First Call for the Dogwood-Penn Coachmen Co-Rally August 10-14, 2026
Hey Dogwood and Penn Coachmen – this is first call for signups to our upcoming co-rally.
Dates: August 10-14, 2026.
Place: Spacious Skies/Shenandoah Views Campground, Luray, VA
3402 Kimball Rd.
Luray, VA 22835
540-743-7222
Spacious Skies/Shenandoah Views ...
Click Here For Rally Details and Registration Form
Christmas Rally 2025 Summary
The Christmas Rally was a huge success!! Why? Because we all got together and we ate too much, laughed too hard and hugged too tight!! But that is how we Dogwooders Roll!
We had a group come in on Wednesday, so we went to a delicious restaurant on the lake and had a great time!! Thursday everyone brought delicious appetizers to share, which was a great kick start to the Rally! Friday morning we woke up to an inch of snow on the ground, but it did not put a damper on the fun!! Friday night an Italian dinner was provided by the hosts, followed by a Raffle drawing, and a fun game of Left, Right and Center!!
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| Eggs By Berkley |
Saturday morning a full breakfast was provided by the hosts including Berkley’s famous eggs to order! Followed by a business meeting.
Saturday the hosts provided a ham dinner, followed by Connie Tilman officiating our traditional Yankee Gift Exchange. A lot of laughter and memories were made.
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| Connie - Time for Yankee Swap |
We wrapped up our Rally with a continental breakfast Sunday morning.
We had a great team work together to provide the Rally: The Hills, Kuikens and Warrens!
It was a lot of fun pulling it together, now it’s someone else's turn.
Looking forward to next year!!
Your Hosts,
Rob & Donna
Henry & Patty
Jack & Mary
Click here for the Rally Photo Album
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| Christmas Rally - 2025 |
Hello Dogwood! This is first call for the upcoming Mr. B’s Bluegrass Spring Music Spectacular on April 30 – May 2, 2026. Like last year, it will be held at Mr. B’s Event Park in Woodford, VA – on the west side of old Route 1 just north of the Ladysmith exit off I-95. Ms. Billie Sue Goff (Event Director and good friend of the club) has set aside 10 spots for us – all together. If more sign up, that’s fine, you just might not be right next door to us. But that’s OK because the campground is easily crossed in minutes from wherever you get parked. The directions and signup sheet will be out on the Dogwood Blog site.
Jean and I are hosting again for the brunch, but we will need a co-host. The music schedule, like last year, is: Music Starts at noon and goes without a dinner break to 10 pm. So we are starting to put together the brunch plans. At this point, on Wednesday evening (for you early arrivers) we will be doing a potluck supper; Jean and I will bring fried chicken for all. Feel free to bring an appetizer, sides or dessert to go with it.
Brunches for the next three days will start around 9:30 am and will include all the good food and drinks we are known for. So if you haven’t already, please call Ms. Billie Sue Goff at 757-660-8904 and get your reservation in for the festival. Make sure you tell her you are with Dogwood. See the Dogwood Blog Site for details, show list and directions – we hope to see you there!
Ed & Jean Herbert
540-760-4181
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| Tom & Carolyn Spiezio |
Hello Everyone,
Sadly, we share the news that Dogwood member Tom Spiezio passed away peacefully this morning, January 11, following his courageous, 9-month battle with cancer. Tom and Carolyn have been Dogwood members since 2022.
Thank you to Donna Hill for passing on this sad news.
Our condolences to Carolyn and the Spiezio family. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers for strength and comfort.
Sincerely,
Hey Dogwood –
It is winter in Fredericksburg! OK, not exactly yet but pretty dang close – the air is crisp, clear and fogs up your glasses on the exhale. We love it! So get out there and enjoy the cold! (sorry to you Florida folks) We had a great Christmas Rally and our (excellent) hosts – Kuikens, Hills, & Warrens – did an outstanding job for us at Rockahock Campground. Business was conducted and we got our membership roll aligned with FRVA, and our financial audit passed muster. And the fact that we held an “official” meeting means that we met all of our FRVA chapter requirements for the year. You might shrug and say, “Ah, so what?”, but this is a big deal. In the past year about six Eastern Area chapters didn’t or couldn’t do this and had to close up shop. So we have 52 “F” members and are going strong – great for us!
OK, so what’s ahead for 2026? Well, the tentative schedule of rallies will be posted shortly and I remember about six or seven events being penciled in. I can tell you that Jean and I will be hosting two rallies next year – the Mr. B’s Spring Bluegrass Festival in early May and the Joint Rally with Penn Coachmen in August. Details to follow. Then there’s the FRVA rallies in Perry. GA, and Sedalia. MO.
I want to thank you, each and everyone; you have made this club something that people want to be part of – you have made us very successful.
Merry Christmas and have a great New Year.
Safe Travels –
Ed & Jean
Ed Herbert, President
Dogwood Chapter Business Meeting Minutes
December 6, 2025
Members present: Alexander, Allen, Bingham, Bragg, Buchanan, Buelow, Cummings, Davis, Dudziak, Green, Herbert, Hill, Kuiken, Kuppert, Meyer, Nixon, Owen, Robison, Tenney, Tilman, Torrence, and Warren
1. Call to Order: President, Ed Herbert called the meeting to order at 10:30 AM with a welcome and thanks to the rally hosts, Kuikens, Hills, and Tennys for the good food and fellowship.
2. Minutes: ...
Respectfully submitted,
Mary Lou Dudziak, Secretary
Treasury balance is $$4166.62 as of 12/6/2025.
And a Reminder - 2026 Dogwood dues are now due in the amount of $15.00/coach.
Please mail them to me at:
Sonia Kuppert
FRVA Dogwood Chapter Treasurer
6113 Providence Court
Fredericksburg, VA 22407
Sonia Kuppert, Treasurer
FRVA, Dogwood Chapter
We hope that all is well as we prepare and celebrate Christmas.
As we close out the year, I just want to thank all of you for your support during the past year. Our membership remains steady and it is great to see newer members, along with the old, stepping up to support our great chapter.
On behalf of Susan and I, we wish all of you and your families a very Merry Christmas and a Blessed and Happy New Year.
And remember, never miss an opportunity to meet new friends and invite them to join Dogwood.
Regards and SAFE travels,
Jim Buelow, VP Membership
FRVA Dogwood Chapter
November
Y Steve Sohles - Steve had 2 cardiac arrests at the end of Oct and had an ICD unit, a pacemaker/defibrillator, implanted on Monday, November 10. He went home on Wednesday, the 12th and is recovering slowly but surely, as he is asking for ice cream…Cherry Nut to be exact!! From Publix!! 😅 Also glad to hear his sense of humor has made a good recurrence! He has a long road to go, but with prayers and encouragement, he will do well. Sent a get-well card.
Y Larry Sherrow - He had gall bladder surgery the last week of Oct and is doing well. Clarissa was also sick in Oct but is much better. Sent a joint get-well card.
Y Jim Spain - His sister passes away after a long illness on Nov 20th. Set a sympathy card.
December
Y Jim Hunter - He was having problems with kidney stones so had to cancel going to the Christmas Rally. Sent a get-well card.
Y Dale Robison - She is having some health issues that started on their trip out West. She also didn’t attend the Christmas Rally so she could rest, and during the Rally, Robi reported that she was starting to feel better, so staying home was the right choice! Sent a get-well card.
Y Patty & Henry Kuiken - Both got sick on the last day of the Christmas Rally. I guess that goes to show how hard they worked to help the rally be successful! Sent a joint get-well card.
Y From Carolyn Spiezio on Dec 18:
"Update on Tom
FINALLY, we got a good MRI. He's had an MRI every month since this all started last April. This is the first time it's showed no growth in the multiple tumors. If everything goes well after his Chemo next week, Drs said we can take a short trip to visit friends & family in Florida. So we are going to try soon
Thank u for all the continued prayers, calls & cards. This was the best Christmas gift of all."
Thank you to all who reached out to keep me informed of these events. Please continue to let me know whenever you hear of our members being ill, having surgery, losing a loved one (even a pet) or just not doing well for whatever reason at ndmeyer3@icloud.com or text me at 757-813-0828.
Sincerely,
What if I were to convey that saving water was part of the aggregate topic of “safety”? If you’re not buying the idea, keep reading as I try my best to convince you. My topic this session revolves around our RV fresh water tank, and to a lesser degree, the grey water tank. I must add another qualification to my idea: This concept applies best when dry-camping.
Dry camping for more than a day or so may distress these tanks (or distress the rig owner): Any fresh water used in the rig does indeed find its way into ….
THINK
SAFETY
EVERYDAY!
Wishing everyone safe travels.
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| Steve & Sue Sohles |
Also glad to hear his sense of humor has made a good recurrence! He has a long road to go, but with prayers and encouragement, I’m sure he will do well. I heard from Jim Buelow that Steve Sohles is in the hospital in Florida. I called and talked to Sue and she says he had 2 cardiac arrests over the weekend. He is in a medically induced coma so that his body and heart can rest, and then the doctors can figure out what to do next. Good news is that no blockages have been found. So, now they wait. Please keep both Steve & Sue in your prayers. I’ve included their Titusville address for anyone who would like to send a card or note. Let’s rally around them with Dogwood love!! ❤️ 🙏
Steve & Sue Sohles
848 Plantation Drive
Titusville, FL 32780
Sincerely,
Hello Dogwood! The GEAR 2025 was a pretty big thing! The Eastern Area hosted approximately 360+ families and I think all Eastern Area Chapters were accounted for. The Tenneys and the Kupperts rolled in on Sunday; Jean and I, along with Jim & Susan Buelow, and Paul Cummings rolled in on Monday. Other Dogwood folks included the Greenwoods, Alexanders, Mahanes, Bucklews, Britzs and Cipas. So we had a good representation, and the Penn Coachmen were there also.
This campground is/was HUGE – 800+ sites or houses. We definitely needed the golf cart to get around. Our campsites were all on concrete pads with full hookups. Well-tended is an appropriate term – everything seemed to be neat, organized and in its place. So we would go back anytime.
Wilt Greenwood hosted a terrific seafood dinner at Wahoo’s Fish House on Tuesday evening and we (Dogwood) had a gathering at our site on Thursday evening. The party was fun and it was great seeing everyone together, but, man, It was WINDY! The next day I was able to get a few hours out on the beach – for the most part the day time weather was beautiful and lots of folks and fishermen were out on the beach. There was a slew of horseback riders out there as well.
So the rally went off pretty well – about a dozen vendors and some excellent evening entertainment. The seminars were good too; we only had two rooms for seminars, but it worked out. At the Chapter Fair we (Terry, Jean, Dell, Jim, Susan, Paul & me) talked to many, many folks and gave out lots of our Dogwood Flyers. It was interesting to note that several other chapters followed our lead in having flyers (tri-folds) printed for handouts at this event!
The Saturday morning Business Meeting was brief – several new officers were voted in including our new Central Region (that’s us) Vice President – Steven Raileanu. The budget was presented, and the big topic of discussion was over how to use electronic voting in future FRVA elections. Nearly everyone was in favor of electronic voting, and FRVA HQ is looking into this – no timeline or dates of action for now.
Dave Fowler and his crew did an excellent job putting on this rally. Two things to note for us – 1) December is our business and planning meeting, so think of some places You would like to go and bring them to the meeting, and 2) The Perry Rally is occurring in March and the Eastern Area is the host. Please let me know if you want to volunteer at Perry.
Click Here for a video by Paul Cummings
Safe Travels –
Ed
Ed Herbert, President
