RVWA Celebrates Women’s Equality Day at RV Tech Institute – RVBusiness – Breaking RV Industry News
“Empowered women, empower women” was one of the messages that speaker Mary Pouliot, chair of RV Technical Institute (RVTI) and Vice Chair of RV Industry Association, (RVIA), shared with the women attending RV Women’s Association’s celebration of Women’s Equality Day on Monday, August 26th.
The event was held at RVTI and included adult beverages and a Mexican food truck, a chance to network and celebrate women’s achievements—including those within the RV industry. Women’s Equality Day is celebrated on the anniversary of the passage of the 19th amendment to the constitution, which gave women the right to vote.
Pouliot told the group of about 60 registrants that women are “proving over and over again that talent is not defined by gender.” She recalled early in her career in the auto and RV industries when she was the only female in the room but now, “Women are thriving in roles once reserved for men in construction, law enforcement and politics” and she said women are “breaking down stereotypes and wielding tools with the same expertise as their male counterparts.”
She added that equality is not just about entering spaces but also making sure women are “creating environments where women are treated with respect, are heard and are given the opportunity to thrive.”
Pouliot is also the vice president of Thetford, which was awarded the champion of women award by the RVWA because it embodies the mission to elevate, educate and promote women in the RV industry.
Pouliot said it’s not enough to honor the women who broke through barriers, but they also have to commit to continue the fight for true equality.
“To build a world where a woman’s value is never questioned, where she’s judged by her abilities and not her gender and where her contributions are celebrated without hesitation,” she said.
She encouraged the women to take the day as a call to action—whether the women are in the workplace or whether they are the CEOs of their own homes.
“We all have a role to play to ensure women are empowered to reach their full potential and to always remember the saying, ‘empowered women empower women’” and she said to work to ensure a time and place when “a man’s world becomes a world for everyone.”
Curtis Hemmeler, executive director and senior regional vice president of RVTI and RVIA shared that RVTI will be celebrating its 5th anniversary on Sept. 28th. He said over 18,000 people, including 8,000 who logged on to some type of training and 7,000 who are fully certified have benefited from RVTI.
“All made possible by the industry” he said, adding they sought to have a “professional, recognized standardized program that could be replicated across the country with all their learning partners including dealerships, high schools and community colleges”.
He said as they’re celebrating women he gave full credit for the all-women’s classes to Tracy Anglemeyer, who he said came to him 2-3 years ago saying they needed an all-women’s class.
“Since then, well over 100 women have gone through” the program and he said the all women classes have been the “best performing every time.”
“The reality is the qualities that most women have—attention to detail, caring more—makes you better technicians—something the auto industry figured out a few years ago.”
He said the partnership between RVTI and RVWA is “a match made in heaven” and he encouraged the women attending to take the tech class “even if you never wanted to be a technician—you won’t have to call a handyman.”
One woman who did that and is a certified level one technician is Mandy Leazenby. She said she didn’t really need it for her job, “but the knowledge gained moving forward running a company that deals with mechanics and components of RV’s, I thought it would behoove me to take the class and I definitely recommend everyone take level one.”
She said the women in the class fed off each other and that Bill was an amazing instructor and he sensed the hesitation of some of the women but she said, “We all worked together to bring everyone up to the same level. We’re like a family now—I come to these events and I just want to get more involved.”
Other women attending also shared thoughts on the benefits including Kelly Mosher, Forest River’s Customer Service Training Manager said she enjoyed “meeting other women in the industry. We all have different experiences and bring unique perspectives. It’s interesting to see how different and varied our industry is.” She added it was exciting to see how far women have come and may still achieve in the near future.
A trio of women from Pinnacle Transport Company said they like to mingle and get to know other women and learn more. Shelly Hammenga added since they offer these events, “We should go to these cool women things!”
Trailblazer winner
Before ending the event with tours of the facility, Tracy Anglemeyer, vice president of sales and marketing at Thetford was asked to speak about being the recipient of 2023 Trailblazer Award. She said it was “still humbling to me—I still get goosebumps” and she said she didn’t think what she was doing was anything special; she was just trying to help the industry and make it better.
She said people say, ‘it takes a village’ but her motto is, “It takes an industry—working together to get things done.”
She encouraged the women to get involved on task forces and committees; to be mentors and sponsors and encouraged managers to build their people up.
More ‘all women’ classes will be starting soon at RVTI and Anglemeyer said she had some new ideas for next year’s classes.
