OWNERS CLUB
Volume VI Number III
OWNERS CLUB
Heartland Highlights Featured Highlights
8 Lowering the Top
Bunk on Toy Haulers Owner Ian Hubling gives step-by-step instructions to make this adjustment.
10 Quarterly Safety Tip Part 1 of firearm safety while RVing, from Safety Reporter Dave Gray
12 New Heartland Service Center Now Open
Owner Kelly Barnett talks to Jim Fenner, Director of Dealer Services, about the new facility.
16 Member Spotlight Chris and Gloria Whitford share the inspirational story behind their custom Cyclone graphics.
24 Heartland
Gives Back A letter of heartfelt thanks to Members of the Heartland Owners Club.
2015 Quarter Three
From the VP of Sales Greetings from the Heartland Corporate Office! 228 Heartland units and well over 400 people from the Heartland Owners Club came back home to Indiana in late June for the annual National “Back Home” Rally. The Owners Club spent a week at the Elkhart County 4H Fair Grounds enjoying time with their friends, great food, community service, fun and entertainment. Seminars and workshops were held and a number of local vendors were on site giving everyone knowledge Coley Brady, about how to get Vice President of Sales the most out of their ownership experience. The highlight of the week for me was when everyone came to the factory for plant tours along with a luncheon at the RV/MH Hall of Fame. It was a pleasure getting the opportunity to speak to you and provide you an update on the exciting things happening at Heartland RV. The biggest news for all of you to see was our new 12-bay customer service center — this was definitely welcomed by all of the product owners. The management team at Heartland also appreciates all the product development feedback you provided to us while you were
at the factory — we are acting on some of your ideas so stayed tuned as we work on our product enhancements this Summer.
“The biggest news for all of you to see was our new 12-bay customer service center — this was definitely welcomed by all of the product owners.” Thanks again to all of you who attended the Rally — we really do love having you as our guest in Elkhart and look forward to this event every 2 years! If you could not make the North American Heartland Owners Rally, please consider a Regional Rally or a local Chapter Rally. I truly believe the Rallies and comradery to enhance the RV ownership experience. Safe travels to all you and your family — Enjoy the moments that make the memories!
by Coley Brady, Vice President of Sales
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Table of Contents
Heartland Highlights
IN THIS ISSUE From the VP of Sales. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Coley Brady, VP of Sales, Heartland RVs
Owners Club Membership & Forum Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 From the Club President. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Jim Beletti, Club President
Heartland Highlights Published quarterly for the owners of Heartland products. All Heartland RV logos and graphics are used with the expressed permission of Heartland RVs. Duplication and printing for personal use only and not for distribution.
Club Manager’s Corner. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Julie Hancock, Club Manager
Lowering the Top Bunk on Toyhaulers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Ian Hubling, Owner
Quarterly Safety Tip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Dave Gray, Safety Reporter
Heartland Opens New Service Center for Dealers/Owners. . . 12 Kelly Barnett, Owner
Prowler and Trail Runner Made for Summer Fun. . . . . . . . . . . 15
All content submissions shall be sent to the editorial staff at the following address newsletter@heartlandowners.org
Member Spotlight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Chris and Gloria Whitford
A Bicycle Built for Two Billion Book Tour. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Editor Erika Dorsey editor@heartlandowners.org
Jamie Bianchini
Heartland Gives Back . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
President
Upcoming Rallies at a Glance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Jim Beletti president@heartlandowners.org
Rally Wrap-Up. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Manager
Southeast Region Report. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Julie Hancock club@heartlandowners.org
Dave Yocum, Director
Northeast Region Report. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Jamie & Ginger Walker, Directors
South Central Region Report. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Jay & Stella Coffman, Directors
Canadian Region Report. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Wayne & Gayle Wilson, Directors
North Central Region Report. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Dan & Karen Halvorsen, Directors
Rally Potluck Recipe. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Ann Mayer, Rally Recipe Reporter
North American Heartland Owners Rally Pictoral Review. . . . 41 Malcolm and Valerie Talley, Owners/Photographers 2
Content Submission Deadlines Q-1
January 1st
Q-2
April 1st
Q-3
July 1st
Q-4
October 1st
Any comments or suggestions related to this publication should be addressed to newsletter@heartlandowners.org
On the front page: Photo collage by Heartland RVs, featured on the new Heartland website. 2015 Quarter Three
Owners Club and Forum Statistics
Heartland Highlights
Owners Club Membership US - SOUTH CENTRAL
CANADA
US - NORTHEAST
Alberta
25
Arkansas
14
Maryland
29
Ontario
68
Louisiana
11
Massachusetts
24
Quebec
5
Missouri
35
New Jersey
25
Saskatchewan
5
Oklahoma
21
New York
50
Texas-North
55
Pennsylvania
43
Texas-South
90
US - PACIFIC
TOTAL
California-Central
41
California-North
47
US - SOUTHEAST
California-South
49
Florida
106
Nevada-North
9
Georgia
46
Nevada-South
15
Kentucky
8
Oregon
49
Alabama
33
Washington
44
North Carolina
40
South Carolina
15
Tennessee
46
Virginia
50
US - MOUNTAIN Arizona
44
Colorado
48
New Mexico
11
Utah
15
Wyoming
Illinois
39
Indiana
29
Iowa
25
Michigan
74
Minnesota
26
Ohio
38
Wisconsin
49
2015 Quarter Three
Forum Statistics 30,364 Number of Members 43,107 Total Threads 421,930 Total Posts
Owners Club Membership Demographics 103
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US - NORTH CENTRAL
1505 Members
254
280 171
127 226
344
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From the Editor
Heartland Highlights
From the Editor Well, summer is
upon us, and time for camping fun, as long as you stay cool!
events of 9/11/01 and how they impacted his life and his current Heartland coach, a Cyclone 4200 with custom graphics.
our Heartland family. Thanks to all the Chapter and Region Leadership and regular contributors that provide content. And of course, thanks to Jim and Julie. They back me up with proofing and fact-checking, to make this Newsletter even better. I could not have done it without all of you!
Also be sure to check out Kelly Barnett’s interview with Jim Fenner, Director of Dealer First off, I need to Services, as they talk about the new 12-bay appologize for the Service Center in Elkhart, IN. It’s specifically late arrival of this designed to help dealers and owners get their I can’t wait to see what the new Editor Erika Dorsey, issue of Heartland coaches repaired with factory trained technicians. has in store for this publication! They will Highlights. All of the Heartland Highlights always be looking for ideas, modifications Editor contributors were Lastly, I must say it’s been a pleasure to be the and stories to include in the Newsletter, so good to get me content when asked, however, Editor of the Heartland Highlights Newsletter please drop them a line at: in July our lives became somewhat crazy with the past three years. However, it is time for me editor@heartlandowners.org! an excessive work schedule, as well as the fact to “pass the torch” on to someone else. We will that we had a contract to sell our house and of course stay active members of the Forum, by Erika Dorsey, had to move! attend Rallies, and enjoy our Heartland rig and Heartland Highlights Editor (retired) Before we put our home on the market, we knew we’d be moving into our Elkridge for the time being. That said, it is still a good possibility we will find a new house at some point, thus, all of our belongings had to go through a rigorus decision tree: trash it, give it to someone we know, donate it, sell it, move it to storage, or move it to the RV. It was mentally and physically quite challenging! We moved completely out of the house on July 22nd, into the RV. Then moved from one RV Park to another on July 26th. Things still aren’t settled in a place in the coach, but I am hoping life will get back to ‘normal’ soon. As Editor, I get to decide what stories and information to bring to the reader each quarter. I try to keep my ears open for news in the RV Industry, on the Heartland Owners Forum, Heartland’s Facebook page, and other sources. I hope that you find this issue intriguing as I did! Read about the ‘Heartland Gives Back’ initiative, “Heartland Baby Blesssings”, and the impact it has on the community. Also look forward to the Member Spotlight, Owners Chris & Gloria Whitford, as Chris describes the 4
2015 Quarter Three
HOC President’s Message
Heartland Highlights
From the Desk of... Hello Heartland Owners Club Members,
Looking Ahead At each North American Heartland Owners Summer camping season is in full swing. Rally, I host a meeting of all Leadership Have you been out with your Heartland yet (Club, Forum and Newsletter) in attendance this year? I hope you have. at the Rally. At the Goshen Rally, I hosted a meeting with 30+ Heartland Owners Club Goshen Rally Leadership couples. The purpose of the Report meeting is to get feedback from Leadership This past June, Julie about the Club and the Forum. Julie and and I and a team of I take that feedback and use it to make amazing volunteers the Club and Forum better. This year, we And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention put on the 10th the ‘Heartland Gives Back’ initiative (HGBi). also had something we wanted to run by Anniversary of the Leadership and I want to share this with you This year, the HGBi was Heartland Baby North American too. While the Club has continued to grow Blessings (HBB). Once again, Judi Barnett Heartland Owners each year, the net growth rate is very low and Jim Beletti, coordinated the HBB activity and event. Rally in Goshen, Owners Club President What an amazing impact Heartlanders made it does not track Heartland sales growth. All Indiana. What a Leadership would like to see our Club growth on Elkhart County for babies and mothers. hoot! We had 468 rate improve. As a collective, we discussed See the article in this Newsletter for details. Heartland Owners Club members in 228 many ideas. One of the impediments Thank you Judi and everyone who made or Heartland rigs join us, representing 38 U.S. purchased baby items or donated cash to this identified was “lack of awareness” (of the states and 3 Canadian provinces. The top 3 Club) on the part of the majority of Heartland worthy cause. represented were Texas at 23 rigs, Michigan product owners. Another impediment at 21 rigs and Ontario at 17 rigs. The top 4 Thank you to all who made it and thank you identified the perceived value versus the brands represented were Bighorn at 82 rigs, cost of Membership. In the coming months, once again to all the volunteers who helped Landmark at 65 rigs, Big Country at 34 rigs Julie and I will be working with the entire us produce a great event. and Cyclone at 17 rigs. Leadership to develop a plan to address both of the above impediments. In the mean time, Getting the word out Pre-rally attendees spent time catching I would like to ask each of you to continue to Many of you know that for years now, up with their Heartland family members, reach out to all Heartlanders you encounter inside the blue bag of manuals in each new touring Amish country, taking pre-rally in your travels at campgrounds and RV tours, eating at Amish homes and getting all coach, we’ve been inserting a double-sided shows. Be sure to ask them if they’re Club flier advertising the Heartland Owners settled in for the rally. Members and if they’re not, encourage them Forum on one side and the Heartland to learn more about it by sending them to Owners Club on the other side. Now, in Rally attendees had the opportunity to attend www.heartlandowners.org and clicking on nearly 40 lifestyle and technical seminars, enjoy addition to this flier, each of our plants the Owners Club link, as seen below. is placing a door hanger-style Heartland 5 catered meals and a catered dessert, enjoy Owners Club post card on the knob of two evenings of professional entertainment, one of the kitchen cabinet doors. It’s shop from a large variety of vendors in the our goal to create more awareness about Heartland Marketplace, go through 10 new the club with new owners. display coaches courtesy of Tiara RV, tour See CLUB PRESIDENT, continued on page 7
2015 Quarter Three
the new Heartland service center, tour several Heartland plants, tour the RV museum, ask questions of the Heartland corporate team, receive free minor service work from Heartland RVs and more. It was an amazing time. All of our North American Rallies are fun but the Rally in Goshen is extra special due to the access we have to the supplier base, our factory and our service team.
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Club Manager’s Corner
Heartland Highlights
Club Manager’s Corner Hello to All!
The 10th Anniversary North American Rally in Goshen is now in the history books. If you were there I hope you had a great time and are planning Julie Hancock, to attend the next Owners Club Manager Rally in Goshen when it rolls around in 2017. For all of you first-timers: thank you so much for coming. Now that you know what it’s all about, it will be so much easier next time.
passed the baton to Bob and Christine Fournelle, now former Ontario Chapter Leaders. Mike and Donna Tinklin have volunteered as Ontario Chapter Leaders to take over from Bob and Christine. This was all accomplished at the Ontario Chapter Rally and announced at the NAHOR. My hat is off to you all. Super planning!
British Columbia, Richard Jagiello and Blanca Forth—Michigan, Mike and Betty Tovar—Arkansas, Teresa and Art Mitchell—California-Central, Deb and Ray Duryee – California-North, Forrest Fetherolf and Karen Wright—Nevada, Larry and Sam Bandstra—South Carolina. Do you know these folks? Say “Thanks” when you see them because they helped the HOC through its birth and early childhood.
Rod and Kelly Ditrich, Washington Chapter Leaders, have taken over as Pacific Region Directors. They are actively recruiting for the Washington Chapter Leader role and an announcement may have been made by the time you read this.
Mark and Linda Comer who have been the Ohio Chapter Leaders since June 2008 decided to let someone else in on the fun Thank you so much to all the HOC Chapter and retired in April 2015 so Bob and Connie Leaders and Region Directors, past and Sims could enjoy the Chapter Leader role. present, for giving of their time and enthusiThat’s a long run guys. asm to support the club and Heartland RVs. Thank you for your patience and underI was curious to see who else who stepped standing as we strive to make this the best up in 2008 and are still in the Chapter Club it can be for all its members. Leader role. There are only 3 remaining: Ken and Kathy Strong—Illinois, Bob and If you feel you would like to take a shot at Patty Hartsell—California-South, Kristy Chapter Leadership we would love to talk and Mark Carlson—Oregon. to you about it. The only requirements are enthusiasm, access to a computer, some basic So what happened to the rest of our foundcomputer skills and the ability to talk with ing Chapter Leaders? Some moved on to people. We ask that if you volunteer that you the Region Director role: Wayne and Gayle commit to a minimum of one calendar year, Wilson—retired Ontario CLs and retired essentially hosting one Chapter Rally. There Canadian RDs, Jay and Stella Coffman— retired Texas CLs and current South Central are Chapters yet to be formed and Chapters RDs. There are also those who remain active with no Chapter Leader. If your Chapter already has a Chapter Leader tell them or in the club, but are low key: Tom & Geraldine Weber—retired Wisconsin CLs, your Region Director you would Gus and Deb Funderburg—retired Virginia be interested someday when they retire. CLs. There are also two special people who If you’d like to try it out, offer to have been Chapter Leaders off and on since Wagonmaster the next Chapter Rally. 2007, stepping up whenever we needed Try it, you’ll like it. them: Phil and Becky Smith—current South Carolina Chapter Leaders. Until next time: have a great summer!
Wayne and Gayle Wilson, Canadian Region Directors, have decided to retire and have
And the rest of the founding Chapter Leaders: Rand and Beverly Lutman—
There has been much going on in the Heartland Owners Club in the last couple of months. For the first time, every Region of the Heartland Owners Club has a Region Director. We are very fortunate to have the depth of experience and enthusiasm that our Region Directors bring to the Club. Garry Gilbert, Arizona Chapter Leader, has assumed the role of Mountain Region Director. This is awesome as the Mountain Region has not had a Director before. Garry will be continuing as Arizona Chapter Leader through his January 2017 Chapter Rally in Havasu.
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by Julie Hancock, Heartland Owners Club Manager 2015 Quarter Three
HOC President’s Message
Heartland Highlights
CLUB PRESIDENT, continued from page 5 2016 North American Heartland Owners Rally At the NAHOR Rally in Goshen, we announced that our plans are firm to hold the 2016 North American Owners Rally in Las Vegas, NV. Primary camping will be at Oasis RV Resort (125 rigs) and we hope to be able to accommodate up to another 75 rigs at other area campgrounds. It is our hope to secure off-site meeting rooms to hold allattendee events. Nancy and I will be in Las Vegas this November to nail down some of the details for this event. To keep up to date with the planning for this Rally, subscribe to the 2016 Las Vegas Rally discussion thread by clicking this link. Future of the Heartland Highlights Newsletter As you’ll note in Erika’s article, she is retiring from her position as the Editor of Heartland Highlights. As we consider our options for the Newsletter and a new editor — everything is on the table. If you have ideas for what you feel the Club Newsletter should be, what should be in it, how it should be published, how often etc., kindly drop me a line. On the road again As I write this article in late July, Nancy and I are in the Pacific Northwest. We’re here to attend Washington and Oregon Rallies. When we get back home, it’s off to a half dozen more Chapter Rallies.
Heartland News Contest Launches Camping World Rebranding Camping World Inc. and Good Sam Enterprises LLC announced the winners of their “Hello Camping World RV Sweepstakes,” which corresponded with a national radio sponsorship that kicked off the launch of the company’s rebranding campaign, titled “Hello Camping World.” The sweepstakes was part of Camping World’s sponsorship with Westwood One radio, and included a grand prize of a new 2015 Heartland Prowler 27LX travel trailer among other giveaways such as NASCAR tickets and gift cards. The “Hello Camping World” campaign was created to showcase the great adventures that can be enjoyed in the RV lifestyle between family and friends, and how a variety of outdoor accessories such as grills, chairs, coolers and patio furniture can be integrated in a camping trip to enhance the experience. “Our goal was to create an awareness of the outdoor and RV lifestyle and give the community an opportunity to see how a camping trip can turn into a dream vacation.” said Marcus Lemonis, CEO and chairman of Camping World. Winners for the four grand prizes and weekly gift card drawings were pulled from over 55,000 entries received during Camping World’s sweepstakes. Barbara Mutchler, of Minonk, Ill., was selected as the first grand prize winner to receive the new 2015 Heartland trailer, who has plans to travel to different state parks and campgrounds with her family in their new RV. by Staff, RVBusiness
Get your custom Heartland gear!
Happy Trails, Heartlanders. Keep making memories with your Heartland RV and “we’ll see you down on the road!” by Jim Beletti, Heartland Owners Club President
http://www.companycasuals.com/hoc or call 888-729-0198. 2015 Quarter Three
7
Toy Hauler Bunk Mod
Heartland Highlights
Lowering the Top Bunk on Toy Haulers Several people have expressed an interest in
8. P lace your stop in the rail, mark the first hole, drill a pilot hole through the metal back of the rail, then using a self-tapping bolt, screw into the wall. Note: The local hardware store had almost identical self-tapping screws to the ones that held the rails to the wall. They are No. 12 x 1½ inches.
lowering to default height of the top bunk on the Heartland toy haulers that have the Happyjack system. In my case, I needed the top bunk to be at approximately 36" from the floor.
Here’s how it’s done. 1. Determine the height you want the top bunk to be when you finish (i.e., the height from the floor)
9. O nce you’ve put the first bolt in, you don’t need to remove the stop — use it to help guide the second hole. Repeat the procedure for the remaining three (3) vertical rails.
2. L ower the top and bottom bunks so that the top bunk rests on the existing stops. Note – “stops” are the metal blocks that are inside the rails. The top bunk descends and rests on the “stops”. Marking the measurement. 3. Measure the distance from the top of the metal “stop” inside the wall rail to the top of 6. Measure down from the top of the upper your mattress (keep this number handy). bunk along the vertical rail for the offset you obtained in step #2. Using a marker, mark this spot. 7. U sing a tape measure, mark the same spot on the remaining three vertical rails (i.e., measure up from the bottom of the rail, not the floor as the floor slopes downward at the back of the garage).
Finished install. Success! You have completed the mod to your bunk height! Image of the stop removed.
Remember to retain the threaded screws that originally held the stops. When you decide to return the bunk to its original position, you’ll need these. I put the screws back into the original holes — that way I won’t be looking for them in the future.
4. U sing a screwdriver, remove the four (4) stops from inside the vertical rails. 5. L ower your bunks to the point where the top bunk is at the height you want it to be (during this process the top bunk will be resting on the lower bunk). 8
Drilling the pilot holes.
by Ian Hubling HOC Member #2290 2015 Quarter Three
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2015 Quarter Three
Heartland Highlights
9
Quarterly Safety Tip
Heartland Highlights
Quarterly Safety Tip The Armed RVer – Part 1 Since the creation of the “Firearms and RVing”
category on our HOC Forum, there have been various discussion threads started. Popular topics have included “What’s Your Favorite Carry Weapon”, “Concealed Carry Permits” and “How Necessary is a Weapon?”
I’ve been a gun owner since my dad gave me my first shotgun at the age of 15. I enjoy shooting sports Dave Gray, and have particiSafety Reporter pated in competitive pistol shooting the last eight years. And some of you know I prefer to load my own ammunition. Additionally, I’m an advocate of personal protection. I believe that every American who can legally own a firearm should have the right to do so. Although, it is important to know that just because we have that right, it does not mean that all of us should exercise it. A firearm is a dangerous weapon, and in untrained hands, it can cause far more harm than good. Gun ownership requires a critical responsibility. Each individual has to decide if they are willing and able to accept that critical responsibility. Before anyone makes a decision to carry a gun in their RV, they must understand the legal ramifications that come with gun ownership and use. It is important to note that the possibility of ever having to use a firearm 10
for self-defense is very unlikely. If you ever do, you may find yourself facing criminal prosecution to prove you were justified in your actions. Additionally, you may encounter civil litigation from whoever you used the weapon against, or their heirs. You can be entirely in the right and still face years of legal battles and mountainous legal fees. Even worse, you could face a prison sentence. If you ever have to defend yourself by shooting someone, there will be an emotional impact that may stay with you the rest of your life. You have to ask yourself, “Am I willing to
“Only if you are fully aware of the consequences using, or even possessing a firearm can bring, and are absolutely willing to deal with those consequences, should you have a firearm in your RV.” shoulder that responsibility?” Only if you are fully aware of the consequences using, or even possessing a firearm can bring, and are absolutely willing to deal with those consequences, should you have a firearm in your RV. No one should own a firearm unless they are well trained in its safe handling, as well as the circumstances where it can be legally used for defense. The laws differ in every state, and you must comply with the laws where you happen to be at the time. In some states, gun laws are reasonably easy to understand, and many states will issue concealed carry permits to residents who meet the legal criteria, pass a background check and
training class. In other states, the mere possession of any firearm, even unloaded and cased in your vehicle, can lead to stiff penalties. It is each person’s responsibility to know the laws of the state you travel in. I recommend all RVers traveling with firearms install on their mobile device an app entitled “Legal Heat.” Legal Heat is the only app featuring comprehensive concealed and open carry law summaries written by attorneys. Five years ago, I learned about and joined the United States Concealed Carry Association (USCCA). Even if you do not have a concealed carry permit, I still recommend this organizaSee SAFETY, continued on page 11 2015 Quarter Three
Quarterly Safety Tip
you have children present in your RV. Make sure that it is unloaded and locked away out tion. They have lots of training material avail- of sight. Likewise, whenever visitors, such as able. One of the most important benefits avail- service technicians or mechanics have access to able is their Self-Defense Shield firearm liability your rig, store your firearms safely away. coverage. For a reasonable annual membership fee, you could get up to $1,000,000 coverage. The first rule of firearms ownership is safety, You can visit USCCA.com to learn more. while the second is discretion. Nobody has to know you have a gun, and the fewer who For me, personally, I don’t ever expect to get do, the better. Never display your weapon into a situation that will require me to exercise except when you feel a real threat to your life my right to self-defense, nor do I expect to use or safety. If you brandish a gun to “scare away” my fire extinguishers to put out a fire in my RV. suspicious characters, you may be asking for None-the-less, I’ve chosen to keep at least one trouble and will more than likely get it. One firearm and a few fire extinguishers for just in of my cousins learned that the hard way. That case. Having a firearm does add to a sense of person you find suspicious may well be a security. But, if the situation ever presents itself, fellow RVer or truck driver out for an evening before I would consider using a gun against a stroll to work the road kinks out of his back, or threat, I would put some distance away from possibly even a police officer checking on the welfare of people parked in a roadside rest area. the situation if at all possible. Even if someone is busily engaged in taking something from your trailer, they are not a Having a firearm poses problems whenever
SAFETY, continued from page 10
2015 Quarter Three
Heartland Highlights
threat to your life. Drive away, call the police on your cell phone, honk your horn and flash your headlights, cry for help on the CB if you have one. But whatever you do, avoid getting into an armed confrontation. There is not a material thing in this world worth a human life. The only time I would consider using deadly force is when somebody is actually entering my trailer without permission or directly threatening the lives of myself or someone else. Next quarter, I will continue this two part series and discuss some safety concerns about different types of firearms and ammunition that may be utilized during RV travel. I hope everyone is having a exciting and safe summer. Note: Dave Gray is open to suggested topics for future articles. Email Dave at graystarcity@hotmail.com by David Gray, Safety Reporter
11
Service Center
Heartland Highlights
Heartland Opens New Service Center for Dealers/Owners While at the 2015 North American Heartland Owners Rally in Goshen, IN, we had the opportunity to visit Heartland’s brand new service center before it opened for business. Jim Fenner, Director of Dealer Services, greeted a large group of Heartland owners on Saturday, June 20th at the new facility and let us wander around and ask questions of the staff on hand. Everyone was impressed by the new facilities and excited for the new adventure for Jim and his team. We had scheduled some work to be done on our Landmark Key Largo and ended up being the second coach to pull into the new service bays on Monday, June 22nd…we were right behind the Comer’s and right in front of the van Opstal’s. It was a race to see who could get there first!
Above: New facility (office and 3 check-in bays) Right: Jim Fenner introducing the new service center to Heartland owners attending the North American Heartland Owners Rally in June.
I was able to take advantage of the time our coach was at the service center by taking the opportunity to sit down with Jim and ask him some more in-depth questions regarding the new Service Center. Below is that interview. fall of 2014 on renovating the space into the facility that took its first customers on How long have you [Jim Fenner] June 22. been at Heartland and in customer service? Tell us about the service center. I’ve been with Heartland for approximately • We now have twelve service bays and three 9½ years. For most of that time I was the check-in bays. Customer Service Manager. I was recently • There are five full hook-up sites behind the promoted to Director of Dealer Services, an service center for customers that may need area that covers Parts, Service, Retail, Quality to stay overnight. and Audit. • Guests that need to stay overnight will have 24-hour access to the visitor’s lounge Tell us why Heartland decided to and its amenities — TV, restroom, refreshcreate this service center. ments, etc. We wanted to be a better partner for our • The service center currently has nine techs dealers and provide better customer service and five office support personnel. Those for our retail customers. In other words, “We numbers could potentially grow as time want to be there for our customers.” The new goes on. We are taking things slowly to facility was originally an old warehouse that ensure success. had seen better days. Work started in the • A ‘training room’ in the new service center 12
will be used to further educate our service techs, phone techs and quality team so that they are better able to service our customers. What are the capabilities of the service center? We are able to do most work with the exception of insurance claims, extended warranty work and any modifications outside the normal build, i.e. customizations. Work as small as slide adjustments to bigger jobs like replacing entire slide rooms floors can be done at the new service center. Any Heartland owner, regardless if they are first, second or more generation owner, can have work done at the service center. See SERVICE, continued on page 13 2015 Quarter Three
Service Center
Heartland Highlights
SERVICE, continued from page 12
Above: Customer lounge Below: Training room Above Right: Full hook up sites
scheduled. Work will be done by appointment only.
Heartland will continue to do work on any manufacturing defects. The only exception would be if they were planning to have the work covered by an extended warranty program. All work done at the service center will be ‘customer pay’, meaning that the customer will pay for the work to be done. What is the procedure for owners to schedule work to be done? Heartland owners can call customer service and ask for the service center to have work
What is the timeframe for service to be completed? The timeframe will depend on the worked scheduled to be completed which could be a few hours for some smaller jobs to a couple of days or even a week or more for some bigger jobs. What is the most important thing that Heartland Owners need to know about the service center? Heartland is here to support our dealer base and our retail customers and we still recommend that customers work with their selling dealer first. by Kelly Barnett, HOC Member #1817
How to Reach Heartland Heartland’s customer service is considered by many owners to be second-to-none. Here’s
how to reach the specific Brand General Managers, if you are considering a new
purchase and have specific brand-related questions. How great is that?
Heartland RVs Brand General Managers – Office Number: 574-266-8726 ROLE
NAME
REGION
E-MAIL ADDRESS
Executive Mgmt
Coley Brady
V.P. of Sales
coley.brady@heartlandrvs.com
Landmark
Tom Montague
LM General Manager
tom.montague@heartlandrvs.com
Bighorn Oakmont
TBD
BH/SV General Manager
coley.brady@heartlandrvs.com
Cyclone Road Warrior Torque, Edge
AJ Jones
CY/RW General Manager
aj.jones@heartlandrvs.com
Big Country Elkridge
Joel Eberlein
BC/ER General Manager
joel.eberlein@heartlandrvs.com
Gateway Sundance
Paul Craven
GW/SD General Manager
paul.craven@heartlandrvs.com
North Trail Wilderness Mallard
Mike Creech
NT/WD General Manager
mike.creech@heartlandrvs.com
Trail Runner Prowler Pioneer
Ryan Brady
PR/PI/TR General Manager
ryan.brady@heartlandrvs.com
2015 Quarter Three
13
Heartland News
Heartland Highlights
Heartland News Thor Industries Reports Record Revenue, Income in 3Q Elkhart Ind.-based Thor Industries Inc. today (June 4) announced record sales and net income from continuing operations for the third quarter, ended April 30, compared with impressive results from the third quarter of fiscal 2014. Third-quarter highlights include: • Sales from continuing operations for the third quarter of fiscal 2015 were $1.17 billion, up 12% from $1.05 billion in the third quarter last year, as sales of both towable and motorized RVs posted gains from a year ago. Towable results for the third quarter of fiscal 2015 included the impact of the acquisitions of K-Z, Cruiser RV LLC and DRV LLC, which were not included in the third quarter of fiscal 2014. • Gross profit margins increased to 14.2% in the third quarter of fiscal 2015 compared to 13.6% in the prior-year period. Gross margins in the third quarter of fiscal 2015 improved largely as a result of increased fixed cost absorption and improvements in labor and warranty costs as a percent of sales in the motorized segment. • Net income from continuing operations for the third quarter was $63.6 million, up 15% from $55.1 million in the prior-year third quarter. Includ-
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ing the discontinued operations of Thor’s Bus business, net income for the third quarter was $62.8 million, up 14% from $55.1 million in the third quarter of fiscal year 2014. • Diluted earnings per share (EPS) from continuing operations for the third quarter was $1.19, up 16% from $1.03 in the third quarter last year. Including the discontinued operations of Thor’s Bus business, diluted EPS for the third quarter was $1.17, up 14% from $1.03 in the third quarter of fiscal 2014. “We were pleased with our strong third-quarter results, which exceeded even the solid performance we achieved in the third quarter of fiscal 2014,” said Bob Martin, Thor president and CEO. “The record results for the quarter reflect the great efforts of our entire team combined with the ongoing growth of the RV market. In the near term, the market for some higher-end products remains soft, while dealers focus on inventory management as they sell through units delivered earlier in the year. We have also seen some shifting of order patterns due to the growing importance of the fall dealer Open House resulting in a shift in backlogs. Despite these factors, we see many reasons for optimism for the future of the RV industry and Thor. The continued
entrance of baby boomers into the core RV buying age group as well as the rapid growth of younger buyers entering the RV market provide a solid foundation for long-term growth,” he added. “Our improved third-quarter revenues and profits marked a new milestone in the history of Thor, as the RV industry continued its recovery from the recession,” said Peter B. Orthwein, Thor chairman. “In the third quarter, we reaped the benefit of our ongoing acquisition strategy as we saw growth from K-Z, as well as a full quarter contribution from Cruiser RV and DRV to Heartland’s results. We may see some challenges to our fourth quarter results from shifting dealer order and delivery patterns, the start-up costs of new towable expansions, and integration costs of our most recent acquisition, Postle Aluminum, all of which we consider to be short-term factors that should benefit our results over the long term. When we consider the many opportunities ahead of us, as well as the ongoing strength of our markets, we have reason for confidence in the future performance of our company.” by Staff, RV Business
2015 Quarter Three
Prowler & Trail Runner
Heartland Highlights
Prowler and Trail Runner Made for Summer Fun There is lots of Summer left! It’s not too late to enjoy the RV lifestyle in a new travel trailer. Prowler and Trail Runner travel trailers by Heartland Recreational Vehicles offer more value than any other travel trailer in its class. Beyond the solid construction, great looks and residential amenities Heartland travel trailers are available in over 45 unique floorplans. There is truly a Prowler or Trail Runner to fit everyones specific wants and needs! Make the most of the rest of the summer and hurry to a dealer near you to check out the best value in family recreation. Here are a couple of our most popular models to get you started!
Prowler 29P RKS • Large Rear Kitchen with Incredible Storage • Unique Bedroom Slide that Extends into the Bathroom • Residential Free Standing Table and Chairs • Large Door Side Bay Window for Optimal View
Trail Runner SLE21 • True Walk Around Bed • Large U-Shape Dinette That Collapses Into a Full Bed • Mega Bay Window in the Rear for View and Sunlight
Follow this link, pick Prowler or Trail Runner and enter your zip code to find the dealer nearest you! Good Travels and Thank You! Without you we would be just another RV company! Remember, Home is where your Heartland is! 2015 Quarter Three
15
Member Spotlight
Heartland Highlights
Member Spotlight Some may remember the article in Q-2 of Heartland Highlights, about a Cyclone with custom paint and graphics. Here’s more about the Members behind the toy hauler. —Editor
This issue we highlight Chris and Gloria
Whitford from Rock Tavern, NY who recently joined the Heartland Owners Club with a very unique Heartland product. A custom-painted and custom-wrapped Cyclone 4200. Chris is a former NYPD Detective now retired, and Gloria works as an office manager. They have a son, Marc who is attending SUNY Oswego College. How did Chris and Gloria get into RVing? Camping is something I always loved early on. Later it was known to me as Bivouacking when I joined the Army. Gloria and I would reminisce about camping at Pampalona Spain. We agreed that if we got back into it we would need a few more luxuries that tents could not provide. After 9/11/2001 we both realized the world had changed. We decided that a travel trailer would allow us to get back into camping. Additionally it would make a great “go bag” in case we had a natural disaster or man-made disaster like the one that occurred on September 11, 2001. When and how did they decide on a Heartland product? We love our toys. So our first decision was to get a toy hauler. We conducted tons of research and put together a spread sheet containing all toy haulers we were interested in looking at. When we attended the Hershey PA RV show in September 2014 we walked through many toy haulers, made by many manufacturers. We felt that the Cyclone was 16
Chris and Gloria Whitford (l), and the day they put a deposit on the Cyclone 4200 (r). the best built for our price point. Then we saw Cyclone project in the 2015 Q-2 issue of Heartthe innovative side patio of the CY4200 and we land Highlights. agreed it was the one we wanted. But Chris has a new addition to the coach. How did they get involved in the The rear door of the Cyclone has a new Heartland Owners Club? graphic, a special tribute to Chris’ brother, We had just finished placing a deposit on Mark Whitford. our Cyclone order while at the Hershey PA RV show. It was raining. Jamie and Ginger Tell us about the added rear Walker were manning the Heartland Owners graphics to the Cyclone. Club table. They had a nice canopy set up. I Mark was one of the 343 NYC firefighters who asked them if they minded if I stood under died on September 11, 2001. Along with 37 it so I could light my celebratory cigar. They Port Authority Police Officers and 23 NYPD both agreed and then I proceeded to ask Jamie Officers. He was the chauffer of Engine 23 what the Heartland Owners Club was all located at 215 W 58th St, New York, NY. Mark about. He informed me and I was immediately and his men from the “Lion’s Den” responded very interested in joining. We had no idea that to the World Trade Center disaster. They Heartland had such a Club. Within a few days entered the South Tower and were evacuating I started to explore the forum. people around the 21st floor when the tower collapsed. Mark was my younger brother. He This summer, Chris was able to attend the loved the outdoors and camping. I wanted to North American Heartland Owners Club Rally add a special tribute to Mark on the back of in Goshen, Indiana, but Gloria was not able my Cyclone. I held off on getting the graphics to make it. In her place, his son came instead. designed because I was going to have Mark’s Immediately, their coach drew a great bit of high school friend design and airbrush it on. See SPOTLIGHT, continued on page 17 attention. You can read about the Whitford’s 2015 Quarter Three
Member Spotlight
Heartland Highlights
SPOTLIGHT, continued from page 16 <$$PAGErc>
We were not able to link up and I wanted the graphic design completed prior to the Heartland Owners Club Rally in Goshen, IN. So I reached out to Goodrich Auto Works/ Goodies Graphics located in Bath, NY. They are the shop that painted and installed the custom graphics on the Cyclone, originally. They dropped everything to get my rear door graphics completed.
Composite
Why decide to customize the exterior of your RV this way? Mark along with all the emergency responders that died on September 11, 2001 are in one word: HEROES! What better way to honor him and tell again of the sacrifices made on that tragic day. Unfortunately many Americans have short memories. I felt this was a great way to remind Americans what ensued that day. The rear graphics contains a picture of Mark in the upper left. He was 31 years old when he died. The upper middle is a picture of Mark’s fire house, See SPOTLIGHT, continued on page 18 2015 Quarter Three
Sunday, May 5, 2002
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S T A R S
A N D
S T R I P E S
05
PAGE 11
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Army reservist motivated by personal tragedy BY RICK SCAVETTA Stars and Stripes
RICK SCAVETTA/Stars and Stripes
Staff Sgt. Christopher Whitford, an Army reservist deployed to Kuwait, lost his brother Mark in the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center.
CAMP DOHA, Kuwait — For Staff Sgt. Christopher Whitford, an Army reservist from New York City, the war against terrorism remains personal. Whitford joined other city police officers in a bucket brigade at the ruins of the World Trade Center the day after Sept. 11, hauling out bits of debris and body parts. All the time, he was praying for his missing brother, Mark. “He was somewhere in that pile of rubble,” Whitford said. “We pulled a few bodies out. At least someone’s loved ones were out of there.” Whitford’s family would wait until April 5 for recovery workers to find Mark’s remains. Whitford, who now works in the secretive realm of the unmanned Predator spy plane, wells with tears when retelling his story.
“He was recovered on his birthday,” Whitford said, his hand shaking slightly. “I went home for the funeral service.” Whitford only tells of Mark Whitford the horrors of Sept. 11, and the loss of his younger brother, in hopes his story motivates fellow soldiers. “Don’t forget what happened that day. Don’t lose interest in the war,” Whitford says, as if talking to troops whose daily routines in Kuwait often border on the mundane. “Don’t ever say we’re even. We’re not even until all the terrorists are killed or captured.” As terrorists hijacked planes and flew them toward Manhattan early on Sept. 11, Whitford, who had just finished the graveyard shift at the 1st Precint, donned his Army uniform and headed to Fort Wadsworth, Staten Island. He planned to make up a missed drill with his Reserve unit, the 331st Military Intelligence Company. There, as he finished a cup of coffee with his first sergeant, he heard the radio news report a plane had struck the World Trade Center. He was already out the door, on his way to the Staten Island Ferry, when his father called his cell phone saying a second plane had hit and that his brother Mark, a firefighter in midtown New York, was on his way to help. The ferry ride was unbearable, Whitford said. Along with other emergency service workers, Whitford helplessly watched as a ball of fire spewed from the two buildings and the smoke rose from southern Manhattan. A little earlier, Mark Whitford had left his fire station driving Engine 23 south to the Twin Towers with five fellow firefighters. Dur-
ing the rush, Mark called his wife, Renee, telling her, “Don’t worry. If anything happens, Chris will find me.” The towers collapsed before Whitford disembarked at the ferry terminal, he said, shrouding several city blocks in dust and debris that clouded visibility to about arm’s length. Still, he and other emergency workers plodded through mounds of mangled office equipment, blocks of rubble, and trails of debris looking for survivors. “It was just chaos,” Whitford said. “We could barely breathe with the dust.” City officials pulled back rescue workers when another building began to collapse. Later that afternoon, Whitford resumed his search, not knowing his brother’s fate. He found Engine 23 intact, but empty. “As the driver, technically he was supposed to stay with his truck,” Whitford said. “But Mark wouldn’t have that. He went in with the rest of his men.” Mark’s team had been on the 21st floor of the South Tower, which collapsed while his brother Chris was still on the ferry. On Sept. 12, Whitford and fellow officer Eddy Louis rejoined workers sifting through the mountain of rubble. Some told Whitford they saw his brother alive, giving him a false sense of hope. For hours, he spun around every firefighter he saw, hoping it would be Mark. Then, among dust-filled air that could choke anything living, a large butterfly flew into Whitford’s face, causing him to instinctively swat the creature away. “I think that was a message from Mark,” Whitford said. “That was him telling me something.” Whitford may have been the first uniformed U.S. Army soldier at the scene. It was hours later that National Guardsmen secured the site. After three weeks of assisting at Ground Zero, Whitford volunteered to remain in his Army uniform and deploy overseas. Mark wasn’t the only person close to Whitford to die that year. Louis, the fellow officer who helped Whitford through weeks of agony, died Dec. 30 after being struck by a drunken driver just a few blocks from his Staten Island home. “It hasn’t been a real good year for me,” Whitford said. On Nov. 11, two days after arriving in Kuwait, Whitford led a Veterans Day run dedicated to his brother. The long months away have helped Whitford distance himself from the pain, but not a day goes by when he doesn’t think of Mark, he said. “It’s important that I’m part of the war on terrorism,” Whitford said. “I’m here to make sure this never happens again.” E-mail Rick Scavetta at: scavettar@mail.estripes.osd.mil
Article describing Chris’s 9-11-2001 experience, and the inspiration for some of the graphics on his Cyclone 4200. 17
Member Spotlight
Heartland Highlights
SPOTLIGHT, continued from page 17 AKA: the Lion’s Den. The upper right is a picture of the twin towers with the American flag wrapped around them. Up high is a picture of a monarch butterfly like the one I observed on September 12, 2001 at ground zero. And on the bottom is a picture of the actual Engine 23 as I found it on September 11, 2001. What are the future plans for the Whitfords and their custom Cyclone? I have two Army buddies that will be getting 5er’s shortly. When we all have them, the three couples plan on visiting all the States within the contiguous USA. Maybe even Canada and Alaska. Thanks to Chris for his service and sharing his story. Be sure to stop by and say “hi” to the Whitfords as they travel, they will be hard to miss! by Erika Dorsey, Heartland Highlights Editor
Above: The custom graphics on Chris and Gloria’s Cyclone 4200. Right: Mark’s name on Engine 23 door. Far Right: Engine 23 as Chris found it on 9/11/2001. Below: Goody’s Graphics installing the rear door graphics, Bath NY.
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2015 Quarter Three
Heartland News
Heartland Highlights
Heartland News Heartland Debuts New Mid-Bunk Elkridge Last year, Heartland Recreational Vehicles introduced the industry’s first five slideout, two full bath fifth-wheel floorplan with the Elkridge 38RSRT, and this year, they continue to add to the Elkridge lineup with a sixth floorplan, the 39MBHS – a 42-foot quad-slide with a single bath and multi-purpose bunk room located in the center of the coach. “The Elkridge Brand has been a leader in innovative bunk room floor plans,” said Joel Eberlein, general manager of the Elkridge/Big Country lines. “The [39MBHS] continues our trend of designing floorplans that meet the various customer lifestyles and everchanging use of fifth-wheels.” At a base MSRP of $53,624, the Elkridge 39MBHS houses its bunk room on the driver’s side near the mid-entry door, with large sliding doors that open to the kitchen and main living area. The room houses a sleeper sofa and entertainment center with television.
2015 Quarter Three
The large loft above the bunk room can be used for sleeping or storage. “This gives owners separate rooms without sacrificing traditional living space,” Eberlein said. The 39MBHS has a dry weight of 13,145 pounds (GVWR of 15,500 pounds) and comes with new hydraulic front landing gear as standard with optional six-point leveling system; as well as premium suspension with Dexter EZ Lube axles, EZ Flex equalizer and Nev-R adjust brakes package.
cooktop, standard king size bed, solid hardwood doors with hidden hinges, and a wardrobe closet set up for stackable washer/dryer (Eberlein notes that most similar models only accommodate all-in-one units or separate, side-loaded units.) Popular options include an exterior grill with bumper mount, an electric fireplace, a second air conditioner, dual pane windows, and a larger four-door refrigerator with 12 cubic-foot capacity and expanded freezer.
Inside, the kitchen features an island design and the living room houses an 80-inch rear sofa and adjacent recliners or optional theater seating, with a 50-inch by Joel Eberlein, Elkridge General Manager, TV. Other notable features include a Heartland RV 22-inch oven with recessed three-burner
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Advertisement
Heartland Highlights
269TS NEW
• Second exclusive bedroom slide room in an Ultra-Lite fifth wheel • 29ft. with an approximate 7,400 pound dry weight
Length: 29' Fresh tank: 53 gAL Grey tank: 40 gAL Black tank: 40 gAL Height: 11' 10"
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• Large glass pantry doors • Largest Ultra-Lite bedroom with full width closet • 4-drawer dresser with additional storage under bed • Spacious walk around bed • Extra large pass through storage • 9-drawer kitchen with room for large pots and pans
2015 Quarter Three
Heartland News
Heartland Highlights
Heartland News New Torque Toy Hauler Targeting Half-Ton Sector Building on strong sales and growing market share in the fifth-wheel toy hauler segment, Heartland Recreational Vehicles LLC has broadened its product offerings with the introduction of the Torque Extreme Lite travel trailer series targeting a rapidly growing ½-ton pickup market. “Heartland has experienced tremendous growth over the last few years in the fifth-wheel toy hauler segment,” stated General Manager A.J. Jones, noting that Heartland owns a 22% market share in fifth-wheel toy haulers and a nearly 30% share of all triple-axle fifth-wheel toy haulers sold. “However, because of production limitations in the past, we weren’t able to expand into other areas of the market, which continues to branch into new categories.” As part of a companywide expansion initiative, Heartland moved its toy hauler operations into a dedicated facility, effectively doubling production capacity while significantly reducing turnaround times. “Heartland has made a huge commitment to toy haulers, allowing us to compete in all-new price points and weights,” Jones reported in a press release.
Owners Calendar Order your new 2015-2016 Calendar NOW! The calendars run from July 2015 to June 2016, so they are good for a full year, even if you are just now buying one! Anyone interested in ordering one can email Dave Yocum at dyocum881@ yahoo.com or PM him on the Heartland Owners Forum: davebennington The cost this year is the same as last year $7.00 plus shipping (usually $1.50 o $2.00) depending on where and how many in the package.
Combining lightweight construction with aggressive pricing, the Torque offers Heartland’s dealer partners a full-featured toy hauler that addresses the towing needs of ½-ton pickup owners. “The key to the Torque Extreme Lite is to keep the same high-end look and features that our fifth-wheel toy haulers provide, but doing it on a ½-ton towable platform,” noted Coley Brady, vice president of sales and marketing. “Our dealers have been begging for an affordable, ½-ton towable, and A.J. and his team delivered with the Torque Extreme Lite.” Available in six floorplans, ranging in length from 31 to 38½ feet, the new Torque Lite series features 102-inch wide-body construction, all-aluminum framing and Equa-flex suspension with gas shocks to ensure a stable, comfortable ride. The onboard garage is equipped with 5,000-pound tie-downs, Happy-Jac powered bunks beds and can accommodate the largest side-by-sides. MSRP pricing starts at $39,450. “The introduction of the Torque travel trailer extends Heartland’s laser focus on the toy hauler segment,” said Heartland President Chris Hermon. “By entering into the 1/2-ton pickup market, we have positioned Heartland to capture even more market share in what we see as a segment that continues to evolve and gain traction. As always we listened to our dealers, bringing to market a product that not only meets a growing demand but also stands out on the sales lot with features traditionally not offered by the competition at this price point.”
CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS, and contact Dave to order your calendar(s) today!!
by Staff, RVBusiness
2015 Quarter Three
21
A Bicycle Built for Two Billion
Heartland Highlights
A Bicycle Built for Two Billion Book Tour
bicycle ride...around the world...on a tandem... solo...inviting everyone he met to join him. “I felt inspired to make the journey mean more than simply fulfilling my own personal desires,” explained Bianchini. “By inviting strangers to ride with me I hoped to do my part in creating more peace in the world by reducing unnecesOne of the features during the North American hustled up donations to provide 100 bikes to an sary fears and prejudices between people. I Heartland Owners Rally in Goshen, IN, was to impoverished township Cape Town, disperse wanted to demonstrate that language, cultural hear Jamie Bianchini present his travels and hundreds of doses of life-saving Malaria and religious barriers could easily be overcome experiences. Below is an overview of his medication to small African communities, start with a genuine desire to connect, learn and adventures. We enjoyed visiting with him a school for AIDS orphans in Uganda, and bring explore”. about his Heartland RV! —Editor fresh water to a community suffering from sickness and death in Bolivia. Bianchini’s The tour got off to a great start in Japan and Jamie Bianchini rode a tandem bicycle through worldwide expedition will soon be shared Korea but it was not long before he ran into his 81 countries around the world, inviting more nationwide via dozens of free multimedia fair share of adversity. “There was a bike theft in than 1,000 total strangers to jump on and join presentations, featuring an unforgettable cast of China, a near-death bike crash in Malaysia and the adventure. Of course, their Family Book co-pedalers – from inspiring villagers to escaping machine gunfire Mauritania just to Tour itself has a twist almost as exciting as conniving thieves, romantic paramours to name a few,” reports Bianchini. “But what Bianchini’s tandem bicycle adventure. Their unlikely gurus, excited school kids to seniors amazed me was how total strangers in every family will be driving an 8-seater SUV and who had never set foot on a pedal. Not part of the world came out of nowhere to help towing a 33-foot Heartland RV North Trail surprisingly, a journey of this magnitude was keep me stay safe, fed, housed,warm and trailer that sleeps 10. Why so much space for sprung from humble beginnings. After a series supported me in fulfilling my vision and just a family of four? The family hopes to use of spectacular business flops drove him into mission of the expedition.” It was this constant the spare seats and beds to keep the original bankruptcy and the love of his life kissed him stream of kindness and compassion demonexpedition’s spirit alive of openness, trust and goodbye Bianchini hatched a crazy plan that just strated by total strangers on his journey that connection as they invite others they meet might make everything right. began to inspire Bianchini to take the expediaround the country join the tour, connect, camp tion to a new level. and find ways to contribute along the way. His life lacked purpose, passion, and connection Along his amazing bicycle journey, Bianchini See BOOK TOUR, continued on page 23 with his fellow man. So he decided to go for a 22
2015 Quarter Three
A Bicycle Built for Two Billion
Bianchini documented his journey by taking over 17,000 stunning photos and logging over Starting by delivering hundreds of rides and gifts 900 hours of captivating video footage. He’s to orphanages throughout Asia, he continued the assembled the best stories, photos and videos for adventures of compassion and contribution a nationwide Family Book Tour—a massive through Africa, Europe and Latin America. 12,000-mile family adventure with his wife, Bianchini applied his remarkable business savvy who just happened to be a former guest rider he to procuring donations of more than one picked up on his tandem bike, and their two hundred bicycles and hundreds of doses of kids Luca (4) and Candela (2). Malaria medication for those in need. He brought fresh water to a community in Bolivia, Together they will travel through 36 states over and even started a school for AIDS orphans in five months to share the stories via dozens of Uganda. Yet, Bianchini’s humble about these free multimedia speaking events at bookstores, astonishing feats. “I realized it was not only easy KOA Campgrounds, bike shops, Rotary Clubs to connect deeply with people in every corner of and other venues that request a presentation. the planet but it was also immensely rewarding to Signed copies of his new book A Bicycle Built for be of service in their communities,” he explains. Two Billion will be available at the events but no “What I want to do now more than anything is purchase is necessary. The photos, videos and share these stories and images with others to music shown at the events is a small sample of inspire the courage to connect in others.” what will be available as supporting content in
BOOK TOUR, continued from page 22
2015 Quarter Three
Heartland Highlights
the book itself. He’ll be keeping a blog and updating social media on the outcome of this unique open invitation family adventure. Throughout the tour, Jamie will be raising awareness and funds for KOA Care Camps, a U.S. based charity that sends kids with terminal cancer to summer camp. Jamie’s goal is to send ten kids to camp by donating a portion of sales at his KOA talks to the Care Camps. You can read more about Jamie Bianchini’s book, the Family Book Tour’s live events and the charity projects the tour supports at www.aBicycleBuiltForTwoBillion.com. Jamie Bianchini Press Release
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Heartland Gives Back
Heartland Highlights
Heartland Gives Back Letter of Heartfelt Thanks to Members of the Heartland Owners Club Our Purdue Extension office team members were overwhelmed and more than delighted with your generosity of over 800 baby items. Judi Barnett and her team members outdid themselves on motivating everyone through the year to create, make and donate all the items at the “Heartland Baby Blessings” luncheon on June 19. A summary of the items donated: quilts—49, blankets—240, caps— 195, socks/booties—71, clothing—55, wipes/ diapers—62, toys—5, burp cloths/bibs—51, other/misc. items—94. On top of all these wonderful items, the Elkhart County Extension Homemakers received donations from your Heartland Rally of $510.00. This money will be used to purchase good quality flannel fabric. The flannel fabric will be used to sew self-binding blankets by the Volunteer Community Support committee of the Elkhart County Extension Homemakers. These blankets will be shared as a part of our community outreach program and your organization will continue to be recognized as a part. The blankets will be given to infants and mothers through two hospitals and two birthing centers in Elkhart and LaGrange counties. So you may be asking, “How do we use all of your wonderful donated items?” Our Family Nutrition Program assistants work with several agencies that provide educational programs for limited income mothers-to-be, infants, toddlers and mothers. Your items are shared when there is a need, are used sometimes as incentives to attend programs, as drawings in the “Babe Store” and other ways. The clients 24
Excited volunteers unpack the boxes.
Mary Ann Lienhart Cross and Judi Barnett, coordinator for “Heartland Baby Blessings.” Mary Ann Lienhart Cross speaks at the luncheon, next to the donated items. earn coupons by attending programs and use their coupons in the “Babe Store.” Thanks seem to be inadequate for all that you have blessed our community with in sharing your talents, time and finances. We look forward to seeing you in 2017 and the Elkhart
County Extension Homemakers have begun to plan something special that they would like to share with all of you when you are here. Until then, safe travels and many hugs of love to all of you for all your “Hugs of Love” to babies in Elkhart County. Mary Ann Lienhart Cross County Extension Director Extension Educator, Health and Human Sciences
Generous gifts of many handmade necessities for babies, presented at the luncheon. 2015 Quarter Three
Upcoming Rallies at a Glance
Heartland Highlights
Upcoming Rallies at a Glance Click on the event title to see the thread and view the details on the HOC Forum! Chapter Rally - Wisconsin 8-6 to 8-9 Country Roads Motor Home and RV Park, Lake Delton, WI Terri Lynn Michael, 608-253-2132 Chapter Rally - North Carolina 8-21 to 8-23 The Great Outdoors RV Resort, Franklin, NC Sherry or Pat, 828-349-0412 Chapter Rally - New York 8-21 to 8-23 The Villages RV Park at Turning Stone Casino, Verona, NY Office Staff 315-361-7275 Chapter Rally - Michigan 8-27 to 8-30 Mackinaw Mill Creek Camping, Mackinaw City, MI 231-436-5584 Chapter Rally - Ohio 8-28 to 8-30 Cross Creek Resort, Delaware, OH 800-988-CAMP (2267) or 740-549-2267 Chapter Rally - Minnesota 9-10 to 9-13 Burlington Bay Campground, Two Harbors, MN Odin (Campground Mgr) after May 15, 218-834-2021 Chapter Rally - Montana 9-10 to 9-13 Grizzly RV Park, West Yellowstone, MT Henny White, 406-646-4466 Chapter Rally - Missouri 9-11 to 9-13 Big Red Barn RV Park, Carthage, MO Misty 417 358-2432 Chapter Rally - Nevada 9-11 to 9-13 Sparks Marina RV Park, Sparks, NV 775-851-8888
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Chapter Rally - Pennsylvania 9-11 to 9-13 Hickory Hollow Campground, Rockwood, PA Lori Houston 814-926-4636 Chapter Rally - South Carolina 9-11 to 9-13 WillowTree RV Resort, Longs, SC Tammy or Sue 866-207-2267 RV Show - Hershey, PA 9-16 to 9-20 Giant Center, Hershy, PA Jim Beletti (click to contact) Chapter Rally - Utah 9-16 to 9-21 Mountain Valley RV Resort, Heber City, UT Cache, 855-901-6100 Chapter Rally - Illinois 9-17 to 9-20 Double J Campground, Chatham, IL Liz 888-483-9998 Chapter Rally - California Central 9-17 to 9-21 Jackson Rancheria RV Park, Jackson, CA Butch and Stacy Joyner (click to contact) Chapter Rally - Colorado 9-24 to 9-27 Denver West/Central City KOA, Central City, CO Chuck (owner) 303-582-3043 Chapter Rally - Massachusetts 9-25 to 9-27 Country Aire Campground, Charkemont, MA 413-625-2996 Chapter Rally - Indiana 9-30 to 10-5 Shipshewana Campgrounds South, Shipshewana, IN Cindy 260-768-4669
Chapter Rally - Arizona 10-6 to 10-10 Distant Drums RV Resort, Camp Verde, AZ Garry Gilbert, 520-455-0237 Chapter Rally - Kentucky 10-9 to 10-11 Cave City RV Campground, Cave City, KY Jeff Lawson, 270-773-4678 Chapter Rally - Texas North 10-9 to 10-11 KE Bushman’s Camp, Bullard, TX Vonda Ross, 903-894-8221 Camp-out - Oregon 10-9 to 10-10 Casey’s Riverside RV Park, Westfir, OR Randy or Lynn 541-782-1906 Chapter Rally - Oklahoma 10-15 to 10-17 Choctaw Casino RV Park (KOA), Durant, OK 800-562-6073 Chapter Rally - Nevada South 10-15 to 10-18 Lakeside Casino RV Park, Pahrump, NV 888-558-5253 Chapter Rally - Tennessee 10-16 to 10-18 Nashville KOA, Nashville, TN 800-562-7789 or 615-889-0282 Chapter Rally - California South 10-30 to 10-31 Pechanga RV Resort, Temecula, CA Bob Hartsell, 951-699-0946 Chapter Rally - Louisiana 10-30 to 11-1 Cajun RVera, New Iberia, LA Danielle, 337-256-8681 Chapter Rally - Texas South 11-6 to 11-8 Johnson Creek RV Resort & Park, Kerrville, TX Myrna, 800-933-6578
See GLANCE, continued on page 31 25
Rally Wrap-up
Heartland Highlights
Rally Wrap-Up Southeast Region April 16–19, Southeast Region Rally was held
at Ocean Lakes Campground, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
The Rally was well attended by 92 members of the Heartland Owners Club. The Saturday event was a guided tour of the spectacular and unusual Brookgreen Gardens. The tour guides did an excellent job explaining the many features of the statuary and the gardens, as well as how the Garden came about. Our ‘Heartland Gives Back’ initiatve recipient for the Rally was Canine Angels, a local organization that trains and provides service animals for Veterans. Their efforts in training rescue dogs to be service dogs for disabled vets is a great undertaking. Jeanne Maxon explained the details of the organization. Dave Suber, a USMC disabled vet, explained further how his trained rescued service dog saved his life. Everyone in the audience was very moved by his presentation.
Southeast Region Rally attendees.
Canine Angels spoke about the work they do. Magic Mike recruits Ron Parrish to help him.
The Heartlanders at the rally really stepped up with their support of the efforts of Canine Angels. Not only were many, many huge bags of food and many other needed items donated, but they also donated $1,177.80 to the Canine Angels organization; truly putting the “heart” into the ‘Heartland Gives Back’ initiative. Way Jeanne Maxon and Dave Suber accepting to go, Heartlanders! I am very proud to be a part the donations. of the Heartland Owners Club, these are giving folks. magic presentation. As you can see in the picture, Mike recruited Ron Parrish to help Saturday night was a blast with Magic Mike, a him find out what he may have swallowed magician who had everyone mystified with his by mistake. 26
Magic Mike also asked Julie and Jim to assist him. Magic Mike also asked Julie Hancock and Jim Beletti to assist him. (Jim lost a $5.00 bill with this next trick). They were good sports. See SOUTHEAST, continued on page 27 2015 Quarter Three
Rally Wrap-up
Heartland Highlights
SOUTHEAST, continued from page 26 Alabama Chapter Rally — held April 24–25, at Gulf Shores State Park, Alabama. Hosted by new Alabama Chapter Leaders Bill and Susan Mealer. Bill and Susan are the Founding Chapter Leaders for the new Alabama Chapter. From all reports it was a big success. Congratulations Bill and Susan on your first Rally.
Northeast Region Well, it has been a great start to the 2015 Rally season here in the Northeast. It all kicked off at Old Mill Stream Campground in Lancaster PA. 22 rigs were in full force showing their heartland pride. What a great way to kick off the year.
The Virginia Chapter Rally — held May 14–18, at Tall Pines Harbor Campground, Temperanceville, Virginia. Virginia Chapter Leaders Eric and Dorothy van Opstal are old hands at hosting Rallies and they really know how to conduct a first class Heartland Rally. Upcoming events: North Carolina Rally will be held August 21–23 in Franklin NC, at the Great Outdoors RV Resort. Hosting this rally are Rob and Betty Ford, the new Chapter Leaders for North Carolina. This will be their first Rally so let’s give them all the support them we can.
Pennsylvania Chapter Rally attendees. In June, Rambling Pines Campground was again host to Maryland’s Chapter Rally. Despite a rainy weekend, 13 rigs showed and had a fantastic time.
The Southeast Region has 339 members as of June 30, 2015. This is the Membership by Chapter. Thank you to the Chapter Leaders for their efforts in building the HOC. Southeast Region Members Chapter FL GA AL NC SC TN KY VA Totals
Members 106 46 33 40 15 46 8 50 339
Just a reminder the 2015/2016 HOC calendars are here. To order one E-mail me at dyocum881@yahoo.com Till next time, see you down the road. by Dave Yocum (davebennington), Southeast Region Director 2015 Quarter Three
Maryland Chapter Rally potluck.
the best and we will see him down the road. Stepping forward to fill this position is long time Maryland members, Mike and Jodi Vanderford. (JMVford on the Forum). Mike and Jodi have been HOC members since 2011 and have been frequent attendees at rallies all over the Northeast. Please join us in giving a big Heartland welcome to Mike and Jodi. This year, the Northeast Region Rally will be held in the great state of New York from July 30–August 2 at Copake KOA. Visit www.copakekoa.com. This beautiful area has so many attractions to fill your day. From breweries and wineries, museums to amusement parks. This place has it all. So mark your calendars and join us in Copake for a great Region Rally. There still plenty of time to sign up for the remainder of the Northeast Rallies for late summer and fall. • 8/21–8/23 Verona NY www.turningstone.com • 9/11–9/13 Rockwood PA www.hickoryhollowcampground.com • 9/25–9/27 Shelburne MA www.countryairecampground.com Stay tuned for a big announcement on the 2016 NE Region Rally. Sure to be a hit...
We would like to thank Maryland Chapter Leader, Mike Walker, for his years of service to the club. Mike and his wife Ann were the founding Maryland Chapter Leaders. We by Jamie and Ginger (& Madison) Walker, appreciate all of the hard work that Mike and Northeast Region Directors Ann did to help establish our Maryland chapter in the northeast region. With Ann’s passing, Mike has Introductory Members! Are you ready to upgrade to decided to step FULL-Membership? down from the leadership role. We want to wish Mike all CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS OWNERS CLUB
OWNERS CLUB
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Rally Wrap-up
Heartland Highlights
Canadian Region Congratulations and thank you, Bob and
Christine Fournelle (rfournelle on the Forum) for volunteering to be the new Region Directors for the Canadian Region. The Canadian region includes all of Canada. Bob and Christine are taking over from us, as we are retiring. Everyone, please join me in welcoming, your new Region Directors, Bob and Christine!
by Wayne and Gayle Wilson, Canadian Region Directors
North Central Region The North American Heartland Owners Rally is winding down and soon everyone will be heading different ways. Dan and I were the Hosts for the Rally and even though we did not get to greet everyone, we did enjoy all the smiles, the waves, the hugs and wonderful comments.
Our first Chapter Rally will be in Iowa and that Rally is in a unique area with a variety of things to do if you choose. Our summer will be very busy attending most of the North Central Chapter Rallies. Looking forward to
seeing our Heartland friends. If you have a chance, we hope you will attend one of the Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Minnesota, Illinois or Indiana Rallies. All Rallies are located in unique locations. If you have any questions, please PM me on the Forum; my forum name is Herbiesrig. Remember: “Everybody Is Somebody In The Heartland Owners Club!” by Dan and Karen Halvorsen, North Central Region Directors
Oregon Chapter South Central Region Stella and I just attended the 10th Anniversary
By the time this Newsletter is published, we will have had the Oregon Rally, July 24–26. As of this writing, 29 rigs registered and the Beletti’s will be flying in to be with us. We are grateful to be sponsored by George M. Sutton RV from Eugene, OR, who will have Landmarks for us to look at. They are also buying prizes and the entre for our potluck dinner night. The Rally includes rig weighing on the 23rd by Henderson’s Lineup when the caravan from the WA Rally arrives. Henderson will also demonstrate some other products and do suspension inspections as time permits. Look for pics coming soon on the Forum! by Kristy and Mark Carlson, Oregon Chapter Leaders 28
locations work with your schedule, please join us in the fall.
North American Heartland Owners Rally in Goshen, IN, and as usual, it was a wonderful time with our Heartland friends, both old and new. We are proud to announce that our own team Jim and his crew pulled off another great Rally. is working hard to plan a Region Rally in Branson, Missouri, at the Branson KOA on Growth of the South Central Region is evident April 28–May 1, 2015. Check it out and sign from the attendance of all of the 2015 spring up HERE. We are excited about this Rally Chapter Rallies. The fall Rallies for the South and hope to see you there. Central Region have all been posted, and the Chapter Leaders are looking forward to visiting by Jay and Stella Coffman, South Central Region Directors with their Heartland friends. If the dates and
Maryland Chapter I would like to take this time to thank all of
Vanderford are taking over the leadership. I our Heartland friends for supporting Ann and know they will do a great job and I wish them I with our rallies over the years. The 2015 rally all the best. Please give them your love and was no exception despite about 4 inches rain support. on Saturday a good time was had by all. Thanks for the memories I’m sure by now most of you are aware of Ann’s passing in January. I have decided not to by Michael Walker, Former Maryland Chapter Leader go on as chapter leader alone. Jodi and Mike 2015 Quarter Three
Rally Wrap-up
Heartland Highlights
Kentucky Chapter We just returned from the North American
Heartland Rally in Goshen, IN. What a fun and informative time we had. We arrived on Tuesday, June 9; a full week before the Rally started and spent the time visiting with friends and checking out some of the many sites around the Goshen area. Lots of interesting places such as the Mennonite museum in Shipshewana. Learned a lot about the beginnings of the Mennonite and the Amish faith and practices. You can’t visit Shipshewana without eating at the Blue Gate restaurant. We visited the Flea Market on Wednesday and bought some of our Christmas gifts for next year. So much to see and do and we tried to take advantage of most of it. The Rally started on Tuesday, June 16th and this year there were a lot of interesting seminars and presentations. We heard from the folks at Lippert Components, Dometic, MORryde, Norcold and the Texas RV Professor. They gave us lots of valuable information about our RV systems, including the water system, electrical system, propane system,
“We’ll have live music of the ’50s and ’60s Saturday night plus games, seminars, door prizes and lots of food.” air conditioner, refrigerator, roof, toilet and the Level UP system. It’s really neat to have a working knowledge of these components and at least an elementary knowledge of how to maintain and service them. Great information. Faye learned about the RV Kitchen including convection ovens and induction cooking. She did some line dancing and visited with several craftsmen/women. There’s a lot of talent in HOC. There were several other seminars but these are the ones we attended. The food as always was bountiful and delicious. My only complaint was “only one dessert per person”. Can’t make yourself sick with only one dessert. We visited Ben’s Bak-
ery in Shipshewana and purchased several pastries, so we did not go hungry for sweets. Faye had brought enough food to cook every day but we brought most of it back home. Too much eating out. I want to thank all those who worked to make this North American Heartland Owners Rally a success. I had a great time and learned a lot about my RV. Looking forward to 2017. We had the opportunity to discuss the KY Rally with several folks and some of them have expressed plans to attend. We’ll be in Cave City, KY on October 9-11, 2015. We will fill the campground to capacity if most of those who expressed plans to attend actually make reservations. We’ll have live music of the ’50s and ’60s Saturday night plus games, seminars, door prizes and lots of food. Looking forward to a great time in Cave City in October. by Ken and Faye Hyde, Kentucky Chapter Leaders
Arizona Chapter At the writing of this article, several Arizona
Chapter Members are heading to Goshen for the North American Heartland Owners Rally. This will be our first NAHOR attended as Chapter state, and we are excited to participate in the festivities. Our little Chapter continues to grow as well as loose a couple members along the way. We currently have 46 RV’s for a total of 89 Members and 8 Chapter children. Since our January Rally we have completed 3 Meet-and-Greets. Our Fall Rally is scheduled for October at Camp Verde. Rally events include: Chapter sponsored wine tasting,
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Bowl-a-Thon, a seminar by the Indian Cultural Center and lots of game and prize nights. Future posted Rallies include: February 2016 Tucson Rodeo Rally, September 2016 Fort McDowell Rally, and January 2017 Havasu Balloon Festival Rally. The Fort McDowell Rally is just prior to the North American Heartland Owners Rally in Las Vegas and we invite HOC Members heading that way to stop by and enjoy a few days along the Verde River in a wonderful setting and a first class resort. The Tucson Rodeo Rally is currently sold out; however I may still be able to obtain a couple more sites if anyone has interest in joining us. The Havasu Balloon Festival Rally has 4 open
sites and the entire State Park will be a Heartland Venue! We have two special guests attending, Jim Beletti our Club President and Julie Hancock our Club Manager! We ask you to help us sell out the final four sites!! This will be a Rally that will be hard for our Chapter to top! Once again I would like to thank all the Heartland Members for participating in our activities. Each Rally continues to be represented by a number of Heartland Chapters and everyone is always welcome to join in on whatever the Arizona Chapter is hosting. by Garry Gilbert (and Dakota), Arizona Chapter Leader 29
Heartland Highlights
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2015 Quarter Three
Rally Wrap-up
Heartland Highlights
Iowa Chapter While breaking in our new 2016 North Trail during trip, our truck broke too. It had developed a braking issue and had to be taken to the local dealership to get fixed. When a critical part didn’t arrive as expected on Friday, we were between a rock and a hard place on the last day of the Rally. We found the Club is full of Good Samaritans! A neighborly Texan loaned us his truck so we could move our trailer to an electric/water site somewhere else on the fairgrounds. A hearty “thank you!”
There’s an old myth that there’s a pot of gold
The food was certainly good and plentiful. So plentiful our freezers were stock full of leftover pulled pork that Jim was doling out on Sunday! The infamous “Nelly Muffins” were a big hit with the kids; the twins kept asking “Can we go to Nelly’s Bakery?” (Translation: they wanted to go to her Landmark!)
at the end of every rainbow. Maybe we need to update that to say “There’s a Heartland at the We certainly had a good time and interesting end of every rainbow?” adventures on our trip. We look forward to next North American Heartland Owners Rally That seemed to be the truth during our time in Goshen 2017 as we plan ways to use our at the North American Heartland Owners recent experience so we can contribute more in Rally in Goshen, Indiana. One day it rained the future. frequently and near evening, the skies had somewhat cleared and we Heartland owners were treated to a spectacular rainbow spanning Our 2015 camping season is certainly not done over our rigs and the entire fairground. In fact, as our Iowa Chapter Rally is coming up July it was a DOUBLE rainbow. Our kids were agog 10–12 in Dubuque, Iowa. Wouldn’t it someand amazed. We took advantage and managed thing if another rainbow appeared during our Rally? Hope to see you there! to get this neat shot of that rainbow “ending” over our North Trail and truck. That’s certainly by David Lippe and Shel Greek-Lippe, Iowa Chapter Leaders a Heartland at the end of THAT rainbow!
GLANCE, continued from page 25 Camp-out - Arizona 1-21 to 1-24, 2016 G7 RV Resorts, Salome/Brenda, AZ Garry Gilbert, 520-455-0237 Camp-out - Washington 2-12 to 2-14, 2016 Columbia Sun RV Resort, Kennewick, WA 509-420-4880 or 855-833-3886 Chapter Rally - Arizona 2-23 to 2-28, 2016 Tucson/Lazydays KOA, Tucson, AZ Garry Gilbert, 520-455-0237 Chapter Rally - Louisiana 3-18 to 3-20, 2016 Cajun Palms, Henderson, LA 337-667-7772 Chapter Rally - Texas North 4-1 to 4-3, 2016 Oak Creek RV Park, Weatherford, TX PM Chapter Leader, Nancy Anderson (nander) Region Rally - Southeast 4-21 to 4-24, 2016 River Plantation RV Resort, Sevierville, TN Sylvia Brown or Alex Stallings, 865-429-5367 or 866-813-0646 Region Rally - South Central 4-28 to 5-1, 2016 Branson KOA, Branson, MO 800-562-4177 Region Rally - North Central 6-15 to 6-19, 2016 Double J Campground, Chatham, IL Liz 888-483-9998 Chapter Rally - Ohio 8-19 to 8-21, 2016 TBA Chapter Rally - Arizona 9-21 to 9-25 Eagle View Resort, Fort McDowell, AZ Garry Gilbert, 520-455-0237 Chapter Rally - Utah 9-27 to 10-2, 2016 Bauers Canyon Ranch RV Park, Glendale, UT Tamie, 435-648-2564
2016 North American Heartland Owners Rally - Las Vegas, NV 6-15 to 6-19, 2016 Oasis RV Resort, Las Vegas, NV Registration through Heartland Owners Club in size since last year. If you want to learn more only, do not contact the venue.
Saskatchewan Chapter Hello from the Saskatchewan Chapter! Hope you all are having a good camping season. Though no news really to report, we are happy that our Chapter has doubled 2015 Quarter Three
about the Chapter, please contact us. by Don and Janina Ewart, Saskatchewan Chapter Leaders
Chapter Rally - Arizona 1-10 to 1-15, 2017 Lake Havasu State Park, Lake Havasu, AZ Garry Gilbert, 520-455-0237 31
Rally Wrap-up
Heartland Highlights
Ohio Chapter On April 25th, Connie and I volunteered to
be the new Chapter Leaders for the Ohio Chapter of the Heartland Owners Club. We took over from Mark and Linda Comer who were the Founding Leaders of the Ohio Chapter and have held the position of Chapter Leader since June 2008. Thank you, Mark and Linda, for the many rallies you have hosted and everything you have done and will do in the future for the Heartland Owners Club. Our thanks go out also to Karen and Dan Halvorsen (North Central Region Directors). We’ve known them for a few years as fellow “Winter Texans” in the Coastal Bend. We had 20 HOC owners at our two Meetand-Greet events this past May in Lima and Fairborn. We’re hoping to announce another one in the Cleveland area for late July soon. Our Ohio Chapter of Heartland Owners Club facebook page is another of the many resources (along with emails and the Heartland Owners Forum) our Members can use
Texas - North Chapter The North American Heartland Owners Rally
in Goshen, IN is now over. We enjoyed the seminars, vendors, food and entertainment, not necessarily in that order. We are finalizing our Fall Chapter Rally at KE Bushman’s Camp in Bullard, TX October 9–11, 2015. Please make plans to attend! Last year we had good food, games, and visiting. KE Bushman’s is owned by the Kiepersol Winery. We are trying to setup a winery and/ or distillery tour. It was great fun last year. Make your reservations to attend! See you on the road!
by Nancy Anderson and Dave Seabolt, Texas-North Chapter Leaders 32
Owners at the Meet-and-Greet. to find out more about upcoming events and the happenings of other Members. The Ohio Chapter Rally will be held August 28-30 at Cross Creek RV Resort, the two
time winner of the National Association of RV Parks & Campgrounds Park of the Year. Sites will be held through August 12th before being returned to inventory. All the details can be found at the link in this article. Connie and I hope to see you this summer! by Bob and Connie Sims, Ohio Chapter Leaders
Tennessee Chapter Hallo alle (hello everyone) from Germany. As many of you know, the Mathis’ had to leave the North American Heartland Owners Rally (NAHOR) early to head to Europe but what a wonderful rally it was. Many Thanks goes out to Jim Beletti and his core staff for putting on another wonderful Rally. The seminars and the leisure time activities were fantastic. A great big thanks to all of the presenters and instructors who gave their time and knowledge to help all of us other rv’rs learn new things. And a Super SUPER “Big Thanks” to the Heartland Service Technicians. They were running around in the rain like busy bees taking care of all of our coach’s needs.
Pizza party get together.
Pickleball seens this was their first time to the NAHOR but said it wasn’t going to be their last.
With half of the summertime season about over, there are still plenty of upcoming rallies to go to. Two great ones back to back are the Kentucky Rally October 9–11 and the A new sport activity was introduced called Pickleball. Several folks played while others Tennessee Rally. The Tennessee Rally is being came by to watch. Maybe this can become a held October 16–18, 2015 at the Nashville new event for the future NAHOR in Goshen. KOA (615-889-0282), Nashville, TN. There are still sites available so get your reservation in. Rally on and travel safely everyone. The Tennessee folks and some friends had a pizza party as a get-together Thursday by Nathan and Byrd Mathis, afternoon of the Rally. For several TennesTennessee Chapter Leaders 2015 Quarter Three
Rally Wrap-up
Heartland Highlights
Louisiana Chapter Hello y’all! We have not hosted any
Rallies since the last Newsletter but that does not mean we have not been busy. We have just gotten back from the North American Heartland Owners Rally in Goshen. While that was not our first North American Rally, it was our first one in Goshen and let me tell you, if you have never been to a North American Heartland Owners Rally here, you really need to put this trip on your must do list. Jim, Julie, Kevin and all of their volunteers made this a great experience for us as well we the other first timers to Goshen. From the food to the service work performed by Heartland service team members, you could not have asked for a better experience. We will be back in two years for the next one, speaking of the next North American Heartland Owners Rally, please make plans to attend the NAHOR in Las Vegas next year in October, we won’t be able to make it but if you can you will not regret going, trust me…
Come and get it! Crawfish boil This will also be near the peak of crawfish season for those interested in eating some good boiled crawfish, there is a great place to get them right outside this park and they have a shuttle that will pick us up and drop us back off again. Please click here and let us know if
you will be able to make it to the Rally. The four of us hope to see you at one of them at least! by Andy and Joanna Grimes, Rowdy & Kaydee, The Wieners Louisiana Chapter Leaders
So as far as upcoming Rallies for the state of Louisiana and our Chapter go, we have two on the books with the first being our Halloween Rally down on the Bayou in New Iberia. There will be a pumpkin carving contest for a cash prize, tours of Avery Island (Tabasco Factory) and Konriko Rice Mill if you are interested. Also the campground will have a live band playing Saturday and kids will be going around trick or treating Saturday so plan accordingly if you will be attending. Please click here and let us know you will be attending. We will also be hosting a spring Rally in 2016 at Cajun Palms in Breaux Bridge. Several people I have spoken to have been here or would like to camp here so we were finally able to get good dates with this campground. The dates for this Rally are the weekend of 3/18/16 (St Patrick’s Day weekend). 2015 Quarter Three
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Heartland Highlights
Ontario Chapter
extra night. Another successful Ontario Chapter Rally now in the books! Rally attendees.
We are sad that Wayne & Gayle Wilson have stepped down as Canada Region Directors. As you are aware, Wayne & Gayle were Wayne & Gayle Wilson the “founding” Ontario Chapter Leaders prior to accepting the challenging role as Region Directors. We would like to thank them for the time and effort they have dedicated over the past years and wish them well. From all of us “THANK YOU”!
Saturday morning featured an animated “Trailer Talk” with coffee and pastries for the attendees. Following our group photo at the Heartland banner, (special thanks to Solange & Neil Wolfe), many were off for a 2 ½ hour Windsor River Cruise of the Lower Detroit River. A delicious potluck followed at the Wildwood Pavilion with requests for many recipes. Pickleball lessons were also held with many avid first timers. As you can see by their smiling face, they’re hooked!
2015 Ontario Chapter Rally The Ontario Chapter Rally was held held June 5–7 in McGregor, Ontario, and was blessed with perfect weather. We had a great time catching up with old friends and meeting many of our new Club Members. The Seventh annual Rally began on Thursday, June 4th with 15 rigs arriving at Wildwood Golf & RV Resort. Twenty six members attended the “Early Arrivals” dinner at the “Smoke ‘n Spice” Restaurant. The location, food and service were all excellent. An additional 3 rigs arrived on Friday when we officially kicked off the rally with our traditional Friday night Meet-and-Greet with pizza supplied by Boston Pizza. 34
Nightly campfires were held Friday and Saturday evenings. On Sunday morning, members were treated to a scrumptious breakfast prepared by our own Heartland MasterChefs Al Sherwin, Murray Caughy and Mike Tinklin. Don’t they look great in their Heartland Owners Club aprons? Our breakfast Chefs, turned BBQ’ers completed the flipping chores at the Sunday evening BBQ held for those rigs who stayed on an
The July edition of the Ontario Chapter news for Heartland Hilites is our final one as we are stepping down as Chapter Leaders. We have had a great 3 years and believe it is now time for a change bringing with it fresh ideas. Thanks to all for your input and for making the Ontario Chapter one of the strongest Heartland Chapters in North America. After much consideration, we have accepted the role of Canadian Region Directors. We know the Ontario Chapter is in good hands and we hope that we can promote club memberships across other Canadian Chapters. Mike & Donna Tinklin have accepted the position of Ontario Chapter Leaders. Having been Club Members for many years, and with their vast knowledge of Heartland, and vibrant outgoing personalities, we know the Chapter will continue to thrive. We wish them well in their new role. Mike & Donna Tinklin Congratulations!! by Bob and Christine Fournelle, Ontario Chapter Leaders 2015 Quarter Three
Rally Wrap-up
Heartland Highlights
Nevada - North Chapter Here it is Sunday afternoon on June 28, 2015. Laura and I are loading up the Bighorn for our
Colorado Chapter Members
of the Colorado Chapter have been staying busy this It will nice to be up at the lake, what with temperatures in Reno at 100+ it will be about 20 spring and degrees cooler there and the nighttime lows at 50+. There will be a kid’s parade on the 4th and the nighttime fireworks display launched from a barge out on the lake. From the southern end of early summer with Meet-and-Greets and our Annual Shake the lake you can see 3 other fireworks displays from Camp Richardson, Tahoe City and Incline Down Camp-out at Cherry Creek State Park. village. The most spectacular though, is the South Lake Tahoe display. Our Camp-out was a bit wet but the rain This is our third trip of the season, with all three to the same campground. They have the nicest really didn’t dampen the fun we had! Our June Meet-and-Greet was in Colorado camp hosts and staff to make your camping enjoyable. Our Memorial weekend trip we expect either rain/snow or a nice sunny weekend. This year it was the rainy type. Hallelujah for the rain Springs at the Hatch Cover Bar & Grill. We had a good turn-out at the Hatch Cover as we are so dry any and all rain or snow in the mountains is so welcome. We didn’t have downpours, just nice easy rain on and off and one day of bright warming sunshine. We received which also included Garry Gilbert, our new Mountain Region Director. enough rain and snow melt to raise the level of the lake 5". Did I say Hallelujah? annual week-long camping trip to Campground by the Lake at Lake Tahoe and I’m also typing an article for the Heartland Highlights Newsletter. And we will also be celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary. Where does the time go, come on retirement, 35 months to go!
We are in the final stages of planning to host our first Heartland Chapter Rally on September 11, 12 and 13 at the Sparks Marina RV Park. Friday night will be a mixer to get acquainted and for those that rise early on Saturday morning we can plan an excursion to the Great Reno Balloon Race with over 100 hot air balloons competing. Other day trips in the area would be to Lake Tahoe or Virginia City for the camel races. Saturday night we will have our banquet at the RV Park. Dinner will be sponsored by Happy Daze RV from Sacramento, CA. They are also planning on displaying two new Heartland RVs at the Rally. We ask everyone to bring an unwrapped item for our raffle. The cost of the item should not exceed $15.00. Raffle items do not need to pertain to camping or RV items. They can be almost anything! After the raffle we’ll have 50/50 drawing for the cash contributed to the raffle items. 50% goes to the person whose ticket stub is drawn, and the remaining 50% goes to Rally expenses. We still have a few campsites at the park not reserved, so please make plans to join us, we’d love to meet you. Happy camping to all, by George and Laura Smith, Nevada-North Chapter Leaders
Many of our members keep busy over the warmer summer months going to Colorado State Parks such as Eleven Mile, Lathrop and St Vrain; there are also many city and county camping areas as well as national forest lands and BLM lands that are favorites. From the southwest corner where Mesa Verde National Park is located to the north central region where Rocky Mountain National Forest lies and on to the Great High Plains of eastern Colorado Coloradans have so much to pick from to enjoy our great outdoors! I hope all will find the time to be a part of our beautiful country and what it has to offer and to remember we are all stewards of our public lands. Colorado’s upcoming activity for the summer is a boondocking Camp-out at Camp Hale Memorial Campground in July. Our Fall Rally will be September 24–27, 2015 at the Denver West/Central City KOA. As always, safe travels to all! by Monica and Don Ashby, Colorado Chapter Leaders
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Heartland News
Heartland Highlights
Heartland News 10 Years of Enjoying the Heartland Family This is the 10th North American Rally of the Heartland Owners Club. The first Rally was held here at the Elkhart County Fairgrounds in 2006. The group shown here were all present at the 2006 Rally. They are posing in front of Bill Parent and Karen Youngâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 2006 Bighorn, which they took to that first Rally and parked in this same exact spot. by Heartland RVs, photo by Malcolm Talley
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Rally Recipe
Heartland Highlights
Rally Recipe TEX MEX SWEET POTATO SKILLET Directions:
Heartland News Director of Owners Interests Honored for 10 years of Service
1. P reheat a large deep skillet on medium heat and add coconut oil, spreading with a spatula. Add sweet potatoes, ½ tbsp cumin, ½ tsp salt. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. 2. A dd onion, garlic, bell peppers, and cook for another 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. 3. A dd black beans and corn. Cook for another 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. 4. S tir in diced tomatoes, remaining cumin and salt, black pepper and taco seasoning. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook covered for 15 minutes or until sweet potatoes are soft.
Ingredients: 1 lb sweet potatoes, cubed 1 small onion, chopped 2 large garlic cloves, minced 1 tbsp coconut oil 2 large red bell peppers, diced 14 oz can black beans, drained & rinsed 1 cup corn (frozen or canned) 14 oz can diced tomatoes 1 tbsp cumin, divided in half ½ tbsp all natural taco seasoning, divided in half 1 tsp salt, divided in half ½ a lime, juiced 1 cup Mex cheese, shredded 2 medium avocados, diced 2 green onions, chopped 1/3 cup cilantro, chopped Non-Fat Greek yogurt & salsa for garnish
5. S queeze lime juice on top, sprinkle with cheese, cover and cook until cheese melts. 6. T op with avocado, green onions and cilantro. 7. S erve hot with a dollop of Greek Yogurt and salsa.
Courtesy of IFOODREAL.COM by Ann Mayer, Heartland Highlights Recipe Reporter
* For additional protein, fold in cooked, diced chicken
Anyone wishing to submit a recipe for publication can send their detailed recipe to Ann Mayer at txannmayer@yahoo.com 2015 Quarter Three
Jim Beletti, Director of Owners Interests, was honored for his 10 years of service to Heartland RV during the 10th Anniversary of the North American Heartland Owners Rally in Goshen, IN. Jim was presented the honor by Coley Brady, Director of Sales at Heartland, at the luncheon held at the RV/MH Hall of Fame in Elkhart, IN in front of more than 500 product owners that were attending the Rally. “Without Jim, this Club would not be what it is today,” said Brady. Beletti started the first North American Heartland Owners Rally 10 years ago, with a small handful of rigs attending. The Club has now grown to more than 1500 member-coaches, with Local and Regional Chapters all over the United States and Canada. 228 coaches were in attendance at the Rally in Goshen this year. Owners feel very fortunate that Heartland invests and supports the owners Club as much as they do, and appreciate Jim Beletti for all his hard work for the Heartland Owners Club. by Erika Dorsey, Heartland Highlights Editor 37
Rally Wrap-up
Heartland Highlights
Wisconsin Chapter What a great time in Goshen! The seminars,
serviced or repair contact our Wagonmaster tours, vendors and the Heartland and Lippert Tom Weber by email and let him know. Friday will also be the day to explore the repair crews were superb. A BIG thank you goes out to Jim Beletti and his Rally staff for a Wisconsin Dells area and we will provide very successful Rally. Las Vegas in 2016 here discount ticket coupons for many of the area attractions. we come! Wisconsin is gearing up for a very successful Rally of its own with 36 rigs already signed up and there is still a month to go. We have HOC Members from Ohio, Florida, Michigan, Illinois, Missouri, Minnesota and Tennessee attending. Please if you still want to attend call Country Roads Motor home and RV Park for reservations. They may have room for you somewhere in the park yet so please call and ask.
Friday evening at 5:30 we will again have the “Great Wisconsin Brat Fest” with all the fixin’s and entertainment provided to us from Country singer “Maggie Mae” who last year was a big hit. You need to bring nothing with you Friday night except maybe your favorite drinks and your “foot stomping shoes” for the entertainment.
Saturday we will again offer those who want to hone their shooting skills at the Sheriff ’s The Wisconsin HOC Rally will start out with a Range in the morning and in the afternoon we are doing our “Wine, Cheese and ChocoMeet-and-Greet on Thursday afternoon at lates” tasting with Fawn Creek Winery from 5pm. On Friday Scenic Traveler RV will be 1-3pm. There will be wine to purchase at the there to do minor service and repairs from 9am to 1pm. If you have something you need tasting for those who wish to do so.
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Saturday night at 5pm is our Potluck dinner where we ask you to bring something to share with the other members. The meat will be furnished and we are asking that you bring your own plates and eating utensils for the dinner. We may have some more entertainment but the plan is to have an “ Around the Camp Fire Social” with popcorn and drinks of your choosing. Bring a chair and your “gift for gab” is all we ask. Sunday we will have a”continental breakfast” for you starting a 8am prior to your departure from the campground. We are looking forward to a fun and rewarding Wisconsin Rally for all those in attendance. Safe travels! by Terry and Jackie Spencer, Wisconsin Chapter Leaders
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Rally Wrap-up
Heartland Highlights
Virginia Chapter The Virginia Chapter held its Rally on Virginia’s Eastern Shore in May at Tall Pines Harbor Campground in Temperanceville, Virginia. The Rally began Thursday evening with a visit to Ray’s Shanty Restaurant for dinner. Ray’s has become a favorite place to visit for an excellent seafood meal. If you are ever in the area, Ray’s is highly recommended. A Meet-and-Greet was held Friday evening. The campground provided ice cream with toppings as a dessert. Saturday began with a breakfast provided by the Club. Everyone enjoyed fresh baked waffles, scrambled eggs, bacon and sausage as well as coffee and juice.
Rally attendees.
Free time during the day provided opportunity for visits to Chincoteague Island and Assateague Island National Park, as well as enjoying the amenities and beach area at the campground. Many spent time viewing a miniature horse show held at the campground. Miniature horse judging. A wine and cheese social preceded the day’s conclusion of a potluck dinner. The potluck consisted of delicious fried chicken that was provided by the Club, and a wide variety of scrumptious side dishes and desserts that left everyone well satisfied. Eating well is a mainstay of any Heartland Rally. The generous nature of our Heartland family was displayed again. We collected and presented sizeable cash contribution to a local family. Violent and tragic criminal circumstance resulted in the orphaning of two small children. The deceased mother had been very active with the miniature horse club. The miniature horse show we attended was hosted and arranged by the campground owners as a benefit fund raiser for the surviving children. We were all grateful to be able to play a part in this effort as our ‘Heartland Gives Back’ initiative. 2015 Quarter Three
Wine and cheese social.
“The generous nature of our Heartland family was displayed again.”
Presenting the ‘Heartland Gives Back’ initiative donation. Enjoying breakfast. Sunday rolled around way too quickly with the end of our Rally. Some of the participants had to pack-up and head for home for work and other obligations while others were able to stay another day. Those able to stay enjoyed a group lunch of leftovers and time for relaxation. Enjoying meal at Ray’s.
by Eric and Dorothy van Opstal, Virginia Chapter Leaders 39
Rally Wrap-up
Heartland Highlights
Michigan Chapter Hope your summer is going well. If we can ever get a few warmer days and a little less rain here in Southern Michigan it may start feeling like summer, although I have heard they have had clearer weather in the north. Unfortunately, we have only been able to get out twice so far this year.
2015 North American Heartland Owners Rally in Goshen, IN We just returned from the 10th Anniversary of the North American Heartland Owners Rally in Goshen, IN and what a great time it was. Michigan was represented by 21 rigs, second only to Texas, and we tried to see all of them. Sorry if we missed you. We did have a Meet-and-Greet at our site on Thursday, June 18th with about 30 people enjoying hot dogs and various other goodies that were brought over by our guests. Later that same day a bunch of us also went out to dinner.
“Plans for the 2015 Michigan Rally at Mackinac Mill Creek RV park are almost complete.”
in the park. The dates are August 27–30. It looks like Friday the 28th will be a day on the Island for those that are going. Saturday we will have breakfast and a pot luck dinner in the evening and of course, coffee every AM. Some will also be doing carriage rides on the island. As time draws near we will be finalizing plans for a logger show in the area, too. Debbie and I will be there on August 22nd and as of now there are three of us golfing on the 26th. Join us, the more the merrier. Michigan Weekend Campouts While North American and Michigan Chapter Rallies are a lot of fun, we don’t have to have just planned events in order to get together. If you have an interesting place several of us could get together, check with the campground and see if they have room for us for a weekend get-together, then let me know at gerry7476@gmail.com. These would work best not placed too close to our rally or the National rally although some may consider something like this en route or on the way home from one of the rallies.
Texas - South Chapter Wow how time flies. Here we are half way
through 2015. Texas-South held the spring Rally in Boerne and as we noted previously it went very well. In June we took off for Goshen and there were 19 rigs reperesenting Texas as a whole. Goshen was a fantastic event that I highly recommend. Now we are getting geared up for the 2015 Fall Texas-South Rally at Johnson Creek RV Park. This park is nesseled into a pecan tree orchard and peaceful is an understatement. I am inviting all to “try us out”. The other Rally I want to raise a notice on is the South Central Region Rally in Branson Missouri April 28–May 1. I mention it because Texas-South will not have a Spring Rally due to the Regional schedule, but watch the HOC Rally schedule in the fall. Texas-South is planning a Rally prior to the North American Heartland Owners Rally in Las Vegas, NV. Y’all keep an eye on the schedule for the dates. Travel safe and we’ll look forward to meeting at the next Rally.
by Tom and Marti Mangum, Spring and Summer 2016 Texas-South Chapter Leaders We again are going to try to have a spring Jim Beletti and his crew kept us busy with Rally in May of 2016. We hope we can work a golf outing, daily seminars, dinners on it out for next year. We also have some Heartland News Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, entertainideas for a location of our summer Rally. ment, the factory tour and luncheon at the Of course any ideas from all Members are Heartland Gateway and RV/MH Hall of Fame, and a nice breakfast on greatly appreciated. Sundance Plant Tour Sunday morning before we left. Many thanks to Heartland RV for all they did. Of course, Debbie’s Corner: the best part is always the meeting old friends The ‘Heartland Gives Back’ initiative, Heartand making new. The 2016 North American land Baby Blessings, was a huge success at the Heartland Owners Rally will be held in Las National rally with a record number of items Vegas, NV. Find it under the Events tab on and money donated. Debbie is already planthe Forum. ning on doing as many (100) or more preemie crochet hats along with some other items. 2015 Michigan Summer Rally Click to play a video tour of two Join in and show that Heartland cares. Plans for the 2015 Michigan Rally at Mackigreat Heartland products. nac Mill Creek RV Park are almost complete. by Gerry and Debbie Atkinson, As of today there were still sites available Michigan Chapter Leaders 40
2015 Quarter Three
Photo Gallery
Heartland Highlights
North American Heartland Owners Rally in Goshen, IN Heartland Owners Malcolm & Valerie Talley were the photographers for the NAHOR this year. For those that didn’t attend, here’s three pages of pictorial review so you can see what you missed. —Editor
2015 Quarter Three
Pictures include: Attendees Coaches, Catered Dinner, Nelly Muffins, Heartland Managers Answering Owner Questions, Evening Entertainment, Line Dancing to DJ Music, Door Prizes, Heartland Baby Blessings Luncheon, Check-in and Commemorative Sticker Application, Rig and TruckWashing, Fire Safety Seminar
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Photo Gallery
Heartland Highlights
North American Heartland Owners Rally in Goshen, IN Pictures include: Attendees Coaches, Water System Maintenance Seminar, Dessert Meet-and-Greet, Show Coaches, Vendor Hall, Amish Countryside Touring and Shopping, Golf Outing, Heartland Service Technicians Working, Pickleball, Rally Hall Meeting
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2015 Quarter Three
Photo Gallery
Heartland Highlights
North American Heartland Owners Rally in Goshen, IN
Pictures include: Heartland Service Golf Carts, Make-n-Take Card Class, Rally Goody Bags, Hearltand Plant Touring, Outdoor Vendors, Sneak Peak at New Products at the Heartland Factory, Craft Show and Tell, Wake-Up Workout, “Bicycle Built for Two-Billion” Presentation, Heartland Luncheon at the RV/MH Hall of Fame, RVSEF RigWeighing, Outdoor Seminar
2015 Quarter Three
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Heartland Highlights
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2015 Quarter Three