Issue 80 Campground

New Company plans Online Outdoor Hospitality Convention New Berlin, PA - A new company, Campground Expositions, backed by several influential businesses in the Campground industry, is preparing to launch the first VIRTUAL convention in the outdoor hospitality industry.

The 3-day live on-line Internet event, slated to take place on November 1-3, 2010 is called “The Virtual Outdoor Hospitality Expo”

The convention, held entirely on the Internet, has the appearance of the real event, with a registration area, exhibit halls, a conference center for webinars, a lounge, press room and unlimited space for it all. Because the show is on the Internet, this will become the first International outdoor hospitality event, attracting exhibitors and attendees from all over the world. The Expo will target RV parks,

campgrounds, resorts, lodging cabin parks, marinas, state and national parks, dude ranches, outfitters and guiding companies, canoeing, paddlesports, fishing and hunting camps.

Although the LIVE show hours are officially Noon – 6 PM Eastern Time during the days of the expo, the exhibit booths will remain open for several months following Continued page 2

and audio chat with exhibitors, view or download the exhibitor’s catalogs or promotional materials, view websites or e-mail addresses or actually call the exhibitor via telephone.

Continued from front page the event and exhibitor materials will remain accessible and viewable to campgrounds around the US and internationally.

Campground Expositions has already received booth and sponsorship commitments from major suppliers from the campground industry.

Show Producers have emphasized that this virtual convention will not replace the reality-based conventions held by hospitality associations, but is a supplement to shows that already exist.

However, a virtual expo does have some major

Registration Lobby

advantages to exhibitors and attendees alike. Most importantly, the reduced cost for attending will result in savings of all travel and related costs for both attendees and exhibitors. For exhibitors specifically, additional savings will result from avoiding hotel accommodations, food costs, car rentals, shipping and drayage, booth furnishings, decoration and personnel registration fees. It is anticipated that exhibitor savings will also result in special show offers and discounts for shoppers.

All booths at the Virtual Outdoor Hospitality Expo will be 4-booth islands and all will contain the most current audio and video technology. Attendees will be able to have a video

Exhibit Hall

Conversely, exhibitors will have instant complete information on the attendee who has “entered� their booth or they can locate a visitor who is anywhere in the virtual convention center.

Continued next page

Producers of the event have stated that they will be announcing the names of participating sponsors and exhibitors in the near future.

Network Lounge Campground Expositions will also offer educational events along with the expo including expert keynote speakers and others who will be conducting the webinars at the convention.

Attendees will be able to view these webinars live or download webinars that have already been run.

A complete schedule of events will be listed in the Show Directory that will contain the names of all sponsors and exhibitors, booth locations and all personnel “manning” booths. Attendees can merely click on the Sponsor’s or Exhibitor’s name to be taken to their booth.

The Directory will be viewable and downloadable to every attendee or any other campground whether they attend the event or not.

They have stated that many of the media outlets for the industry have committed to advertising the event in order to attract attendees.

The Producers hope to obtain the cooperation and the participation of the US State and Regional Associations and the National Association of RV Parks & Campgrounds (ARVC). They also will be contacting the European Federation of Campingsite Organisations, which represent resort and campground owners from 22 Countries, the Caravan, RV Accommodation Industry of Australia, Top Tourist Parks of Australia and the Canadian camping associations who they hope will also participate in the Expo.

Contact Information: Name of Show: Virtual Outdoor HospitalityExpo Name of Company: Campground Expositions Expo Dates: November 1-3, 2010 Website: www.campgroundexpo.com E-mail: campvirtualshow@yahoo.com

Conference Room

Phone 877-901-EXPO (3976) Fax: 866-605-1388

BOULDER, Colo. -- The Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) today thanked President Obama for his continued focus on recreation and conservation funding and key youth initiatives; and a new commitment to helping U.S. companies sell their goods in markets overseas.

All three areas received significant increases in the president’s fiscal year 2011 budget, which was released Monday.

The president’s budget reflects the importance of properly funding the management of our nation’s wildlands and revitalizing our close-tohome recreation infrastructure. Here are some highlights: The budget recommends $50 million for the Land and Water Conservation

Fund (LWCF) State Assistance program. The program received $40 million in fiscal year 2010. $384 million would be set aside for federal land acquisition under the federal LWCF program.

Overall LWCF would receive an increase of $100 million for parks, refuges, public lands and to promote outdoor recreation.

A responsible approach to wildfire that increases wildland fire management by $78 million and contemplates additional tiers of funding to address particularly severe fires.

The Department of Interior (DOI) budget calls for

$171.3 for climate change adaptation, including research on the effects of climate change on wildlife, a $35.4 million increase over fiscal year 2010.

increase for youth programs at the National Park Service and $2 million for similar programs at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The DOI budget recommends $71.4 million for protection and management of Treasured Landscapes, new funding for ecosystem-level restoration in seven regions including the Everglades, Great Lakes and the California BayDelta.

President Obama also pledged during the State of Union to help companies located in the United States increase their exports to overseas markets, thereby generating economic activity and jobs in the U.S. His budget recommendations set aside the dollars to back up that pledge. $534 million, a 20 percent increase, to the

DOI recommends $45.4 million to “engage, employ and educate the next generation of conservation leaders” – a $5.8 million

Continued next page

International Trade Administration (ITA). As part of the Administration’s National Export Initiative, a broader federal strategy to increase American exports, ITA will strengthen its efforts to promote exports from small businesses, help enforce free trade agreements with other nations, fight to eliminate barriers to sales of U.S. products, and improve the competitiveness of U.S. firms.

Provide the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) full access to its fee collections, including additional resources provided through a 15

percent fee increase on patent services, to strengthen USPTO’s efforts to improve the speed and quality of patent examinations.

Increase the annual number of small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) the commercial service successfully assists in exporting to a second or additional country by 40 percent from 2009 to 2011.

Raise the number of firms adopting sustainable manufacturing processes through the manufacturing extension partnership by 250 by the end of 2011.

“The president’s budget

recognizes outdoor recreation as a major economic driver in America.

A commitment to invest in America’s recreation infrastructure will create sustainable jobs in local communities. OIA is also pleased to see a focus on ensuring that American companies have fair access to foreign markets. We

believe our innovative products can compete anywhere and will enable more people to get outside and recreate,” said Frank Hugelmeyer, president and CEO of the Outdoor Industry Association.

SOURCE: Outdoor Industry Association press release

Santee Lakes Recreation Preserve, the bucolic Santee park featuring seven lakes of recycled water, is going through changes — all intended to give visitors more things to do.

To the delight of some and the consternation of others, the most recent plans propose not only a controversial cable ski park but also floating log cabins, a boulder adventure course and a sports complex.

Park officials say the changes will provide more to do for Santee Lakes’ 600,000 annual visitors, but some neighbors say they like things the way they are.

“They’re changing the environment into a Disneyland,” said Julie Naggar, 44, a fitness instructor who lives near the park. “I think it’s going to be a destruction of the place. Once they change it, there’s no going back.”

The most recent plans propose placing three log cabins on pontoon floats by a dock at Lake 7, near the park’s 300-space recreational vehicle park.

Seven other prefabricated cabins would be installed on a shoreline nearby, offering views of ducks swimming in the water and the hills surrounding the park.

Full Article: www.signonsandiego.com

Thousands of eastern Coachella Valley residents live in areas that potentially contain hazardous levels of arsenic in their groundwater, a problem officials say could cost millions to remedy.

In Coachella and the unincorporated eastern valley communities of Mecca, Oasis and Thermal, Riverside County environmental health officials know of wells at 19 mobile home and RV parks that recently tested positive for dangerous levels of arsenic ranging from 12 to

91 parts per billion in their groundwater.

Studies have linked arsenic, a naturally occurring tasteless and odorless element, to risks of cancer when ingested over decades at levels of more than 10 parts per billion, according to state and federal health officials.

Children are even more susceptible because of their low body weight.

The problem isn't unique to the valley. Arsenic has contaminated water systems across the West, prompting cleanup efforts,

officials say.

So far, 10 of the 19 identified parks have installed filters to treat the water to ensure it's safe for residents to drink.

County officials say they're working with the rest of the parks to fix the arsenic problems.

Those 19 cases are being handled because the problems were brought to the county's attention, and not the result of regular testing sweeps in the area, said John Watkins, the department's deputy director.

Many more parks are either just starting to test their wells, have too few units to be subject to state drinking water regulations, or rest on tribal lands outside of county jurisdiction, local advocates and officials say.

That, they say, likely extends the number of east valley residents affected by arsenic-tainted drinking water into the thousands.

Full article: www.mydesert.com

Lenders last week assumed ownership through foreclosure of a 20-acre tract of land in Tonopah, Nev., where Jerry Wang, chief executive officer of the Forum Group Ltd., had plans for an ambitious resort complex.

There were no buyers at the trustee sale on the courthouse steps in Tonopah, according to the Pahrump Valley Times.

The lenders are listed in records on file at the Nye County recorder’s office as the Feldstein Trust, which includes Carl Mayer Feldstein and Patricia Ann Feldstein.

The foreclosure is to satisfy the unpaid principal of $500,000 with interest dating from Aug. 15, 2008.

Arizona: Harried residents of a trailer park slammed by floodwaters last month are living in a storminduced limbo, facing uncertainty after Yavapai County officials declared the park unsafe to live in.

Damages are so severe that the county has posted placards at the River's Edge RV Park warning that it isn't "fit for occupancy."

Trailers were pummeled

In November 1999, Wang told an audience of 200 people, “At least every other household will have something to do with this project.”

Wang planned to begin construction in January 2000. When the project was completed in five to seven years, Wang predicted 18,000 jobs would be created. His project, The Oasis at Shangri-la, would have included an Orientalthemed hotel, casino, retail shopping complex, recreational vehicle park, convenience store and the St. Thomas Place condominium project, for which a sign stood for many years at the site.

The proposed site is located midway between Las Vegas and Reno.

by water and mud and rearranged like empty boxes when the Agua Fria River and the Black Canyon Creek roared out of their banks in a twoday deluge last month that overturned trees and deposited so much debris that the caretaker's pickup was buried in sand.

Full Article: www.azcentral.com

WORK on a new $5million, 120-site family campground at Winnipeg Beach Provincial Park is underway.

The first phase of construction at the south end of the park is the installation of underground services to provide water, sewer and electrical connections to the accessible campsites.

There will be three washroom/shower

buildings, a campground office and an expanded boardwalk.

Future development will include a children's play area and a multi-purpose pavilion on the site of the former Water Tower Inn. Construction will continue into the spring of 2011. The campground is expected to open in mid-summer 2011.

Two weeks ago in this column, I mentioned my delight in watching the Star Trek series nearly 50 years ago.

I was enraptured by the technology and the sociology of the 25th century portrayed on that show. I also pointed out how, in only a half century, much of Star Trek’s futuristic devices were already a part of our present lives.

The communicators have become our cell phones and the sophisticated computers of 500 years in the Star Trek future were already becoming a reality today.

This past Christmas, my wife and I bought our grandchildren a Wii. If you don’t know what a Wii is you may still be living in the 20th Century.

Nintendo has taken computer gaming to a new dimension. The Wii is an interactive game that requires gamers to actually pretend to be bowling, or shooting hoops while viewing the results on a TV screen.

There’s actual exercise involved.

I mention this, because computerization has now fully entered our lives.

There are actually people who wonder how they ever got along without a computer just as young people cannot believe that we used to actually

use pots to make popcorn.

Computers have now fully entered our lives and anyone who says he doesn’t use e-mail might as well say that they’ll saddle up their horse and head for town.

I feel safe saying this to those people who are reading this article on their computers.

The Internet is already used by many campground owners, as the popular computer reservation services continue to grow.

Campground Manager, Campground Master, Reservation Friend, Digital Rez, et al have made great advances in coordinating and handling campground reservations, Many campgrounds offer Wi-Fi to their campers because campers bring their laptops to campgrounds to stay in touch, while in the great outdoors.

And now, together with several other farsighted people in the campground industry, suppliers and owners of campgrounds are about to participate in yet another change in our lives – a voyage into a “virtual world”. This is the same virtual world which is exhibited by using a Wii. But this time, it will be used to promote campground business, education and socializing over the Internet.

Later this year a new company Campground

Expositions will produce the first Virtual Trade Show. All of the elements of a real show will be present but no one will have to travel to this event.

It will take place on your computer monitor and you can participate from wherever you happen to be.

Almost every media source in our industry will announce this event to every campground in the US, Canada, Australia and Europe in hopes that they will attend.

I wish I could say I thought of this idea, but virtual conventions have been run for some time now. Our brethren in the resort industry have been running a virtual show for several years. It also should be noted that it has ENHANCED their live show, because nothing can truly replace “pressing flesh” and meeting other people in your industry and some products are more easily marketed if prospective buyers can see, touch, and smell them up close and personal.

But with this nasty economy to contend with, for both exhibitors and for many campground owners, I suspect, a journey to their computer will be much more convenient and less costly than a trip to a city some distance away.

It might be much easier to be transported to an Expo.

Besides it might make you feel like Captain Kirk.

By Art Lieberman

Art Lieberman is President of MCPS for Campgrounds, a credit card processor sponsored by Woodforest Bank NA. Art has been in the Credit Card industry for nearly 12 years. Art has been conducting webinars online and seminars on credit cards in many State and Regional Association Conventions. He can be contacted at art@mcpsforcampgrounds.com

Water is basic to life.

Environmentalists worry about four kinds of water: • agricultural runoff: poisons (pesticides, herbicides) and nutrients.

• stormwater runoff: oil, grease, salt, silt, chemicals, fertilizer, poisons, untreated sewage.

• industrial wastewater: chemicals.

• domestic wastewater: nutrients (nitrogen, phosphate, potassium), drugs, medicines, germs (bacteria).

The whole point is to protect the quality of water in the two broad categories of nutrients and toxins. Nutrients promote the growth of bacteria that will make people sick and cause growth that damages sea life.

Toxins include a broad range of substances from poisons to traces of metals, plastics and paints. Many of these damage cell tissue and some promote cancer.

None of us can do much to protect the wells, rivers, lakes, aquifers and oceans of our planet. But each of us can do a little.

No one person is causing the Chesapeake Bay pollution or the thousands of acres of floating garbage in the Pacific or the toxic shoreline

By Larry

problems on our beaches.

Moral of the story: don’t over-fertilize or dump substances such as paint, grease and oil into the ground.

Don’t flush medicines down the toilet, use detergents to wash your vehicles on driveways and streets instead of at car washes.

Don’t be wading around in floodwaters.

Do dispose of waste properly and avoid littering. Manage rather than ignore runoff. ay attention to local guidelines. When the authorities warn you to boil water before drinking or the sign says stay out of the water, do so.

Think about the well being of your family, patrons, and friends. Act accordingly.

Cortez, FL (February 2, 2010) – Holiday Cove RV Resort was recently honored as one of the highest rated parks in the nation and in the state of Florida by the country’s leading RV park/campground directories.

Receiving a Woodall’s 5W/5W rating places Holiday Cove in the top 4% of the 8,000 private U.S. RV parks and campgrounds rated.

Trailer Life ranks Holiday Cove RV Resort as one of Good Sam’s ‘Best of the Best’ Top 100.

Holiday Cove is also designated as one of the ‘Best Parks in America’.

Located in the quaint oldFlorida fishing village of Cortez, Florida and less than a mile from the white sands of Bradenton Beach and Anna Maria Island, Holiday Cove sports a number of highly desirable amenities.

Guests enjoy boat slips and a boat launch, fishing from the Holiday Cove docks, a state of the art salt-water chlorinated heated pool, a fullyappointed clubhouse, beautiful tile and granite restrooms and showers, large paved sites with ample patios, cable TV and complimentary wi-fi at each site. Quality restaurants, live music, and shopping are within walking or bicycling distance.

“We are delighted to be recognized as one of the highest rated parks in North America and in Florida. Our team works hard to provide a laid-back resort experience complemented by lush surroundings, friendly, helpful staff, and attention to detail,” remarked Ed Rymer of Holiday Cove.

He continued, “We are fortunate to be one of the unique RV resorts that is able to offer RVers the

ability to enjoy our slice of paradise all year long. We have a robust summer program as well as a dedicated snowbird following.”

While Holiday Cove RV Resort offers daily, weekly, monthly, and seasonal stay opportunities, RV site ownership is also available.

Holiday Cove RV Resort, completely remodeled in

the last quarter of 2008, is located in Cortez, Florida on an intracoastal canal ¼ mile from the Sarasota Bay. The new Holiday Cove RV Resort was developed by Ed Rymer, an experienced real estate developer, and David Gorin, former President and CEO of the National Association of RV Parks & Campgrounds.

Nelson Jackson, the owner and founder of the Ocean Lakes Campground and a local philanthropist, died Monday morning according to staff at the campground.

He would have been 90 years old this month.

Jackson and his family started the campground, which was honored by the state with the Governor's Cup as one of South Carolina's top tourist attractions, in 1971.

It quickly grew to more than 300 acres of camp sites and amenities hosting various local celebrations, events and conventions.

The campground is one of the largest properties in The Jackson Cos. portfolio which includes the Prestwick Country Club and Sayebrook.

The Jackson family was also known locally for their philanthropy. Jackson's five daughters gave money to Coastal Carolina University in 2004 to help establish the Jackson Family Values and Ethics Center in honor of their parents, Nelson and Mary Emily Jackson.

The center hosts a public forum for discussions on ethical issues and helps provide mentoring and other opportunities for

elementary students as well.

Ocean Lakes Campground announced plans for a memorial service honoring Nelson Jackson, the campground's founder.

The public is invited to attend a visitation and a memorial service honoring Jackson, the Sun News reported.

Visitation takes place Wednesday from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Ocean Lakes' Recreation Building, 6001 S. Kings Highway in Myrtle Beach.

A memorial service is scheduled for Thursday at 2 p.m. at the Ocean Lakes' Recreation Building.

The employees of the Jackson Companies were feeling a tremendous loss Monday, said CEO Dennis Wade.

"We appreciate the outpouring of kindness and concern of so many that knew him," Wade told the Sun News. "We ask everyone for their understanding and respect for the Jackson family during their time of loss."

Barb Krumm, who worked with Jackson for 12 years, described him as a handson man who was an excellent people person

and was always on the move until the last few years when he slowed down as he approached 90.

"Mr. Jackson was an icon in the Myrtle Beach

community and the camping industry.

Article: www.thesunnews.com

Pinnacle Club (inspection rate of at least 95%), have shown a strong growth in business, implemented sustained improvements to the facilities and be viewed as a leader in the campground industry.

While all Jellystone Park™ campgrounds offer excellent opportunities for family fun and top-notch camping, each year the system’s franchisor, Leisure Systems Inc., digs deep into the details to determine the very best of the best.

This year, that campground is the Jellystone Park CampResort of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and it’s been named CampResort of the Year.

This is the highest honor that can be awarded to a Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park.

The facility as well as its operators must exceed all Jellystone Park standards of operation. The recipient must be ranked in the

Jellystone Park campground at Sioux Falls offers some of the best family camping and entertainment in the region. Just three miles from the Falls of the Sioux River and near attractions like Catfish Bay’s recreational waterski park, the Great Plains Zoo and Wild Water West water and amusement park, this campground has large campsites and three types of cabins. Kids will love the Jumping Pillow (and parents will love how it tires the little ones out), While everyone will enjoy the heated pool and spa, indoor theater, miniature golf, arcade and theme weekends and daily activities in-season. The campground owners, the Aljets, are always ready with a warm welcome for guests.

Leisure Systems are proud to welcome a brand new member in beautiful Bloomington, Indiana! The former Cedar Ridge Camping Resort will reopen on April 16 as Jellystone Park at Lake Monroe.

Located just a few short miles from Lake Monroe Indiana’s largest lake - the new campground is the perfect spot to enjoy boating and fishing from the 10,000-plus acre lake’s nine convenient ramps.

Lake Monroe

And the campground itself is a wonderful family destination with RV and tenting sites, as well as a wide selection of deluxe cabins.

Four additional campgrounds are joining the Jellystone Park family in 2010: Burleson/South Fort Worth, TX; Columbia, SC; Branson, MO and Donalsonville, GA . It’s shaping up to be a great year for camping with Yogi Bear™!

NASHUA, N.H. — Intensifying his focus on job creation, President Obama flew there on Tuesday to promote his plan to free up $30 billion in lending for small businesses, even as a leading Senate Republican back in Washington said the proposal would only add to sky-high deficits.

Mr. Obama toured a lighting manufacturer and then headed to a town hall meeting in this politically critical state to tout his lending plan, part of a broader effort to encourage the private sector to step up hiring at a time when unemployment remains stuck at 10 percent despite increasing economic growth.

The lending proposal, which would require Congressional approval, would redirect $30 billion

in repaid bailout loans from the federal government’s Troubled Asset Relief Program that rescued the nation’s largest financial institutions.

The money would form a new Small Business Lending Fund to provide capital to smaller community banks in hopes of making it easier for them to lend to small businesses.

“These are the small, local banks that work most closely with small business — they’re usually the ones that provide them their first loan, and they watch them grow through good times and bad,” Mr. Obama said here. “The more loans these banks provide to creditworthy small businesses, the better deal we’ll give them on capital from this fund that we’ve set up.”

INDIANAPOLIS - The trailer industry and lawmakers are pressing the government to send Haiti thousands of potentially formaldehydelaced trailers left over from Hurricane Katrina - an idea denounced by some as a crass and self-serving attempt to dump inferior American products on the poor.

"Just go ahead and sign their death certificate," said Paul Nelson of Coden, Ala., who contends his mother died because of formaldehyde fumes in a FEMA trailer.

The 100,000 trailers became a symbol of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's bungled response to Katrina. The government had bought the trailers to house victims of the 2005 storm, but after people began falling ill, high levels of formaldehyde, a chemical that is used in building materials and can cause breathing problems and perhaps cancer, were found inside. Many of the trailers have sat idle for years, and many are damaged.

The U.S. Agency for International Development, which is co-ordinating American assistance in Haiti, has expressed no interest in sending the trailers to the earthquakestricken country. FEMA spokesman Clark Stevens declined to comment on the idea and said it was not FEMA's decision to

make.

Haitian Culture and Communications Minister Marie Laurence Jocelyn Lassegue said Thursday she had not heard of the proposal but added: "I don't think we would use them. I don't think we would accept them."

In a Jan. 15 letter to FEMA, Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, said the trailers could be used as temporary shelter or emergency clinics.

"While I continue to believe that these units should not be used for human habitation, I do believe that they could be of some benefit on a shortterm, limited basis if the appropriate safeguards are provided," he wrote.

For the recreationalvehicle and trailer industry, which lost thousands of jobs during the recession, the push to send the units to Haiti is motivated by more than charity.

Bidding is under way in an online government-run auction to sell the trailers in large lots at bargainbasement prices something the RV industry fears will reduce demand for new products. Some of the bids received so far work out to less than $500 for a trailer that would sell for about $20,000 new.

Lobbyists for the Recreational Vehicle Industry Association which includes some major

manufacturers in Elkhart, Ind., among them Gulf Stream - have been talking with members of Congress, the government and disaster relief agencies to see if it would be possible to send the trailers to Haiti instead.

"This isn't really the best time for the RV industry to have very low-priced trailers put out onto the market," said the group's spokesman, Kevin Broom.

How much formaldehyde the trailers contain - or if they still have any at all isn't known. The auction site warns that the trailers may not have been tested for the chemical, and FEMA said buyers must sign an agreement not to use the auctioned trailers for housing. Broom contends the majority are "perfectly safe," and "the handful of trailers that might have a problem" can be removed.

Though the formaldehyde fumes in the trailers may have lessened with time, Haiti's hot, humid weather would boost the amount released, said Becky Gillette, the formaldehyde campaign director for the Sierra Club.

Lindsay Huckabee, who blames a rash of illnesses on the two years she lived with her husband and five children in FEMA trailers in Kiln, Miss., said that while "some shelter is better than no shelter," sending FEMA trailers is a bad idea without tight controls and warnings.

"I think it's very self-serving to hand off a product that's not good enough for Americans and say, 'Hey, we're doing a good thing here,"' she said.

In Haiti, Ermite Bellande said she has had no shelter since losing her three-story house. Still, she doesn't want one of the trailers. "We have nothing," she lamented. "But I would rather sleep outside than be in a metal box full of chemicals."

Joseph Pacious, who was hoping to find shelter at a tent city near the Port-auPrince airport, disagreed.

"The trailers may be hot, and they may make us sick," he said. "But look at how we are living already.

How bad can it be?"

Myriam Bellevu, who is sleeping in a tent because she does not feel safe in her damaged home, said: "If the trailers are not good, the Americans must keep them for themselves. It's true that we are poor, but if they want to help, they must help in a good way."

Among the lawmakers backing the idea is Mississippi state Sen. Billy Hewes.

"If I had the choice between no shelter and having the opportunity of living in a shelter that might have some fumes, I know what I'd choose," he said.

"If these trailers were good enough for Mississippians, I would think they were good enough for folks down in Haiti as well."

BRATTLEBORO, Vt. -The owner of a Hyde Park campground is going to prison for growing pot and laundering money.

U.S. Attorney Tristram Coffin said Tuesday that 36-year-old Eugenio Leon, who previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to cultivate marijuana and money laundering, was sentenced to three months in prison and ordered to forfeit $100,000 and a 2004 Harley Davidson motorcycle.

Leon, owner of Common Acres Campground in Hyde Park, was charged in May 2008 after federal agents found an indoor growing operation containing 58 plants at the campground and another 39 plants at a home he rented in Morrisville.

U.S. District Judge Garvan Murtha in Brattleboro also ordered him to spend three years on supervised release. Article: www.wptz.com

Tourism boosters say they fear that new security measures to register and screen visitors to the U.S. may discourage too many big-spending tourists from entering the country.

been required since last year. But beginning March 20, airlines face hefty fines if they allow passengers from those countries to board a plane without registering.

At issue are online registration requirements for visitors from 35 countries -- including Britain, Germany and Japan -- who are not required to have visas and who generate most of the tourism dollars in the U.S.

The online registration was one of several recommendations made in 2004 by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, also known as the 9/11 Commission, to screen foreign visitors before they board a U.S.bound plane.

Registration under the Electronic System for Travel Authorization has

FL: The Key RV/Mobile Home Condo Association and the city of Marathon apparently are close to a deal to settle a lawsuit over sewer fees, and it looks like the mobilehome park is coming out the big winner.

How big? The city will foot the estimated $1 million bill to install the sewers in the private park. It would also maintain the park's package plant and sewer lines after they're installed Additionally, a $36 monthly base sewer bill is separated into two fees.

Under the deal, that $36 would be cut to $22 monthly, saving the park residents a combined $34,000 a year.

Board Vice President Greg Coldiron told Key RV property owners at a Jan. 16 board meeting that a settlement has been reached and agreed to by city attorneys and Key RV attorney David Paul Horan. The Keynoter obtained an audio recording of the meeting.

"Three weeks ago, [interim City Manager] Peter Rosasco looked at me and said, 'There is no way in hell the city is going to take over that system.' I said, 'Well, then you don't have a deal and we'll see you in court and we're going to kick your butt.' We all know the

thing is limping along and ready to die any day. The system is shot," Coldiron said at the board meeting.

Coldiron told the Keynoter on Friday he expects the deal to be finalized soon, but he was only outlining a "preliminary settlement" at the board meeting.

"We think we're going to have a settlement with the city. The problem is our attorney is out of town until Monday but I think we would have something in writing on Monday," he said.

Key RV sued in October 2008 alleging discrimination by the city in assessing them nearly $1 million combined to connect to the system, which is still under construction.

Coldiron said at the board meeting that a 60 percent majority of voters will be required to accept the settlement.

The park's lawsuit against the city essentially boils down to whether it's legal to charge Key RV's individual owners the same sewer fees as other equivalent dwelling units in the city based on the form of ownership. The mobilehome park switched to a condominium form of ownership in 2004.

North Hollywood, CA, February 1, 2010 – The first of a three-part exclusive interview with Brian Brawdy is LIVE on www.RVBuddiesOnline.co m for viewing now.

Brian Brawdy, a nationally known conservationist, travels across North America in his Lance Camper, which is equipped with a host of eco-friendly devices including solar panels, satellite dishes and wind turbines. His fascinating lifestyle and personal history make for a great story – a story that RV Buddies had to bring to their audience. Referred to as "Eco-Brian" or the "Green RVer", the former undercover cop turned outdoor adventure expert is making a difference in both how the rest of us RV today and how the industry is being shaped for the future.

While Brawdy is much indemand for interviews on television networks nationwide, in most interviews he usually discusses his passion for the outdoors. RV Buddies had the opportunity to sit with him and dig deeper for over an hour of video – covering his lifestyle, adventures and much more. The interview features some of the most candid conversation Brawdy has ever had on video. RV Buddies has taken the best of the interview and is presenting it in three parts over the next three weeks.

"We're proud to call Brian Brawdy an RV Buddy," says show host Mark Summers, "His life and mission are both inspirational and moving."

For more information contact Mark Summers at Mark@RVBuddiesOnline.com.

CROWLEY, Texas, Feb. 2, 2010 – When the Texas Association of Campground Owners set out to redesign TexasCampgrounds.com to make it more visually appealing and easier to navigate, the association also launched a parallel effort to make the travel planning website appealing to iPhone users.

“Most people visit TexasCampgrounds.com from their laptop or desktop computer.

But we also know from industry research that roughly 30 percent of consumers have an iPhone, so we thought it would behoove us to develop an iPhone application for the newly designed website,” said Brian Schaeffer, executive director and CEO of the Texas Association of Campground Owners, which is one of the first campground industry associations in the country to offer a regional iPhone application for travel planning.

While content from the redesigned TexasCampgrounds.com website is available to iPhone users, that’s not the whole story: The iPhone’s GPS navigation capabilities

also enable it to pinpoint nearby campgrounds as the consumer travels.

“When you launch the iCamp application, the first thing it will do is show you the campgrounds that are around you. But you can also search for campgrounds in other locations if needed,” Schaeffer said, adding, “Camping enthusiasts have never had a tool like this before.”

The iCamp application also includes a searchable database of campground videos. “This is something that right now is available only on the iPhone. But we do intend to add this search function to TexasCampgrounds.com website in the near future,” Schaeffer said.

The iCamp function for iPhones was developed for TexasCampgrounds.com

by Simpsonville, S.C.based alQemy LLC through its iCampAmerica subsidiary.

The Texas Association of Campground Operators publishes and distributes the Texas RV Travel & Camping Guide each year, the content of which is also available online.

TexasCampgrounds.com has made the task of finding a campground faster and easier for thousands of camping enthusiasts in Texas and across the country with the help of a 23-year-old website designer from Texas Wesleyan University.

Matt Taylor of Texas Advertising spent the past eight months working on a major redesign of TexasCampgrounds.com, which was already drawing 13,000 to 15,000 unique visitors each month before the upgrades were completed last week.

“Matt supervised the entire project and did an outstanding job,” said Brian Schaeffer, executive director and CEO of the Texas Association of Campground Owners.

“Working with an outside programmer, he made TexasCampgrounds.com very sleek and easy to navigate.”

The most obvious change

is a noticeable increase in the use of photos and tabs, which make the website more visually appealing while minimizing the need for scrolling.

“These changes and enhancements make the information easier to digest,” Schaeffer said.

The redesign, which coincides with the introduction of a new TexasCampgrounds logo, includes a new search function that shows listings of parks based on their distance from specific cities or points of interest.

Photos are also included with each listing, if available, which can help consumers decide which parks they want to click on to learn more about their amenities, activities and surroundings.

“More information is given to the consumer faster with this redesign,” Schaeffer said, adding that Continued next page

Continued from previous page parks that do a good job of providing photos to the website have an immediate marketing advantage over those that do not.

“You can’t ever lose sight of the fact that it’s a competitive world,” Schaeffer said. “I think the traveler is becoming more sophisticated.

We compete for tourism money. People have choices. If they go to hotel websites or other travel venue websites, we want to be able to stack up against those sites.”

Taylor, for his part, said photos and YouTube clips are increasingly sought after by young and more mature campers alike.

“I don’t want to go somewhere where I don’t know what I’m going to get,” Taylor said, adding that if a park says it has a swimming pool, it’s nice for the consumer to be able to see what that pool looks like before making a reservation.

"If you're looking at a list and see parks with photos of a swimming pool or a nice club house, versus those that

don't, you'll be drawn to those that have photos first."

The redesigned TexasCampgrounds.com is compatible with third party online reservation systems, and roughly half of the website’s 360 listed parks offer instant online reservations.

The redesign was completed using a Joomla content management system, a relatively new technology that has enables the campground association to continually update the TexasCampgrounds.com website without having to

use an outside website management firm.

TexasCampgrounds.com has been gaining traction with consumers, drawing 28.5 percent more online reservations from 2008 to 2009.

That number should grow even more in 2010 since it had been about six years since TexasCampgrounds.com was significantly renovated and a redesign was urgently needed.

“Five or six years is a lifetime in Internet time,” Taylor added.

Does it take more energy to turn on a light than to leave it on?

No. There's no power surge when you turn on a light. Turning the light off ALWAYS saves electricity, even if it's for just a second.

Does it take more energy to turn on a computer than to leave it on?

No. There's no meaningful power surge when you turn on a computer. Turning the computer off ALWAYS saves electricity. Of course, you can also use the power saver feature.

Is there ANY consumer device that uses more energy when you turn it on than when it's already on?

No, not in practical terms.

I don't believe you.

Everyone says there's a surge when you turn on computers and stuff.

There's a surge but it's so tiny you can't easily

measure it. That's because it happens for only a fraction of a second, and the surge itself is modest.

It's certainly not costing you any extra money, not even a penny. So there's no surge in practical terms.

As far as you're concerned there's no surge at all.

Think of it this way: If a device used twice as much power as normal for one full second when you turned it on, that would mean that it cost you one whole extra second of electricity. Big deal. That's a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a penny. And in fact, the surge doesn't really last for a whole second, it lasts for only a fraction of a second, and the surge isn't close to twice as much power as normal, it's much less.

Bottom line: Surge is so incredibly insignificant it's really like there was no surge at all, for all intents and purposes. There is never a penalty for turning on a household device.

The new magazine proposed by the publishers of Campground & RV Park E News called Getaway USA has set the industry talking.

The main talking point is the initial distribution list66 million Americans will receive the first issue planned for late March.

The list is a random data base where it is suspected the majority

are not dedicated campers - which fits right into the concept to encourage the public, especially children to get outdoors and experience what campgrounds have to offer.

In addition to the large distribution list campgrounds will be encouraged to forward the e magazine on to their existing email data base of clients.

The latest product to hit the campground industry is receiving major interest by owners who see these bikes as an opportunity for good revenue by renting them to campers.

The bikes are not only "green" environmentally

friendly but are safe and extremely economical with a battery charge range of up to 25 miles.

Campgrounds can purchase the bikes outright for as low as $1195 ensuring an excellent and fast return on investment.

Speed: Up to 16 mph Range: Up to 25 Miles Motor: 350 watt brushless motor Driving Sytem: Powerful 48 volt front hub drive System built into the front wheel!

Charging Time: 4-6 hours for pennies Battery: 48 volt 14 AH sealed lead battery acid

Battery Charger: 110 volt smart charger, UL Listed Tires: Front 16 x 2.5" and rear pneumatic 10 x 3.5" Color: White and Black (Custom Paint Jobs Also) Size: 40" L x 26.8 "Wx 5.7" H Weight: 93 lbs.

Comes With: headlight, taillight, and horn. (Basket Optional)

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