Awards, Seminars Highlight Day 2 of RVIA Leadership Conf. – RVBusiness – Breaking RV Industry News
BONITA SPRINGS, Fla. –Highlighted by the presentation of the inaugural RVBusiness Industry Leadership Awards, the 2024 Leadership Conference kicked into high gear yesterday during its second of a three-day run with informative and interactive seminars and workshops.
Hosted March 5-7 by the RV Industry Association (RVIA), the conference concludes today at the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort and Spa in Bonita, Springs, Fla.
Wednesday’s docket included a keynote presentation by Mike Veeck, who switched between baseball and business and was the subject of 2023 Netflix documentary, “The Saint of Second Chances.”
In addition, the day featured a panel discussion on “Understanding the RV Industry’s Self-Regulation” with David Mihalick (THOR Industries), Kevin Van Bronkhorst (Winnebago Industries), and moderator Bryan Ritchie (RV Industry Association), “Designing for the Adaptive Community” by Brandon Mantz (Xantrex), “Moving from Day to Day to Managing a Board” by Ashley Bontrager Lehman (Ember RV) and an interactive workshop on “Unreasonable Hospitality” with Billy Peelle and Lindsey Peckham (Eleven Madison Park).
Industry Leadership Awards
RVBusiness also announced the recipients of the 2024 Industry Leadership Awards, which included THOR Industries, Chad Reece of Winnebago Industries and Erin Curtis of Genesis Products.
The awards were designed to recognize those companies and individuals that have excelled in providing exceptional contributions to the greater good of the RV industry. Among other criteria, nominees were evaluated based on: Committee Involvement; Collaboration & Mentoring; Sustainability, Philanthropy & DEI Initiatives; and Exceptional Service to the Industry.
Currently the vice president of marketing and development at Genesis, Curtis is active in the RV Industry Association (RVIA), currently serving on the RVIA Sustainability Committee, where she also is the chair of its Marketing Subcommittee.
In his 36 years at Winnebago, Reece has become a familiar and friendly face to the industry. He has been involved in numerous RVIA committees and boards over the years, and is an active board member and outspoken champion for the RV Women’s Association (RVWA).
It would be a lengthy proposition to list all of the committees and task forces that includes a representative from THOR Industries among its members. But committee involvement is only one reason THOR was selected as an Industry leader. THOR also has taken a leadership role in sustainability, philanthropy and diversity, equity and inclusion.
Presentation Highlights
Veek, who has made a storied career out of milking the business of fun from baseball, began his presentation with a personal thank you to the RV industry. He and his wife took a cross country road trip in a Class C motorhome some time ago to spread the ashes of their recently deceased daughter. He said the 4-year trip was cathaertic, and was made possible because of their RV.
“I’m just trying to show you all the respect for what you did for us and for Rebecca,” Veek said.
The rest of Veek’s discussion touched on a number of publicity stunts he and his staff managed to pull off – with varying degrees of success – to draw people to the baseball games of the handful of minor and major league baseball teams he has owned and worked for. The central theme to all of the ideas, he mentioned, was for people to think of attending baseball games as being “affordable family fun” – which, he noted, is a concept very familiar to those who enjoy RV lifestyle.
Mantz’s discussion challenged the industry to raise the standards of RV design so that accessibility is universal and not custom. Mantz, who has been in a wheelchair ever since a skiing accident five years ago, said “everyone should be able to look at an RV and say, “This is for me.’”
“We want to be able to have those memories and experiences, too,” he said. “So, are those experience for everybody, or is it just for those people who look like us or move like us?”
Bontrager Lehman, who quite literally grew up in the RV industry as her grandparents founded Jayco, said the underlying theme of her message is that “leaders develop their own leadership mindset while they’re also growing within their own skillset.”
“So, learning and defining who you are and who you want to be as a leader, I believe, is the single most important step that you can take in your path to leadership,” she said. “I believe it lays a foundation for you as a leader so that as situations large or small come into your path you always have a true north, a recognized and understood framework that you can lean into. It gives you a base to set your vision, define your expectations, build a sense of shared purpose, and lead a team of individuals to the desired outcome.”
The main message from the self-regulation panel discussion was that the RV industry – not an outside agency – is best equipped to oversee the standards and regulations by which it is governed. Simply put, the people who are immersed in the design, development and manufacturing of RVs have a much thorough understanding of what works – and what doesn’t – than anyone else.
Today’s final day of the conference includes:
• CEO panel featuring: Don Clark, President & CEO of Grand Design RV; Jon Ferrando, President & CEO of Blue Compass RV; and Mary Pouliot, Executive Vice President of Thetford and Norcold.
Also on the agenda is a keynote from Drew Tarvin, the CEO of Humor That Works, a leadership development company that teaches professionals how to use humor to achieve better business results.
• “Leading Above the Line” by Alissa Reyes (Thetford)
• “Starting Your Sustainability Journey – A Roadmap” by Kartik Mekala (Lippert) and Sandy Rynalski (THOR Industries)
• Leadership Workshop led by Matt Dunsmoor, founder and chief vision officer of octopy and Igniter at Simon Sinek, Inc.
• Closing reception
