Project Leaders Applaud Recent RVIA Park Cleanup Event – RVBusiness – Breaking RV Industry News
Project leaders for the RV Industry Association (RVIA) Emerging Leaders Coalition’s recent All-Industry Volunteer Day say they are overwhelming pleased with how the recent, third-annual event went.
More than 300 volunteers from 40 companies participated in the event, which took place May 8 at the Chain O’Lakes State Park in Albion, Ind. Volunteers spent the day cleaning up brush, working on cabin flooring, staining fences and much more.
“The entire industry showing up and volunteering their time and money to make improvements to state parks and camping sites is a humbling experience,” said Brent Clark, the project lead for the Dometic team. “To see competitors put aside their competitiveness and work side by side was amazing.”
Clark noted that Dometic’s entire OEM sales team—along with new President Todd Seyfert and Vice President of Aftermarket Sales Michael McCaslin—participated in the event. He said the Dometic team spent much of the day building a storage coral for pallets of firewood on the park site.
Trey Miller, the project leader for Jayco’s team, echoed Clark’s assessment of how positive it was to see representatives of so many different RV companies coming together to work on a common goal.
“The highlight was seeing everyone working together to deliver great-looking finished products and knowing they will be enjoyed for many years to come,” he said. The Jayco team—which consisted of managers, directors, vice presidents, workers and more—spent the day applying multiple coats of stain to more than 40 wooden park benches, a stage and a podium.
“The highlight of the day was working with our customers and teammates to accomplish our goal,” agreed Phats Xayamath, one of the Lippert project leads. His team built a 12-foot by 12-foot stage complete with podium as well as about 45 benches.
Mitch Mattson, another project lead for Lippert, shared a similar sentiment.
“It is amazing to see hundreds of people from all over the community and so many different walks of life come together for a single cause,” he said. “We can get so much done in one day because of the generosity of so many people in the community.”
Mattson described his role in the clean-up project as working behind the scenes the day of the event to make sure everyone participating knew what they were doing and had everything they needed to accomplish their respective projects.
Dustin Cloud, a project lead for Forest River, described his role in the clean-up event somewhat jokingly as one of being a “chaos coordinator.”
“During the event, I consider myself the chaos coordinator. I manage any concerns or questions from the project leads (and) I continuously check on the projects to make sure they have what they need to execute,” he said. Cloud added, “My personal highlight tends to be at the end of the day, seeing the spoils of teamwork through the industry and it’s accomplishments is very humbling.”
Wayne Troyer, a fellow Forest River project leader, said he was happy to see his team put flooring in six cabins and knowing that it will be appreciated by people who stay at the park.
“It’s a great feeling at the end of the day, giving back to our parks and to see and hear how much it’s appreciated,” he said.
Many of the project leads say they are already looking forward to the 2025 Emerging Leaders clean-up event.
“Each year the Jayco group grows and more and more departments get involved,” said Miller, the Jayco project team lead. “Next year we may need to split into two separate projects with the number of people expected.”
“Dometic will forever be a part of this coalition (and) will continue to volunteer as a lead,” said Clark, the Dometic team lead. “This is a wonderful way for the RV industry to give back to the camping and outdoor community.”
“The projects seem to get larger each year, but the RV industry shows up and knocks them all out,” said Mattson, a Lippert project lead. “I am looking forward to seeing what projects the next park will have in store for us in 2025.”
