Pennsylvania Campground Owners Group to Leave OHI – RVBusiness – Breaking RV Industry News

The Pennsylvania Campground Owners Association (PCOA) made the announcement yesterday (Dec.6) that its board of directors voted to leave OHI — formerly known as the National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds (ARVC) — as a partnering state.

The move will be finalized at the end of 2024.

“PCOA ‘s board feels that our mission and vision no longer align with OHI, but will continue to work with them on national and state issues as needed,” PCOA officials noted in an email.

For PCOA members, this means they will have to pursue a separate OHI membership to be a part of the national association.

In an interview with WOODALLSCM.com, Jason Vaughan, the executive director of PCOA, noted that the association’s members hadn’t been engaged with OHI as much over the past several years.

“At the annual convention this fall the association had less than a handful of parks in attendance and three of those parks were required to attend by PCOA,” he noted.

Vaughan also highlighted concerns with communication, and recent discussions on standards, bylaws, transparency and OHI’s recent rebranding, which impacted the board’s decision.

He noted that PCOA is willing to work with OHI on legislative issues moving forward that align with its membership and the association’s legislative needs.

Jason Vaughan

“Our main focus, however, is state-specific advocacy and we have made great strides in this arena, and have grown our advocacy greatly in the last 10 years and are proud of the relationships and legislative work we have been engaged with,” Vaughan said.

He also pointed out the work that PCOA has done to create more member benefits.

“PCOA currently has 11-member-benefit providers and 88 associate members that are active with our association and membership,” Vaughan explained. “We have a focus on continuing our expansion into discounts and member benefits. That said, our message and direction is that if benefits appeal and fill a need for a park, we encourage them to join OHI. We are not telling anyone not to join OHI, and do think that for individual parks, OHI can be a great tool and a great advocate for their park.”

WCM reached out to OHI for their thoughts on the transition and they released the following statement:

Paul Bambei

“Our members are our most valued asset, and OHI (formerly ARVC) exists to serve and support our members in Pennsylvania and across the country today, tomorrow, and for years to come,” stated Paul Bambei, president and CEO of OHI. “OHI will continue to support all its members with industry-leading market intelligence, professional development and networking opportunities, resources, exclusive discounts and pointed advocacy efforts that benefit our industry at the local, state and federal levels. We are your national organization.

“As the Pennsylvania Campground Owners Association (PCOA) board evaluates their path forward, OHI is doing the same,” continued Bambei. “Our progressive approach to the future detailed in our mission, vision and strategic plan, is intended to continue to serve our core constituents of privately-owned RV park and campground owners, and also to be inclusive of a wider net of outdoor hospitality businesses to advance the industry as a whole. OHI is prepared to advance our industry to meet not only the demands of the ever-changing demographics of the camping consumer but also the challenges of an evolving industry landscape.

“PCOA, as well as other associations across the country that serve OHI members at the state level, are integral to the continued success of our industry,” added Bambei. “We value these organizations and their contributions and recognize that regardless of their relationship with OHI, we are all working for the shared benefit of our members and industry. OHI welcomes continued collaboration with these organizations even if future relationships may look different. At the end of the day, our focus is the success of our members.”

Source: https://rvbusiness.com/pennsylvania-campground-owners-group-to-leave-ohi/