Hello Hershey, Goodbye Harrisburg
The big news at the Harrisburg Show was the Hershey
Show, for that’s what it will be when America’s Largest RV
Show returns to Pennsylvania for their 38th Annual RV &
Camping Show next September. The change in venue from the
State Farm Complex to the Hersheypark Sports & Entertainment
Complex was approved by the PRVCA when they could not come to
terms over increased exhibitor costs associated with the newly
expanded facilities in Harrisburg. Through the years, flooding of
the outside area had also presented some challenging situations
for many of the exhibitors.
Becky Lenington, Executive Vice President of PRVCA, said, “It
was time to change.
Association News
A record number of RV industry professionals attended the
2004 RV Dealers International Convention/Expo featuring
the RV Learning Center in Las Vegas, NV, at the Rio All-
Suite Casino Resort. The total number of attendees of 1,765 was
up 6 percent from a year ago and included 859 RV dealers and
their employees from across the U.S. and Canada. The annual
event is co-sponsored by RVDA of America and RVDA of Canada.
The Convention/Expo featured more than 60 live workshops
organized by the RV Learning Center.
Camping Time RV of Georgia was named RVDA’s 2004 Top
Quality Dealer of the Year during the RVDA Annual Meeting.
Regional Top Quality Dealers for 2004 were: All Seasons RV,
OH; Capital RV Center, ND; Tyme RV, FL and All Seasons RV,
CA.
David Hoelzer, of Lloyd’s I-10 RV Center in Orange, TX is
the 2004-2005 Chairman of the Board of RVDA
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Editorial
Welcome Wal-Mart
For many in the RV
industry, the big box
mentality of Wal-Mart
presents ongoing issues about
the free parking that is provided
to RVers in many of the
stores.
We may be focusing on the
wrong thing when it comes to
the big boys from Bentonville,
Arkansas. There may be a silver
lining in all of this that
many RV companies are overlooking
because they can’t see
past the steam coming out of
their ears every time someone
mentions the namesake of Sam
Walton.
Why should we be getting
upset at a company that has
3,619 stores in 50 states and
1,520 in nine countries?
Why should we be upset at
a company that employs 1.2
million people?
Why should we be upset at
a company with $256.3 billion
dollars in annual sales?
We shouldn’t.
Instead, we should look at
some of the unique opportunities
that this behemoth provides
to the many fast growing
companies in the RV industry,
especially RV dealers as they
contemplate further expansion
to stay current with industry
demands.
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