Accessories, Seminars Highlight FMCA’s 106th Convention

PERRY, Ga. – A mostly positive vibe was the takeaway from Cincinnati-based Family Motor Coach Association’s 106th Annual Convention and RV Expo, which took place Wednesday through Sunday (March 15-18) at the Georgia National Fairgrounds and Agricenter.

Chris Smith, CEO of FMCA, was pleased with the turnout and the outcome of the rally.

“It went really well,” Smith said this morning (March 20). “We put a Facebook page together just for the Perry event and I was blown away by how many comments there were, about staff, the volunteers, just how well things went. I’m not exaggerating. I did not see one negative comment. It went really, really well.”

He said the biggest component of any FCMA event is the volunteers, who donate their time for four days.

“There were almost 1,900 RVs parked on site. So that would be our biggest convention since 2019. That’s a positive sign for us,” he said, noting that COVID 19, high gas prices and inflation put a damper on FMCA events in 2020, 2021 and 2022.

“We had some tough years there, some lean events,” he said, “so it was encouraging to see 1,900 RVs show up on site.”

Dealers, for the most part, were happy with results from the convention, with one dealer – National Indoor RV Centers – reporting that it sold more the first day than they had budgeted to sell for the entire event, Smith said, adding, “The dealers, I think, were extremely pleased.”

Another aspect of the convention that Smith wanted to highlight was the charitable nature of FMCA members.
“One thing I was pleased with was we did the ‘Magic Mile,’ which is something we’ve done at past events, where members could walk, ride or run, whatever they choose, but it’s a mile lone,” he said. “We also held a ‘Driven to Care’ silent auction. So those two things we used to raise money and we were able to raise $7,500 to donate to the Genesis Joy House. That’s by far the biggest donation we’ve been able to make locally and obviously with the numbers we had, it’s not a surprise.”

Genesis Joy House, in Warner Robbins, Ga., provides assistance to homeless female veterans in the Southeast.

“We were really pleased to write a nice-size check to them,” he said.

What, otherwise, was the post-rally buzz among exhibitors at the rally – one of the nation’s key annual RV consumer events?

For most attendees with whom RVBusiness touched bases, it was a relative success, especially with regard to the various workshops and seminars being offered during the event.

And while RV sales were solid for some dealers like NIRVC showing Class A’s including high-end motorhomes, we’re told, that apparently wasn’t the case across the board – not a complete surprise, of course, given the nation’s current economic atmosphere. Having said that, one unnamed OEM spokesmen said there was no shortage of people looking at RVs. “People want to see what’s new and what’s exciting,” he told RVB. “We had a pretty steady flow of people, but they just were holding back.”

“People are concerned about moving money with the banking news,” added a sales rep working a dis play. “It’s made people very skittish.”

Getting in front of showgoers was also an issue among some exhibitors. “A lot of people I talked to are wanting to downsize,” said one sales exec. “They want to see Class C RV’s and we have mostly big buses.”

Even so, there was apparently no shortage of customers for aftermarket accessories, trips, gadgets and add-ons on the show floor. Almost 150 vendors – ranging from Lippert to Lion Energy to Adventure Caravans and many smaller companies filled a giant hall. Customers, too, were in plentiful supply and the vendors said they were very pleased with the three-day results.

Indeed, several were hoarse by the end of the event after having talked to so many people. “We were non-stop,” said Christopher Lawrence from Almost Heaven Microfiber, a company that retails microfiber products for RVers.

All things considered, meanwhile, the seminars were obviously well received. From sealants to safety and boondocking, there were seminars of all sorts and many of them were standing room only.

FMCA President Rhett Porter took the stage to acknowledge a number of people and share some statistics – specifically the fact that this year’s event drew more than 600 first-time attendees, a record for the convention. There were also four people in attendance who had been to every international FMCA Convention in Perry since the first one held in 1996. FMCA’s two conventions per year are generally held in Perry as well as Mynot, N.D.; Gillette, Wyo., and Lincoln, Neb.

Finally, we should add, there was at least one celebrity in attendance — entertainer Steve Harvey, a TV comedian who hosts The Steve Harvey Morning Show, Family Feud, and Celebrity Family Feud who was captured in a number of photos with attendees and was said to have been quite interested in some of the RVs on display.

FMCA is the world’s largest not-for-profit association for recreation vehicle (RV) owners. The organization maintains its national headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio, and currently has nearly 125,000 active members. FMCA offers its members a number of benefits, including a subscription to its monthly magazine, Family RVing; a medical emergency and travel assistance program valued at $200 per family; a tire purchasing program; group rates on a roadside assistance program, RV and auto insurance, and health insurance; discounted rates for RV tours and caravans; and discounts on a mobile internet access plan. Perhaps the most important benefit of FMCA membership is the camaraderie and friendships that develop among people enjoying the common interest of RV travel.

The organization can be reached at (513) 474-3622 or (800) 543-3622 and on the web at FMCA.com.

Peggy and Tony Barthel are veterans of the RV industry and use that experience to create StressLess Camping, a podcast, website and resource for new and experienced RVers and campers alike to learn more, spend less and turn every adventure into a StressLess Camping experience.

Source: https://rvbusiness.com/accessories-seminars-highlight-fmcas-106th-convention/