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CONTENTS

Cover Story

Redefining Retirement
Park West's Richard Porter

Dick Porter has been in the RV industry for more than 40 years. After an "unsuccessful" retirement period, Porter is once again running a small company - Park West Industries, Inc., located in Mesa, AZ. Read what brought Porter out of retirement and the challenges he faces today as a park trailer manufacturer. Learn what role Porter played in helping form RVIA and why he still enjoys being in the business.

Dealer Attendance at Arrow's Reno Show Up 70%

Arrow Bonanza '99, Arrow Distributing's 6th annual product show attracted dealers from Nevada to North Carolina, Michigan to Texas, giving Arrow Distributing it's first taste of a truly national show. Read this show wrap-up to find out how successful the show was and what dealers experienced while attending.

Two KOA Kampgrounds Earn "Franchisees of the Year" Honors

For the first time in history, two sets of KOA franchisees were honored by receiving "Frachisee of the Year" awards. It all happened at the 1998 KOA International Convention in Pigeon Forge, TN. Read which Franchisee owners received the awards and what other KOA campground operators were recognized as well.

Salesmanship
Customer Relationship Marketing

This month columnist Bob Zagami looks at the latest business buzzword - CRM - or customer relationship marketing. Zagami warns dealers not to be hoodwinked into grabbing onto every supposed new marketing scheme, but he also lays the foundation for extracting some valuable information from the time-tested concept that is being rediscovered by marketing gurus.

Pending Industry Crisis
Who's Gonna Fix'em

Contributing editor Raymond Padgett takes a look at the pending crisis of the shortage of qualified RV technicians that are going to be required to take care of the growing number of RVs being sold. It's not only the shortage but also the industry's ability to keep technicians once they are trained. Read Padgett's analysis of the problem and see if you agree with some of the ideas he offers as potential solutions.

Editorial
Go-RVing...
Great and Getting Better

There's exciting news for the industry as it draws near the close of the 'trial period" of the industry's first national market expansion program. RV News takes a look at how we got to where we are today and what the future holds for continuing the market expansion effort. Read what surprises RVIA put into the mix at its March board meeting in Hawaii.