Country Coach, Entrepreneurship, and a Rebounding Community

Country Coach, entrepreneurship, and a rebounding community

Country Coach Corporation (CCC) and specifically owner and CEO Ron Lee has a dream—no, not a dream, a goal, a vision—to resume building the Country Coach brand motorcoach. Country Coach Corporation opened in January, 2011 offering full coach service, parts manufacturing, consignment sales and a robust little CC logoed apparel and aftermarket items shop. Ron owns all the Intellectual Property of the former Country Coach, LLC (including the trademarked brand names, engineering prints and schematics, fiberglass molds and build sheets). Many tenured Country Coach employees left adrift in the wake of Country Coach, LLC’s bankruptcy were proud to put their shoulders to the wheel and help build the momentum of a new fledgling company with a vision to build Country Coach motorcoaches again. The new company began offering technical support for Country Coach owners calling in with service issues and parts searches. Most were happy to pay the consulting fee that funds the technical advisors they get at the other end of the phone when they call for help. All in all, over the past 18 months Country Coach Corporation has seemed a little like “the little engine that could” as the community, the Country Coach motorcoach owners across the country and the former CC, LLC employees and current CCC employees all watched and cheered the new company on…What a real win-win situation it will be when the “new breed” of Country Coach motorcoaches roll onto First Avenue in Junction City, OR. At a recent Country Coach Friends Incorporated Club Rally (a new international chapter of FMCA formed for the enjoyment of Country Coach owners and other brand motorcoach owners), Ron Lee and his COO David Diamond spoke about financing they have high expectations will come through soon, that will allow the “next steps” toward their dream of Country Coach motorcoaches again being built. Keep apprised of their development at www.countrycoach.com. To learn more about this vibrant fast growing independent club, visit www.countrycoachfriendsincorporated .com

The original Country Coach (originally Country Campers) was born out of an entrepreneur’s vision and pioneer’s spirit (Bob Lee’s, that is) in 1973,  Building lines including the models Country Camper, Max, Mystique, Tribute, Inspire, Allure, Intrigue, Magna, Affinity, Lexa, Concept, Rhapsody, and Country Coach Prevost Conversion, the company was a leader in the industry in terms of motorcoach innovation, design, craftsmanship, livability, and safety attributes. Its dealer network was nationwide, and every single coach was built in Junction City in the southern Willamette valley (with the exception of the ill-fated Mystique, which was built at then sister company National RV). Bob Lee was inducted into the RV/MH Hall of Fame, in recognition to his pioneer spirit, decades of service to develop the RV industry, and his cutting edge innovations Country Coach brought to the Recreation Vehicle industry. In 1996, National RV Holdings Inc. acquired the company. Eleven years later in February of 2007, Country Coach was purchased by a consortium headed by Riley Investment Management LLC. Bob Lee (and his son in law Pat Mason) now own and operate the Oregon Motorcoach Center, a full service and renovation business in Eugene Oregon, located just a few minutes from where he formerly built coaches. See www.oregonmotorcoachcenter.com for more information on this company. Just three years later in February 2010, Country Coach, LLC, the company that built the World’s Finest Motorcoaches, fell victim to the downturned economy (and its resulting freeze on credit to consumers and dealers) and was forced into bankruptcy and was liquidated. Today, however, loyal Country Coachers are found parked at national and state parks or in the finest luxury destination resorts (and even overnight in the local Wal-Mart lot), and all points between as they enjoy the adventures to be found from the cockpit of a Country Coach. In fact, some will have nothing else, and it has created a profitable market niche for dealers concentrating on marketing pre-owned Country Coach motorcoaches.

Premier RV Services in Junction City, OR is one such business. Gary Obermire and Louie Courtemanche (like myself) are die-hard Country Coach fans. Like me I sometimes think they have CC motor oil in their blood. Long time Country Coach employees and avid promoters of the brand when the defunct company was in business, they too have an entrepreneur’s spirit. When their highly esteemed Country Coach, LLC failed, Premier RV Services was founded to fill the need for qualified service available to CCers….service you could trust by some of the best of the best Country Coach technicians. Knowing your beautiful Country Coach inside out as they and their staff did, they knew their longtime Country Coach owner friends would appreciate a service center specializing in Country Coach but welcoming all brands of motorhomes in for service and complete or partial renovations.  Premier recognized the deep loyalty there is to the Country Coach brand, and so they also opened a Pre-owned Coach Division where RVers could still purchase a hand-selected, well-maintained Country Coach brand motorcoach. Premier offers an indoor secure storage for your coach when its not being enjoyed, too, within buildings situated on 26+ acres of the former Country Coach, LLC campus. For a look at the largest inventory of preowned Country Coach motorcoaches in the U.S., or to learn about their other services, visit www.premierrvservices.com.

As you return to Junction City, Oregon and the Lane County area, you quickly appreciate the signs of a rebounding community. Dutch Brothers and Nina's coffee shops are thriving, as are local eateries, and other area businesses like Guaranty RV Center and Sound Sensations and Innovative Coachworks. There are many private individuals and small businesses in the area who cater to the RV owner, too. Be it cabinetry shops dedicated to the hand crafted cabinetry services Country Coachers became used to and demand in their upgrades and renovations (Davis Cabinets and Carr Industries are two of them) to Countryside Interiors, Millie’s Draperies, HItchPro & Tow, NW RV Supply and more, motorcoachers find a full support network in Lane County when they come back to Junction City and the surrounding area for leisure time. Yes, indeed, entrepreneurship is alive and well in Junction City OR and the RV industry's momentum is building! It’s a great place to visit, a beautiful area to tour and without doubt the name Country Coach is still well-loved and RV businesses continue to significantly contribute to the well-being of this community.