Club Rallies Offer Educational Opportunities, Friendship and Fun

...and Country Coach Friends Inc is Famous for a

Great All Round Rally Experience Every Time!

Yes, Country Coach Friends Inc rally events always offer great meals, outstanding entertainment and that Pure Fun for which a Country Coach Friends Rally is known...and lots of fellowship, laughs, and time with friends! The consistently "quality rally experience" is something for which this club is become known for!

 

MOTORCOACH RALLIES ARE LEARNING EXPERIENCES TOO!
But did you know that at a CCFI Rally you'll also learn more about your motorcoach, its components systems and aftermarket items? Ask the Experts during a variety of technical seminars your questions regarding particular coach components, systems and aftermarket items. Ask Your Fellow Travelers at owners' roundtable discussions regarding the particular model you drive, as motorcoachers  are often your  best information resource!

Enjoy some crafts, exercise sessions and lifestyle seminars, too.

For instance, at the CCFI Club's 2013 Country Coach Friendship Rally, August 21-25,2013 in Oregon, will feature lots of lifestyle sessions too. This is an annual event in its third year, and this year we return to Linn County Fair & Expo which has LOTS of seminar rooms! So, you can expect everything from yoga and daily bicycle rides, to craft classes, and lifestyle classes like health & fitness on the road, geneology and more...

Vendors Generously Support a CCFI event as well!

Expect dozens of RV-related and Lifestyle-related vendors at the CCFI rally too. RV specific vendors will be offering seminars about your coaches and providing service support for any thing you wish to have addressed during the rally.

Rallies are Member Run! 

As a consultant to the board, I do a quite a bit of rally coordination and planning and scheduling....then as the rally approaches "the pros" step in and "make it happen!" Members volunteer for service on committees like Parking, Registration, Welcome/Information, Decorations, and more...They get involved and get to know their fellow attendees as they work together to make the rally the best one ever! It's a perfect way to maximize your exposure to fellow rallyers and cement lifelong friendships! All in All, you can't go wrong investing your time in a Country Coach Friends Incorporated Rally! 

In 2013 you can see your friends (of all motorcoaching brands) at the following rallies!

CCFI Spring Rally Fun, May 14-19

Buckhorn Lake RV Resort, Kerrville, TX

60 spaces offered! Registrations are now being accepted. Come experience the beautiful Texas Hill Country...cowboys, blue bonnets, and longhorn cattle! And the friendliest community you'll ever visit!

CCFI Friendship Rally August 21-25

Linn County Expo, Albany, OR (tentative)

**New location as we’ve outgrown River Bend Resort in Harrisburg!

Expect this Club Rally to offer a busy busy schedule at a rally reminiscent of  old Class Reunions of the former Country Coach Inc. Company Rallies days, albeit on a smaller scale!

CCFI Fall Fun Rally, October 7-12

Napa County Fairgrounds, Calistoga, CA

Beautiful California wine country awaits...can't wait to see you there.

Enjoy Destination Rallies, too.

Sometimes CCFI chooses a great destination as the focus of the rally. Touring the area and enjoying the sights, attractions and activities is great fun at a destination rally...For example at Petoskey Michigan in 2012, Country Coach Friends parked at the premier Hearthside Grove RV Resort and throughout a busy 5-day rally experience they enjoyed the picturesque sites and scenery of the area. They enjoyed a Mackinaw Trolley Tour, experienced a Sunset Cruise of Lake Michigan, spent a delightful day in Charlevoix and a took a tour of Castle Farms. They loved the day on Mackinac Island with a luncheon at the Grand Hotel. And of course throughout five full days they experienced great meals, entertainment and fun for which a Country Coach Friends Rally is known...lots of fun, laughs, and time with friends!  

The CCFI Club Member Family is growing!

The club has more than quadrupled since forming in June 2011. With membership open to all brands of qualifying motorcoaches, we're looking for larger rally venues so more of us can gather together at CCFI events. Rally locations are being explored for 2014 -- Feel free to Email location ideas to

countrycoachfriendsinc@yahoo.com!

All Motorcoachers Are Welcome!

You need not own a Country Coach to join Country Coach Friends Incorporated or to join its members at rallies nationwide! Learn more at www.CountryCoachFriendsIncorporated.com or call Jerry OConnor at 775-742-4627.

RV Marketer's Thoughts on Lane County Transient Room Taxes

As CCFI’s Consultant to the Board I recently submitted Public Stakeholder Testimony to the Lane County TRT Task Force Meeting

*Here is some of the information regarding Transient Room Taxes as excerpted from a report by Brad Waring, ORVA, www.come2oregon.com

(TRT) Transit Room Taxes are collected by RV Parks from their guests. Oregon law established this tax requiring at least 70 percent of net revenue be used to fund tourism promotion or tourism-related facilities. Lane County collects and distributes millions of dollars each year.

It was a packed room Thursday, October 11 and every attendee did a great job making the case for their piece of the TRT Taxes. The moderator, Mr. Cuyler said he received more than 40 pieces of written testimony. RV related Testimony came in written form from Shannon Nill who responded as an ORVA board member and on behalf of Guaranty RV and the RV Dealers Association(RVDA). Ron Lee of Country Coach Corporation, Mike Brown of Deerwood RV Park, from Myself on behalf of County Coach Friends, and Tom Schneider former Guaranty Salesman and retired RV owner.

Paul and Vickie Williams, owners of Premier RV Resorts, offered hard facts about their TRT collections over the last decade, $300,000.00. Paul broke the ice with a humorous comment about recently becoming a non-profit, like so many of the other Stakeholders who offered testimony. Brad Waring, executive director of Oregon RV Alliance, also spoke in the meeting using an illustrative pie as he lobbied for a portion of TRT taxes being used to market to the RV community.

The TRT Task Force will develop its recommendations to present to the County Commissioners December 5th.

Country Coach Friends Incorporated (www.CountryCoachFriendsIncorporated.com)  is a Big Fan of the south Willamette Valley and the Junction City, Oregon area where all Country Coaches were originally built. We look forward to visiting again soon for more memorable rallies and great times with our many business sponsors of Lane County.

The area is just the BEST spot in the nation for RVing! Travel Lane County has been most supportive of Country Coach events over the years bringing their Van on the Go to rally site (www.eugenecascadescoast.org) and providing key travel information to RVers to enhance their visit to the south Willamette Valley.

Working together, all RV industry professionals can have a part in making sure we all do our part to get the word out that Oregon’s south Willamette Valley is indeed a motorcoachers’ mecca in terms of RV services, dealerships and service centers, not to mention the natural attractions, and just plain FUN things to do!


HERE IS THE LETTER I SUBMITTED:

Bringing RV-owning travelers to Oregon to spend their leisure time is a subject about which I am passionate. For over 18 years I marketed Country Coach and its motorcoaches. As Senior Manager of Marketing at the former Country Coach, LLC I coordinated rallies for up to 400 coach motorcoaches nationwide. Country Coach Friends Inc, (www.countrycoachfriendsincorporated.com) rallies continue to bring thousands of dollars into the communities. The largest one is held annually in the Willamette Valley near where all Country Coaches were built.

The Country Coach Friendship Rally held at River bend Resort in July in Harrisburg raised over $8000 in charitable giving which the Country Coach Friends Club donated to local food banks. The Friendship Rally brought 180 high income RVers to Lane County for several weeks before and after the rally. During their visit they stayed in local campgrounds like Premier RV Resort in Coburg and Deerfield RV Park. Another favorite park is Richardson RV Park at Fern Ridge. While in the area, these rallyers got their engines and furnaces serviced, had paint and bodywork done...They visited area woodworking businesses for cabinetry upgrades. They purchased new tires (in itself a couple thousand dollars single expenditure). They purchased art pieces, home decor, and more as they added new touches to the $300,000 to $1.5 million dollar homes on wheels they choose to drive.  My CCFI Club friends spent time exploring wineries, covered bridges, shopping malls and boutiques eating out at their favorite restaurants during their Lane County visit.

 What a boost to the economy! RV industry professionals like myself (many of whom are  members of Oregon RV Alliance) are dedicated to spreading the message to Motorcoaching friends nationwide to consider spending leisure time and income in Oregon.

If some estimates I have heard that in Lane County 10 percent of all tax monies raised from overnight stays are being garnered from RV Park and campground overnight stays, it seems prudent to devote some of that revenue to marketing endeavors that attract even More RV guests.  One means might be to reach out to all the many RV clubs such as Country Coach Friends Incorporated, telling them about all the Fun that awaits in Oregon!

Lane County is a Great RV Destination-a great place to play. Let's spread the word.

 

Destinations Travel Magazine Goes Glamping on the Oregon Coast

You gotta check out this great tribute to the Oregon Coast and enjoying it from the cockpit of a motorcoach!

Visit guaranty.com/blogs and you'll see a post that reads in part: "...we recently went glamping with Darlene Perrone with “Destinations Travel Magazine.” Now, the word glamping stems from glamorous camping. A self-proclaimed luxe girl, Darlene wasn’t sure she was going to enjoy glamping, mainly because of the camping part. What she found, however, was that after the first night she was completely sold on the RV lifestyle...."
Indeed, recently Guaranty RV Center in Junction City loaned a motorcoach and took a writer from Destinations travel magazine for a drive along the Oregon Coast (not to be confused with Country Coach Destinations magazine). The article at this link is a wonderful affadavit to the wonders of Oregon, and specifically the Oregon Coast--and why indeed its The Place to spend your leisure time! Come home to Oregon--enjoy the coast, the mountains, the valleys...and enjoy it all from the comfort of your beautiful motorcoach!

Destinations Travel Magazine Article

Great Job, Guaranty RV Center, for bringing well deserved attention to the beautiful Oregon Coast and reminding travelers that the Best Way to enjoy America's scenic wonders is from the driver's seat of a motorcoach!

Guaranty RV Center (www.guaranty.com) is a business partner / supporter of Country Coach Friends Incorporated, a Country Coach Owners Club that is near and dear to my heart. Open to owners of all brand motorcoaches, you may learn more about the club at www.countrycoachfriendsincorporated.com