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Fox Valley Winnies Outing Dates – 8-11 June 2007 Thomson Causeway WagonMasters – John and Diana Ahaus and Rick and Gail Postal
Meeting – Saturday, June 9, 2007
Present: John and Diana Ahaus, Fred and Janice Bruneman, Don and Jean Chilson, Joie Hagemann, Chuck and Jean Hess, Rick and Gail Postal, Dennis and Connie Relihan, Phil and Nancy Russell, Gordon and Brenda Smith, Ray and Carol Smith, Jim and Marilyn Wenberg. Bob and Laurie Duke joined us for dinner and our meeting on Saturday.
President Dennis Relihan called the meeting to order on Saturday evening.
The minutes of our May meeting were approved with a motion by Phil Russell and seconded by Don Chilson.
Treasurer’s Report was read by Dennis Relihan. A motion to table approval of the report, until our July meeting at GNR, was made by Phil Russell and seconded by John Ahaus. Ken and Sandie were not at this meeting as Sandie broke her leg. I quote from Ken’s e mail. “We were on our way home from Charlotte, NC, stopped in Asheville, NC and after shopping at a farmers market, her body turned to get into the car and somehow her leg did not. She now has a metal rod in her upper right leg. She is doing fine”.
Old Business: Dennis thanked Jean Chilson for offering to join with Phil Russell in offering Sunday morning services. Jean felt we should not miss this time of fellowship when Phil can’t be at a campout, so Jean will step into his very spiritual shoes when he is not at a campout and join him when he is. Jean, we thank you for doing this for our club.
Fox Valley Winnie’s 25th Anniversary in September. This has been designated as our Friendship outing. Dennis recapped plans for the anniversary meeting and Connie Relihan reported on the Empress Casino in Joliet as a possible location. They have a camp ground with water and electric at $30.00 for “pull thru” sites and $24.00 for sites that you back into. Bob Gardner is still looking into Shabona Lake State Park as a possible site, so a final location has not yet been decided. John Ahaus asked if a special 25th anniversary pin would be made available. Ray and Carol Smith will check to see if the Illinois Indians have a contact for pins and Ray Smith says that WIT has a 25 year badge. Dennis will check with WIT at GNR.
Dennis read the RVAct goals and again reminded members to review the legislation and discussions that effect RVers. The RVAct site has a link on the Fox Valley Winnies website.
The October Outing will be the designated “Grandparents Weekend”. Vince and Ginny Innocenti and Otto and Georgie Ryl are Wagonmasters. No definite location has been set.
Don Chilson will coordinate with Barrington Motors on a possible “Show-N-Tell” sometime in the Fall.
A continued discussion on easing the job of Wagonmasters brought out some excellent ideas. As this is a subject that involves all of our membership, Dennis asked that all members send him a list of places that they think would be good campout locations. Provide a list of menus for easy to do meals such as chili dumps. List the activities that you most enjoy from past campouts e.g. dinner shows, visits to historic sites or museums, biking and hiking, a camp fire. With this information Dennis will compile a list of possible locations and activities (such as a location that has a dinner show) to be presented at the annual meeting. He hopes this will allow the membership to set a schedule for 2008 and get Wagonmaster commitments at that time. You suggestions can be sent by mail or email.
New Business: Dennis read the email from Ken about Sandie’s broken leg. Dennis said that the Fox Valley Winnies welcome bag items had been sent for the State Rally. Dennis asked that all members interested in the August campout get their checks to him by 13 June. He will have to get these numbers to the camp ground and dinner theater on 13 June. Dennis and Connie will be in Canada from June 14 to June 26th. If you wish to join the August campout, mail your application and we will do all we can to get you space with the camp ground and seats for the show. Remember it is possible that your site and seats may not be with the group after June 13. We will contact you once we have your space secured.
Dennis thanked Rick and Gail and John and Diana for being such excellent Wagonmasters and for making this a special weekend. The meeting was adjourned.
Future Outings: June 22-24, 2007 State Summer Rally Crescent City, IL July 11, 2007 Pre-GNR – Oakwood RV Park Clear Lake, IA July 15-20, 2007 GNR – Forest City, IA August 10-12, 2007 Rock Island/Quad Cities KOA – Circa ’21 and Dinner Playhouse in Rock Island, IL The play is “Don’t Dress For Dinner”. The camp ground fee is $27.00 per night and the dinner and show is $38.00 per person. A free guided tour of the John Deere Pavilion is scheduled with a luncheon at the River House restaurant immediately following the tour. Wagonmasters are the Chilsons and the Relihans. This outing has been proposed as a joint outing with the Quad City Winnies. Please see “New Business” section for information on reservations. September 14-16 – Fox Valley Winnies 25th Anniversary Celebration – Friendship Weekend - Location TBA. September 28-30,2007 – Illinois Indians Fall Rally, Crescent City, IL (Fox Valley will be responsible for Parking) October 11-14, 2007 – Grandparent’s Weekend – Location TBA – Wagonmasters are the Ryls and Innocentis. November 3 (Noon) Annual Meeting and Luncheon at Barrington Motors – Installation of new officers.
Things to Share Phil Russell told a cautionary tale of his purchase of new tires for his motorhome. He was about to purchase Michelin tires when he found that they had last produced RV tires in 2005. The tires he was about to purchase were already two years old. Needless to say he selected another brand. The moral of the story is - when buying tires always check the date and year that they were manufactured.
As an AARP member, John Ahaus found excellent car and motorhome insurance rates through AARP and Hartford Insurance. If you are an AARP member, he suggests you take a look at their rates.
Joie asks that we keep our ears open for any information on Grandfather clauses that allow motorhome owners to park by their homes. She has a problem with the parking regulations in St. Charles.
About Our Thomson Outing I don’t think we could have found a more perfect setting. Thomson Causeway is every campers dream – we had a river view, grassy sites with long concrete slabs, towering trees, huge fire pits and a camping fee of $8.00 per night for Golden Age Passport holders. WOW! Many thanks to our Wagonmasters for selecting a location that was not easy to arrange but sheer heaven to camp at. Although many of us planned to arrive on Thursday, a storm system with high winds caused us to delay until Friday. The lucky members who arrived on Wednesday stayed with no problem, but Jim and Marilyn’s enviable riverside site gave them a rock and roll night on Thursday.
It was such a relaxing campout. The weather was perfect. On Friday we went to a local restaurant for dinner and had a great campfire. On Saturday, some biked, played golf and/or went sightseeing (the local meat market was a big attraction) don’t get worried, they really sell meat. At 4PM our Wagonmasters treated us to delicious finger food followed by mouth watering Italian Sausages. They sure were a lot of work but every bite was a testament to fine cooking. The many sides and desserts added to our dining enjoyment. After dinner and our meeting, we gathered at the river to watch the sunset and finished the night with a campfire. Thanks to Fred and Rick for the firewood, you saved the day!
Breakfast was a delightful surprise with juice, eggs, sausage, sweet rolls and watermelon. Funny thing is that John and Rick were talking about making the campout food offerings simpler for the Wagonmasters. We sure are glad that you didn’t apply that theory to yourselves! Thank you Diana and John, Gail and Rick for all your hard work to make this an exceptional outing for all of us. Jean and Phil lead us in Sunday morning services.
Respectfully submitted, Connie Relihan, Secretary
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