President's Message

On behalf of the chapter, I’d like to recognize and welcome our four newest members who joined Dogwood at the Fort Monroe rally. Their names are included in the Membership section of this eNews and their photos are included in the member photo directory.

For those that have been Dogwood members for a while I’m sure you have noticed that membership has changed over time and I’m equally sure that this will likely continue. I have heard members wonder what happened to someone. So in the Membership section we will also include the names of those who are leaving us along with a membership count. If the numbers are going up, we’re probably doing the right things. If they’re going down, then we need to understand why. Negative numbers may just mean that members are migrating to warmer climates and those who remain can just be jealous.

On the subject of membership, I have five free FMCA memberships provided by FMCA that we can use as a membership recruiting tool for prospective Dogwood members who don’t belong to FMCA. So, do you know someone that may have an interest in Dogwood, but they don’t belong to FMCA? We now have a way to help with that.

Until we meet again, safe travels.

Mann

Membership

Four new members joined Dogwood at the Fort Monroe rally. Please welcome John and Susan Weigly from Powhatan, Fred and Maxine Luxton (friends of the Gruels) from Merry Point, Dave and Bette Thomas from Newport News, and Rachel Carnell from Norfolk. Rachel, who is in the Army and residing at Fort Monroe, was curious as to what all the motor homes were doing, so checked us out. We were such a great bunch of folks she decided to join us. The Photo Directory and Dogwood Directory have been updated to include our new members.

It was good to see Donald and Audrey King at the Fort Monroe rally. The Kings are charter members who have been absent from Dogwood events for several years.

Bob and Carol Chuilli are not renewing their Dogwood membership as they now spend most of their time in Florida.

Current Dogwood Membership: 60 members (50 members who have paid 2009 dues and 10 members who have not paid 2009 dues)

2009 Rally Schedule

Check out the 2009 Rally Schedule and mark your calendar accordingly.

Highlights from the Fort Monroe Rally

We had a great time at the Fort Monroe rally. Special thanks to the Buelows who organized the event and the Schoolars and Duffs who assisted as their co-hosts. 23 coaches attended. Coaches parked along the seawall providing great water front views.

Those who arrived early on Thursday enjoyed a brat dinner despite the wind. Fortunately on Friday the sun came out and the wind subsided providing great weather for the weekend. The rally officially kicked off Friday night with a London broil dinner prepared by the Schoolars. Saturday the men cooked breakfast followed by a business meeting.

Saturday evening started with happy hour and a raffle where everyone won a door prize. Special thanks to Dixie RV for donating 2 recliners, to Dodd RV for donating canopy lights and to the Buelows for obtaining the door prizes. Afterwards we enjoyed a bbq dinner prepared by the Buelows.

Sunday morning after a continental breakfast, we packed up and said our goodbyes.

Click here for additional photos from the rally.

Business Meeting and Reports 2009 04

A Dogwood chapter business meeting was held on April 18, 2009. Please refer to the Secretary's report, Treasurer's report, and Audit report.

Rockahock Rally

Dogwood's summer rally will be held August 7 - 9 at Rockahock Campground in Lanexa VA. Hosts for the rally are Donald & Carol Warthan, Max & Barbara Hicks, and Donald & Sheryl Wayman.

Campsite: Call Angie at Rockahock 804-966-2759 to make your campsite reservations. Be sure to mention that you are with the Dogwood Chapter of FMCA. The camping cost is $91.97 for three nights and includes taxes, etc. An early arrival on Thursday and /or a delayed departure on Monday is okay. Our final count is due one week in advance. Check out Rockahock's website or ask Sabrina to send you a brochure with directions, local sightseeing info, etc.

Schedule:
Friday night - heavy snacks for happy hour (for those who are still hungry, there is a restaurant, as well as a Tavern, on the Campground premises)
Saturday morning - full breakfast
Saturday dinner - BBQ with fixings
Sunday morning - continental breakfast

Bring your own plates, utensils, etc. for all meals. Coffee and juice provided at breakfast; otherwise BYOB.

Rally Registration: The fee for the rally is $40 per coach with 2 people (or $20 per single person). Complete the following form and mail along with a check, for the rally fee, payable to Carol Warthan, 5851 Collins Run Parkway, Providence Forge, VA 23140

Registration Form for Dogwood Rally Rockahock August 7-9, 2009

Name ______________________________________________

Phone _______________________________________________

Email Address _________________________________________

Number of people attending ____________

Amount Enclosed $_______________

If you have any questions, call the Warthans, Hicks, or Waymans.

The following people have registered to attend the rally:

• Donald & Carol Warthan
• Don & Sheryl Wayman
• Max & Barbara Hicks
• Terry & Judy Davis
• Bobby & Barbara Dyke
• Berkley & Karen Alexander
• Wilt & Barbara Greenwood
• Mann & Carolyn Duff
• Hank Satterwhite
• Mel & Dian Hughes & Debby
• Jim & Susan Buelow
• Bill & Rachel Ferebee
• Carl & Donna Gruel
• Mo & Shirley Martin
• Fred & Maxine Luxton
• Dan Moore
• Tom & Marily Nolte
• Dickie Cannon
• Sue & Steve Sohles
• Bill & Eileen Guttridge
• Clint & Pat Allen
• Paul & Nancy Cummings
• Doug Cherrington

Williams Grove Rally

Dogwood's fall rally will be held at the Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg Pennsylvania October 2 - 4 to coincide with the running of the Outlaw races. We will be dry camping at the speedway. Arrival can be as early as Oct 1.

Ed Fisher has reserved eighteen contiguous spaces at the speedway for those who wish to attend. Additional spaces may be available in the general vicinity. The price for dry camping for the weekend is $15.

In addition to the Outlaw races on Friday and Saturday nights, the Fall Carlisle Collector Car Swap Meet and Corral is scheduled for Sept 20 through Oct 4 and the Fall Collector Car Auction is Oct 1 and Oct 2. Both are near by, so lots is happening in the area.

The $15 price only covers camping. There will be other expenses for race tickets (no problem getting these), Collector Car Swap Meet, etc. depending on what you wish to do, plus food and other rally expenses.

Ed and Anke Fisher will host the rally and will provide details later.

Available camping spaces are filling quickly. To reserve your space, call Ed Fisher at 804-370-4066. The following people have signed up for the rally:

Bobby & Barbara Dyke
Mann & Carolyn Duff
Carl & Donna Gruel
Fairleigh & Cil Schoolar
Fred & Maxine Luxton
Mo & Shirley Martin
Donald & Carol Warthan
Don & Sheryl Wayman
Terry & Judy Davis
James & Susan Buelow
Berkley & Karen Alexander
Ed & Anke Fisher
Dave Metzger with Buddy Oliver

Bowling Green International Convention

FMCA's summer international convention will be held in Bowling Green Ohio July 20-23. Email fmcaDogwood@gmail.com if you plan to attend.

Those planning to go to Bowling Green:
Ed & Anke Fisher
Nick & Elizabeth De Monte
Wilt & Barbara Greenwood
Max & Barbara Hicks
Steve & Judy Czarsty
Berkley & Karen Alexander
Mo & Shirley Martin
Carl & Donna Gruel
Chuck & Donna Tolson
Mem & Larry Halstead
Gene & Winnie Williams (parked with the governing board)

Steve Czarsty noted: The Just Friends Chapter is having a gathering at 4:30 Tuesday at the Czarsty's coach located in the Past National officer/Committee parking area. Dogwoods are welcome bring a chair, beverage and a happy attitude!

GEAR

GEAR (The Greater Eastern Area Rally) will be held June 4 - 7 at the Richmond International Raceway in Richmond Virginia.

Berkley & Karen Alexander, who are chairing the seminar monitor committee, need volunteers to hand out evaluation forms before seminars and collect the completed forms afterwards.

Berkley submitted the names of all Dogwood members attending GEAR as volunteers. Your volunteer credentials will be mailed to you separately. This will allow you to park in the volunteer area and to arrive as early as Tuesday. If you do not receive your volunteer credentials, contact Berkley.

There will be a Dogwood Happy Hour at GEAR. The time and place will be announced later.

The following people have registered to attend GEAR:
Wilt & Barbara Greenwood
Berkley & Karen Alexander
Paul & Nancy Cummings
Mann & Carolyn Duff
Eugene & Winnie Williams
Kenneth & Bernice Wyatt
Carl & Donna Gruel
Bill & Rachel Ferebee
James & Donna Venable
Michael & Ann Foster
Max & Barbara Hicks
Tom & Marilyn Nolte
Ryland & Evelyn Watts
Steve & Judy Czarsty
Connie & Ed Tilman
Denny & Betty Raymond
Tom & Bonnie Scanlin
Tom & Ann Ottum
Lynn & Betty Gray Faber

Tappahannock Rivahfest

Cil and Fairleigh Schoolar have extended an invitation to a mini rally to anyone interested in attending the Tappahannock Rivahfest on June 20th.

If you would like, you can bring your motor home and dry camp at Fairleigh's shop which is just off of Rt 360 before you get to Bray's Fork. For more information on the festival, check out the festival website.

If you are interesting in attending, please contact the Schoolars. Space is limited.

Recipes from Fort Monroe Rally

Crunchy Spinach Salad from Cil Schoolar

½ lb fresh spinach, torn into bite-size pieces
2 Tbsp toasted slivered almonds
¾ cup shredded purple cabbage
¼ cup raisins
Dressing (see below)

Combine all ingredients except dressing in a large bowl. Toss and serve with dressing. Yield 6 to 8 servings.

Dressing
¼ cup sugar
¾ tsp dry mustard
¾ tsp salt
½ tsp celery seeds
1 ½ tbsp minced onion
¼ cup vinegar
½ cup vegetable oil

Guamanian marinate for beef, chicken and pork from Cil Schoolar

½ cup soy
1 cup lemon juice
lots of crushed garlic
lots of ground pepper

Double or triple the recipe as needed. Marinate beef, chicken or pork for at least 24 hours.

Water Chestnut Dip from Cil Schoolar

3 cans water chestnuts, drained
1 package dry vegetable soup mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tsp hot sauce
¾ cup sliced green onions

Julienne the water chestnuts.

In a medium bowl, mix the water chestnuts, vegetable soup mix, sour cream, mayonnaise, hot sauce and green onions. Refrigerate at least 12 hours before serving.

Caramel Apple Pie from Donna Gruel
Pie Crust
1 1/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup shortening
4-5 Tbsp cold water

Apple Filling
1/2 cup sugar
3 Tbsp flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
6 cup thinly sliced peeled apples
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/4 caramel ice cream topping

Crumb Topping
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup quick rolled oats
1/2 cup butter

For the crust
You can make your own pastry or buy a ready made crust. I use ready made to cut the prep time.

For the crumb topping
Stir together brown sugar, flour and oats. Use a pastry blender to cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside while you prepare the filling.

For the apple filling
In a large bowl stir together sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt. Add apples and toss gently to coat all the fruit.

Transfer filling to pastry lined pie plate. Sprinkle crumb topping over apple mixture. To prevent over browning, cover edge of pie crust with foil. Bake in 375 oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes more or until top is golden. Remove from oven; sprinkle pie with pecans, then drizzle with caramel topping. Cool on wire rack.

Dogwood Mirror Covers

When at rally events, display your Dogwood mirror cover to let folks know you are a Dogwood member.

Donna Gruel makes the covers for chapter members. She charges $8 to cover the cost of the materials, however, she does not charge for her labor. In order to customize the cover to fit your motor home, she needs to know the length and width of your mirror and whether it attaches from the top or side.

If you would like to order a Dogwood mirror cover, please contact Donna.

A special thanks to Donna for donating her time to make the mirror covers.

12/6/2915 update:  Donna and Carl have moved to Florida and are not renewing their Dogwood membership.  We thank Donna for donating her time throughout the years to make the mirror covers.  

Member News

Evelyn & Ryland Watts shared "We had an accident in our motor home in SC on our way to Perry for the Rally. Young military guy moving from Ft. Bragg to Ft. Hood driving a U-Haul truck, towing his car on a trailer, passed us, then cut in, tearing off the front end (bumper, lights, etc), and didn't stop. We "put the pedal to the medal" and flagged him down. He said he didn't feel anything! He wanted to give us his info and not call the police, but we insisted. Said his wife was expecting a baby and had started dilating. Turns out she was just driving before they stopped to change drivers! The officer charged him and said we could drive the motorhome in daylight only, and if we were stopped, to show the accident report. We limped into Perry. The insurance company has been wonderful and the motorhome is in repair shop. This was our first trip out this year as we've had health problems. Just glad no one was hurt!"

Bob & Carol Chuilli shared "We will not be rejoining Dogwood. We are spending so much time in Florida, and in the past 5 years we are going earlier and staying later. This has led to missing most of the rallies dogwood puts on. We have enjoyed the chapter over the years and have made so many friends. Three previous members live at the great outdoors with us and they also have stopped coming north. We cherish the memories and friendships."