Staff Blogs and Newsletters

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Hello everyone and Happy New year,   

I am starting this blog hopefully to keep more people informed on things happening in NorCal. I’m hoping to do this every month.

First and most important I would like to congratulate all the new chapter officers taking on chapter positions for 2022. Thank you for stepping up for your chapter as well as your NorCal involvement. I look forward to working with you all in 2022. 

I, for one, am very glad 2021 is behind us with all the turmoil and heart ache that came with it.  Yes, there were some good times but they didn't last long with the new Covid strain sweeping across our country as well as the world.

I am looking forward to 2022 and very hopeful that we can still have a Rally at the end of April. The way this Covid thing is spreading it's not looking very good but we will be keeping an eye on it and keeping our fingers crossed that it will calm down by Rally time.  

In the meantime I encourage you and your chapters to get out and camp but also do it safely while respecting the RV parks rules when it comes to Covid protocol which is mandated by the counties the RV parks are in. Please take the time to research all information pertaining to the RV park a few days before your camp out.  Also remember to be respectful of your fellow campers as not everyone will follow Covid protocol. 

Our state officers and staff are working hard for you and your chapters. Remember all these positions, including your chapter positions, are all on a volunteer basis so don’t forget to thank the ones who have stepped up to help in these positions. Without our members taking on these positions your chapter and NorCal would cease to exist and there would be nothing but chaos. Remember It takes a village. 

Thanks for your time and if I can be of any assistance to you, please reach out to me via email. 

Please be safe out there and look for my next blog in February. 

Sincerely 

Mike Ward 

State Director 

NorCal Good Sam  

                                                     
                                                                   
                  *****PLEASE SHARE WITH ALL CHAPTER MEMBERS*****
On July 6, 2020, the NorCal staff held a conference call to determine the status of the planned October, 2020, NorCal Good Sam Rally.  The result of this call was made from input by all the staff with concern for the health of all of the attendees due to the CoVid-19 Corona virus, and coupled with the renewed spike in the pandemic, along with recommendations/directives by various governmental agencies.  It was determined that the Rally is cancelled for 2020.  We will continue to prepare plans for the Rally for 2021.  More to come.
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               THE FOLLOWING IS THE LATEST UPDATE FROM GOOD SAM

To Assistant Directors, Chapter Presidents, and Secretaries, and all members:
On July 8, 2020, all 53 State and Province Directors, including representatives of Good Sam, Tamara Ward, and Stephanie Cyphers, were invited to a Zoom conference call hosted by Good Sam CEO Marcus Lemonis.  This call had no particular agenda but was used as a conduit between the Directors and Marcus.  However, the majority of the call was an analysis of Good Sam by Marcus that included clarification with reference to rumors about the status of the Good Sam organization.  It was pointed out that we, as Directors, are no longer ‘paused’.
Most importantly, Marcus declared that Good Sam is in good health and will continue as a viable organization.  There are absolutely no plans whatsoever to bring an end to the Good Sam organization.  There will be many new changes to the organization that will enhance its presence and its ability to continue to grow. There are currently 2.2 million members of Good Sam, but only about 27,000 chapters.  New efforts will be made to attract new members to chapters through advertisement, pass-out information, and changes to the website, among others.

All Camping World managers and staff will be contacted to introduce them to Good Sam, as it appears as though many of these stores are supposedly unaware of the Good Sam Club.  They will be directed to cooperate with Good Sam as related to Rallies, etc.   Marcus will initiate a new program of, ‘secret shoppers’, at Good Sam stores, and will provide a stipend to Directors to visit Camping World stores in their districts to have a meet and greet session with their managers.

The word “Club” was omitted from the Good Sam logo due to research that found that younger members, and non-members, do not like the idea of being affiliated with a “Club”.

As of this writing, you are free to hold meetings on your own with the decision and responsibility for ensuring the health and safety of the attendees.  However, Good Sam cannot support any social gatherings including a Rally, either financially or for liability.  I suggest that if any of my chapters desire to have a chapter meeting, or get-together, that they do so in an open-air setting such as a public park.  Although many RV campgrounds are now open, they still do not allow the use of their clubhouses.  Please use your best discretion concerning having a campground meeting for the time being.

We are free to hold elections for officers for the ensuing year(s).  The structures of the individual States/Provinces are going to be discussed with Good Sam leaning towards allowing the individual States/Provinces to determine how they want to have the guiding principles and procedures to work the best for each of them.  More on this later.
Marcus will be setting up monthly meetings with all Directors to ensure that all Directors receive the same information concerning the new events.

For those of you that remember the ‘Highways’ publication, it will be re-introduced within the next couple of months.  The Good Sam directory, (that huge book), will be pared down to a more reasonable and useful size.   Many of the advertisements will be eliminated.

The Directors had very little time to bring anything to the table during this session.  However, as mentioned above, monthly sessions will be taking place for an exchange of information between the Directors and Good Sam.  It is in hopes that these sessions will be greatly productive and produce new and innovative ideas to enhance the presence of Good Sam.

Remember, that I will be retiring as your Director in December.  Therefore, we need to hold an election for my successor.  Please, if you are considering becoming the new Director and want to be included as a candidate of nominee that I will be advising our State Treasurer, Ken Brown, to distribute the election materials in the coming months.  The election will conducted in October at the next State Committee Meeting.  The date of the meeting will be announced soon.

As any new information concerning the above changes for Good Sam comes to light, I will be sure to share this information in a timely manner.

In the meantime, please cope the best as you can with this terrible pandemic, and I certainly hope that this reaches all of you in a safe and healthy condition, and that we can all get back to enjoying our chapter campouts and next Rally in April, 2021.

NorCal Good Sam Staff