts Wanda and Rod Ryel, for a truly memorable weekend. The Tall Grass Prairie Preserve tour and dinner at the 1861 Terwillinger stone house highlighted the wealth of historic events and facilities that abound in that area of Kansas.

We want to offer our heartfelt condolences to Leon Teeters and his family on the sudden and unexpected passing of his wife Cleadus. Not only was she a Charter Member of Covered Wagons but was a long-term member of the Jayhawk Ramblers. The Teeters celebrated their 63^rd wedding anniversary last January and we will miss her smiling face at future rallies.

Our participation in the Six-State Rally Chapter Carnival in Shreveport got an even bigger boost at the June rally with the reveal of costumes and props prepared by our members. Make plans to attend the Six-State Rally if you have not already done so. Wagonmaster Loren Brown is keeping track of who is planning to attend and we plan to arrive two days early (September 27^th) so be sure to pay for two extra days when you make reservations (use the FMCA website to sign up).

The officers would like to offer additional opportunities for member participation in our rally activities. Since not all of us can attend every rally, we want to fill alternate positions for Photographer and Chaplain. Please contact me or any of the other officers if you are willing to serve as an alternate. The Chapter works best if we all participate so we look forward to hearing from you!

Vickie and I, with assistance from Dick and Pat Crovisier, will forward a schedule for the July rally at Rutlader’s Outpost in the near future. Wagonmaster Loren Brown just informed me that we have around 22 member coaches signed up but there is plenty room for additional members so it’s not too late to make reservations. Check the Covered Wagons website (or contact Loren if you don’t have web access) to see if you need to contact the campground to make your own reservations for a rally. Hope to see you at the July rally.

Covered Wagons Chapter returned to Deer Creek Valley RV Park in Topeka, Kansas for our May rally over Memorial Day weekend. We were the first group to hold a rally at this park when it opened in 2008 and the facilities are even nicer now. Our rally hosts, Patrick and Alicia Donnelly, along with co-hosts Geri Vanover and Don Hoover, kept us well-fed and very entertained. It’s always a treat when we can get Don and Geri to put on a musical show and this time they brought along their back-up band to add even more variety! Thanks for doing a great job.

We also want to welcome our newest members, Dick and Pat Crovisier of Lenexa, Kansas. Dick has recently retired and Pat will do so at the end of the year. We look forward to seeing them at many more rallies and know they will enjoy meeting all of our members.

The group brought up some exciting ideas for our participation in the Six-State Rally Chapter Carnival in Shreveport this fall. It will be a lot of fun for all the participants and we will pass along more info at future rallies. Make plans to attend the Six-State Rally if you have not already done so. Wagonmaster Loren Brown is keeping track of who is planning to attend and we plan to arrive two days early (September 27^th) so be sure to pay for two extra days when you make reservations (use the FMCA website to sign up).

As usual, please keep Loren updated on your attendance at future rallies. Remember to check the Covered Wagons website (or contact Loren if you don’t have web access) to see if you need to contact the campground to make your own reservations for a rally.

I encourage all of you to read the rally minutes (even if you attended the rally) to keep up with what the Chapter is doing and plans to do. Your input is always appreciated! Hope to see you at the June rally at Council Grove Lake in Kansas.

The 2010 Rally Season got off to a good start with the April rally held at the Pioneer Village Museum in Minden , Nebraska . This was the Chapter’s first ‘extended’ weekend rally which we plan to do at least once a year pending the members interest in this type of rally. Several members came up from the south and experienced a real ‘coach washer’ of a rain Wednesday night about 3 in the morning. It rained off and on Thursday but members were able to get set up and spend a little time touring the museum before dining out at the nearby Pizza Hut. The remainder of the weekend was mostly dry with some showers moving through Saturday afternoon just as we traveled to Kearney to visit the Great Platte River Road Archway. My special thanks to our rally hosts, Wanda and Rod Ryel, for doing an excellent job organizing this rally.

Wagonmaster Loren Brown is keeping track of who is planning to attend each of our rallies so please let him know if your attendance plans change. The campgrounds appreciate knowing in advance how many of us are coming and Loren tried to give them the best possible information. Check the Covered Wagons website (or contact Loren if you don’t have web access) to see if you need to contact the campground to make your own reservations for a rally.

The weather has definitely put on its best spring attire and we hope Mother Nature continues to cooperate on our rally weekends! Keep busy having fun and we’ll see you at the May rally in Topeka !

February 2010

Here’s hoping all of you are having a great start to 2010 and have not experienced any difficulties with a winter that seems determined to last forever! It was wonderful to see so many of you at our winter meeting last month. We were pleased that visitors Pat & Dick Crovisier and Bruce Eveland joined us and hope to see them become members in 2010. We thank Lynn & Anne Baker for letting us use a big part of their La Hacienda restaurant for our luncheon and meeting.

Wagonmaster Loren Brown has worked hard on our 2010 rally schedule so we hope all of you will be able to attend several monthly rallies. Be sure to check the Covered Wagons website (or contact Loren if you don’t have web access) to see if you need to contact the campground to make your own reservations for a rally. Loren also would like to know which rallies you may attend so he can be sure we have enough sites set aside at each campground. Thanks to your spirited cooperation, I believe we have already signed up the required hosts and/or co-hosts for 2010 rallies—way to go!

I want to welcome Bill Keegan as our new Vice President and Jean Brown as our new Secretary. Bill also continues to actively recruit new members in his continuing role as Membership Chair. Jean did an excellent job with the January minutes and she continues to keep everyone busy making quilts for donation at the Six-State Rally. In addition, our Webmaster, Loretta Marlowe, keeps the website up to date and has produced another great member directory for 2010—the one book we can’t live without!

Spring should really be just around the corner so be thinking about what you need to do to service your coach before hitting the road. Stay well and we’ll see you at the April rally!

Virg Paulson
Covered Wagons President