Sorry the delay in getting this scroller update out. Roxann and I were on the road since Mother’s Day to Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Nevada before heading back home to California. We arrived home last Wednesday. Needless to say but I will anyway, I forgot to bring along my BOCI Website administration access code. Without this code I cannot update the scroller or other administration functions. You better believe this won’t happen again!
The intent of our trip was a motorhome outfitting trip and the bonus was we got to see some wonderful new places, visit with some good friends and meet many new people along the way. Our 3 main outfitting stops were Roadmaster Industries for some suspension work (and a new fuel line), AM Solar for a 300 watt solar system with a 2000 watt inverter plus replacement of the 2-12volt wet cell batteries with 4-AGM 6-volt batteries, and Lafayette Auto Body & RV Repair for a durable roof lining, rear wheel well treatment and 4-wheel alignment. You may see what we had done at the rally during the Rig Tours on Monday. All 3 of these establishments provided great products and services and the people were awesome. Steve and Jill Grittman form Lafayette Auto Body & RV Repair have joined the Club as Associate Members and will be at the rally. Wait until you see their rig, it’s awesome (even though it’s not a Bigfoot). Please check with these establishments if you’re in the market for their services.
We also visited with BOCI Members Skip & Claudia Huwaldt in McMinnville, Oregon and Jack & Babette Furchak in Silver Lake, Washington before heading to Pendleton, Oregon and Hells Canyon, Idaho. Along our route we met fellow Bigfooter’s John and Diann Rundberg in Pendleton at the Wild Horse Casino & RV Park and Fred & Jan Uhlman in Baker City at the Mt. View Campground.
This was a wonderful trip and we’re looking forward to the trip to Colorado Springs, Garden of the Gods Campground. Who knows, maybe we’ll see you on the way there or on the way home as we did last year when we met Steve & Iris LeCheminant at the Chevron Gas Station in Williams, Az. Just remember, in your travels when you see another Bigfoot Rig on the highways or bi-ways, wave or flash your highlights to acknowledge a fellow Bigfooter.
Speaking of which, we also saw many more Bigfoot Rigs on the road heading in the opposite direction than us and we were disappointed that we didn’t have the chance to meet them but we waved and sometimes even flashed out lights. One couple in a camper actually waved back. If you were headed West bound on HWY 84 around 5/28, thank you for waving back, we were the Bigfoot on the Chevrolet Kodiak Truck Chassis heading East Bound..
Rally and Business Meeting Update
Our Annual Rallies and Business Meetings are for your enjoyment and your opportunity to assist in the running of our great Club. This year we’ll have 2 Board Positions open and if you are interested in being one of the nominees please let me know as soon as possible ((JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)).
As of June 10th we have 59 rigs signed up. There’s room for 29 more rigs and there’s still time to sign-up but time is running out. If you’re planning to attend please submit your application promptly. It’s great to see all the “First-Timers” attending as well as all of you “Returnees”. This year is shaping up to be another great Rally and Business Meeting.
Rally Attendee List is now available on the BOCI Website under the Member’s only Section. See who is attending from your area and maybe caravan together. Caravanning is another great way to see this wonderful country of ours and sharing it with fellow enthusiasts, it’s fantastic!
Rally Activities - We have some great activities planned along with scheduled free-time so you may see the many attractions in the area, play golf, go horseback riding, try your luck at one of the many Cripple Creek Casino’s, or just relax. We’ll have sign-up sheets available Sunday evening for some of the activities where we may get a group discount and some will be included in your confirmation notification.
One of our favorite activities is our Rig Tours where we get to share our rigs with others, the improvements we made, what we changed or added on or whatever. If you’re interested in putting your rig on the Tour list just send me an email ((JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)) that you’d like to have rig on tour and include your rig description and what you would to share about your rig.
Another all-time favorite is our Raffles. At the past rallies we’ve had some great raffle items that members brought and we’ve greatly appreciated. We also had manufacturers and businesses donate some great products or services. You can help make this year’s raffle a bigger success by donating an item for the raffle (although not mandatory but much appreciated). Skip Huwaldt is also working on Raffle donations from various manufacturers and businesses and may be contacting some of you for your assistance. If you would like to volunteer to assist Skip in this effort please contact him at ((JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)). Let’s make this year’s raffle one of the best!
Confirmations - Your Confirmation Notification will be emailed to all Rally Attendees by the end of June confirming your reservation, arrival and departure dates, and of your payment status. If any of the information is incorrect please notify me immediately ((JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)) so I may correct the error.
Please remember that all payments must be in by July 31, 2009.
I am aware that our PayPal payment option is a little difficult to figure out on how to pay your balance or additional nights owed. Once you receive notification or you know what your balance owed is you may use the PayPal option at the bottom of the “PayPal list“, or send a check (in USD funds) for the balance. I’ll include in your Confirmation Notification the detailed instructions on how to pay using PayPal.
Website Issues Affecting Emails with Attachments
During the month of May and early June Google apparently installed an aggressive spam filter that blocked many of our incoming emails with forms attached. The forms affected were all Membership forms, (including Complimentary Membership forms), Rally Application forms and any Survey forms returned by email.
If you submitted one of these forms during this period and have not received notification from a Bigfootowner's Club Representative, please resubmit your form and one of us will respond that we received your form. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Survey Results
We greatly appreciate those of you who have taken the time to complete and return the surveys we sent out recently. We are still in the gathering phase and would appreciate those that have not completed and returned the survey to so as soon as possible. If you need a survey form please let me know and I’ll get one out to you promptly.
For the most part your comments are very positive on the Club, thank you. We also appreciate opportunities we received on the areas where we can improve. There is no promise we will take action on every one of these opportunities but rest assured, we’ll review them all and will have them for further reference. We will have a summary report ready for the Annual Business Meeting on Thursday, September 17th. This information will assist us in running the Club to better serve the majority of our Membership.
There’s 1 item that I can implement right away and that’s my updates of the scroller. I do appreciate our Members wanting more information on the activities of your Board and the Club business and I’ll do a better job at updating the scroller at least once a month.
The recommendation of updating the scroller once a week or once every 2 weeks is asking too much and those that made this recommendation, I sincerely hope that you understand the time requirements your are asking for and to please accept my apologies for ignoring this request . When it’s appropriate I will update the scroller more than once a month.
Finance
Our Treasurer, Al Sandberg is doing an outstanding job in organizing our bank statements so we may see where we are spending and receiving funds. We are planning to have our Financial Report for the Business Year July 1, 2008 through June 30, 2009 available online for members review before the rally.
We are currently in the planning stages to change our Business Year from July 1 through June 30 to the Calendar Year starting January 1, 2010 as was discussed and recommended at the 2008 Rally and Business Meeting. This change should make the financial reports easier to understand and follow, and easier to establish a budget in which to operate.
What this means is that the Club will incur expenses to make the switch. We will have an abbreviated 6-month Business Year of July 1, 2009 through December 31, 2009 Financial Report posted on our website with in a few weeks of the close of business on December 31. 2009.
Membership
Our memberships are continuing to grow and we currently have over 400 Members that also includes Complimentary Memberships. Our Membership Chairperson Gayle George-Sackett and Membership Assistant, Louise Throne are doing an awesome job in responding to membership requests promptly, thank you.
BOCI Store
Yes, we have ventured off into creating a BOCI Store for BOCI Merchandise. In the past we have offered BOCI hats and mats to members for purchase at the Rally and Business Meetings only. Now, we would like to offer BOCI merchandise to all members.
Unfortunately, all the hats and mats are sold out and we have not replaced them as of yet, but we have , thanks Gayle George-Sackett is denim shirts and fleece jackets available with our BOCI Man embroidered on the left front area, and for those of us that need something to stick in our trailer hitch receptacles (besides Bigfoot Trailers), is a Stainless Steel BOCI Man Trailer Hitch insert that Skip Huwaldt has arranged for us.
At this time we do not have an area on the website for this, so this will be accomplished through email to our current members only. Gayle George-Sackett will be sending out the announcement on these items to the current membership shortly.
We hope that these items are of are interest to you and that you will place your orders promptly when the email arrives.
Please let me know ((JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)) if you like this concept of a BOCI Store and what items would be of interest to you. If this concept of a BOCI Store is popular we will develop a BOCI Store on the website.
Wrap-up
I know this was a long Scroller Update and I sure hope it was of interest to you. If there is anything you feel I have missed or if you want to make a comment or suggestion or just want to chat through email with me, send me an email ((JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)).
Happy-n-Safe travels -- Mike
