From the Oblong Office
Butch Jones
I will
assume that our snowbirds have returned to their middle Atlantic nests. The first
rally of the year at Hatteras was a success and we are now officially into the
Dogwood Rally Season.
This year I
hope that we will have more of our seasoned members return to rallies and help
the newer members learn what FMCA and Dogwood are all about. We have some excellent locations for this
year’s rallies. And there should be some really good times ahead.
I have
attached the results of our Dogwood Survey. The Board would like to thank those that
responded to the survey. This type of information is helpful to the Board in
plotting our course and ensuring that we stay the course of the membership’s
choosing.
The 88th FMCA
Family Reunion and Motorhome Showcase will be kicking off this month and some
of our members will be attending this event in Gillette, Wyoming. We wish safe
travels to all.
Our next
Dogwood rally is in Galax and we hope to see many of you there.
We received
20 completed Dogwood Surveys. We were
glad to see that most gave some serious thought to their answers. The results
are interesting and some were surprising. There were quite a few questions left
unanswered these are listed as “No Answer” in the results. The answers are
indicated in red for clarity. I did not include all of
the answers given as many received only one response. These results will be used in guiding the
chapter and planning for next year. Thanks to those taking their time to
provide us with their input.
Dogwood
Chapter FMCA Participation Survey
1. In the
last 3 years, which Dogwood Rally did you enjoy best?
Solomon’s
Island was the number 1 pick followed by Camp Hatteras.
1a. What did
you like best?
“Location”
was listed as number 1
2. In the last
3 years, which Dogwood Rally did you enjoy least?
“No
Answer” was the number 1 response followed by Rockahock
2a. What did
you least like?
No
scheduled meals or activities received the most responses.
3. In the
last 3 years, did you attend a non-Dogwood rally that you particularly enjoyed?
10
respondents reported having attended non-Dogwood rallies.
3a. What
specific thing(s) were most enjoyable?
Although
more respondents did not respond to this question, those that did indicated
that seeing old friends was most enjoyable.
4. How many
rallies do you think Dogwood should have each year?
Again
more did not respond than responded to any specific number. The number of
rallies receiving more than 1 response ranged from the following:
“Same
as last year” and anywhere from 3-4 to 6-8 were listed most often. So we can
surmise that about 6 rallies seem to be the number of which most are
comfortable.
5. Do you
like rallies with structured meals (rally fee covers some meals, predetermined
times) or unstructured (no meals and flexible times)?
More
responses were received for having structured meals than not.
6. Would you
like to have a 1 hour or less seminar at Dogwood rallies and if so how often
(every rally once a year, etc.)?
Most
of the respondents were in favor of having seminars. Having a seminar once or
twice a year was the most often given frequency.
7. Please
list any topics that you would enjoy.
“No
response” and “RV topics” were the most often given topics. History of local
area and both RV and non RV topics were next.
8. Would you
like to have a preplanned side trip included in a rally? This could be a winery
tour or historic place or other place of interest?
This
question received an overwhelming “yes” response.
9. What
other activities would enhance Dogwood rallies?
Although
“no answer” was given in almost half of the surveys, having a game night was
the next most listed answer.
10. What is
preventing you from attending Dogwood rallies?
“Other
commitments” and “nothing” responses were given the most to this question.
11. What is
preventing you from hosting a Dogwood rally?
Even
though “have done so in the past was the most often given response, “don’t know
enough about it” received the next highest number of responses.
12. How far
are you willing to travel for a Dogwood rally?
Dogwood
members responded that they were willing to travel between 150-200 miles as a
maximum for a rally.
13. What is
the maximum number of days for a Dogwood rally?
The
survey indicated that Dogwood members like rallies to be 3-4 days in duration.
14. What
should the maximum cost of a rally (including rally fee and meals both provide
and not provided and campground cost)?
Once
again “no answer” was the most often not given response. Cost was not an issue
was the next most often given response, however, 250-300 dollars was the top
response with a dollar figure.
15. Would
you be in favor of a Thousand Trails (TT) rally (since they allow groups with
non TT members)?
Overwhelmingly
the responses were positive to a Thousand Trails rally.
16. If
Dogwood established a “Members Only” section of the chapter website would you
be receptive to having a password to enter the section?
The
responses to this question were almost evenly divided between yes and no.
17. Are you
interested in Dogwood establishing a Facebook account as a means of
communications?
“No”
was the overwhelming response to this question.
18. Are you
interested in having rallies planned around events such as races, festivals or
concerts?
Most
of the responses were yes to this question.
19. How
important are full hookups for a three day rally?
We
are evenly divided on this question with one response pushing full hookups to
the very important factor at a rally.
20. Is dry
camping okay for a few days?
Once
again the same number responded “yes” as “no” to this question with several
“depends” and one “up to 7 day” responses.
21. Are you
interested in planned activities?
Most
of the respondents were in favor of planned activities.
22. If so,
should they be included in rally cost an extra charge?
Overwhelmingly
the responses were in favor of making extra activities an additional charge for
those wishing to participate.
Additional
Comments (Please list any additional comments to the above questions or any
other Dogwood related topic):
Prefer
smaller rallies where we get to spend more time developing friendships.
We
will be unable to attend the May rally. We have a prescheduled event with our
family.
Maybe
it is worth paying for campground facilities, if we have small group.
