Media’s Breakfast Coverage Focuses on Governor, Forecasts
Below are excerpts of local media coverage of the 2023 Industry Power Breakfast, which was facilitated by RVBusiness and sponsored by Airxcel Inc., Cummins Inc., Dometic, Forest River Inc., KOA, RVIA, RVDA, Spartan RV Chassis, THOR Industries Inc., Wells Fargo DF, and Winnebago Industries.
The Elkhart Truth: Governor touts state investment during RV breakfast
ELKHART — Gov. Eric Holcomb praised the state’s new spending plan Thursday during the RV Industry Power Breakfast.
Holcomb signed the $44.5 billion two-year budget a week ago. It includes nearly $21 billion for K-12 education, $225 million in public health spending over the next two years and $50 million a year for mental health treatment.
“I would say this is the best budget I’ve ever seen. Had someone who’s been a mentor to me say it’s been the best budget in the last 100 years,” he told the crowd at the RV/MH Hall of Fame and Northern Indiana Event Center. “I think it’s because it gets at a lot of issues that we’ve talked about for a number of years, but because we’re in this place that we can – cut taxes, pay down debt, invest historic, in an unprecedented manner in K-12 or options in our K-12 spaces, investing in law enforcement salary increases, long overdue. Making sure parents weren’t double-billed for their textbooks or curriculum material with fees.”
Goshen News: 2023 may be a year of innovation in the RV industry, leaders suggest
ELKHART — Is the RV industry where it hopes to be in 2023? Not exactly.
But do experts expect that by next year sales will be skyrocketing? Probably not. Despite this, industry leaders met together at the RV Industry Power Breakfast on Thursday morning to talk about the future of RVing as it relates to the most predominant industry in northern Indiana.
A record-breaking crowd took to the RV Hall of Fame for the breakfast. Gov. Eric Holcomb, Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch, and Elkhart Mayor Rod Roberson were among those in attendance and spoke briefly to the more than 1,000 in attendance.
WSBT 22 News’ Bob Montgomery also hosted a fireside chat with Holcomb, while CEO of Kampgrounds of America’s Toby O’Rourke and economist and author Peter Morici presented on the possible future of the industry and how to continue to create growth in spite of an uncertain future.
A panel discussion ahead of the keynote speakers alluded to a recurring theme of the industry in 2023: things are not where they should be, but it’s the perfect time to revitalize the way the industry deals with its customer base.
ABC 57: State, local leaders gather to discuss the future of the RV industry
ELKHART, Ind. – Hundreds of people gathered at the RV/MH Hall of Fame Museum in Elkhart on Thursday for the annual RV Power Breakfast.
It was attended by notable figures like Lt. Gov. of Indiana Suzanne Crouch, Gov. Eric J. Holcomb and the Mayor of Elkhart Rod Roberson. They all gathered to talk about the future of the RV industry.
“It’s not just a source of economic benefit to Indiana, but also a source of pride and to think about what the RV industry has faced over the decades, the mayor talked about resiliency, you heard the word dominance,” said Holcomb.
According to Crouch, the RV industry generates around $34 billion in Elkhart, and even with the fear of economic downturn, Hoosiers still remain positive about the future of the RV industry.
“That growth that we’ve seen over the 40 plus years, it’s read like an EKG. We had downturns during that period, a lot of times those downturns were out of our control, but as an industry we persevered and seen incredible growth,” said James Ashurst, executive vice president of the RV Industry Association.
Source: https://rvbusiness.com/medias-breakfast-coverage-focuses-on-governor-forecasts/
