Wishing you a wonderful Labor Day Weekend!
This holiday is a time to honor the hard work, dedication, and perseverance that shaped our everyday lives and strengthen our communities. It's also a reminder to pause, reflect on accomplishments, and enjoy the rewards of your efforts. May your weekend be filled with relaxation, good company, and moments that bring joy and inspiration for the season ahead.
Family Recreational Vehicle Association
Dogwood Chapter Business Meeting Minutes
July 25, 2026
Members present: Alexander, Allen, Buelow, Bonewitz, Czarsty, Davis, Dudziak, Fisher, Gelber, Greenwood, Herbert, Lague, McFarlane, Meyer, Nixon, Owen, Raileanu, Robison, Sohles, Tenney, Tilman, Warren, and Weithofer (FRVA VP)
Call to Order: President, Ed Herbert called the meeting to order at 10:00 AM with a welcome and …
Continue Reading. Click here for the Meeting Minutes
Respectfully submitted,
Mary Lou Dudziak, Secretary
Treasury balance is $4673.59 as of 7/23/2026.
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
Reposting from last newsletter, with a few updates:
Notes on our 2026 Christmas Rally Planning.
The Christmas Rally is set for December 3-6 at Rockahock Campground (1428 Outpost Road Lanexa, VA.) Jack and Mary Warren are our hosts this year.
417, 418, 419, 420, 421, 422, 423, 424, 425, 426.
Sites are Standard and the weekend rates are $72.00 a night plus tax, anyone can elect to choose a Patio site which is $82.00 a night. Please make sure when calling in your membership indicates they are with the Dogwood group.
As a reminder they do offer a discount to active/retired military members and first responders. Please let us know when making reservations.
We now have the following folks who volunteered to help Jack and Mary host our Rally: Davis, Gelber, McFarlane, and Owen. Thanks to all of you!
We have a blog announcement with updates that will be coming out/ posted soon.
Please see all the Rallies and updated information planned for this year.
Happy Camping,
Dell Tenney, Rally Master
We hope that all is well with all of you. This will be a short article for me, a little about elections and a little about membership.
As I announced a few weeks ago, we now have a full slate of officers for the 2027-2028 term, and I will be working with David Meyer to get the ballots out to all members in the next several weeks. Once ballots are collected and compiled, an announcement will be made and we will be good to go.
Concerning membership, I spoke with a few of our folks who attended the combined Dogwood/Penn Coachmen rally and word is that we may pick up as many as 3-5 new members, that is fantastic. Great job Dogwooders on recruiting and thank you.
Our current membership stands at 58 member families
Never miss an opportunity to meet new friends and invite them to join our great chapter.
Jim Buelow, VP Membership
FRVA Dogwood Chapter
Hello Dogwood.
Wanted to share a few items and let you know what we are working on – and coming soon!
Since our 30th Anniversary Rally we had a wonderful joint Rally with Penn-Coachmen at Spacious Skies in Luray VA and our tasty Lobster Fest Rally at Shore Hills in Boothbay Harbor ME. I’m working on getting pictures posted from both as well as a Rally summary for the Maine Rally. The locations were spectacular and the food was great!
I also have a couple videos of our Dogwood Sing-Along, featuring Robi, from the 30th Rally I need to post, courtesy of Robi and Dale.
You will also be seeing more info on the Christmas Rally coming SOON. The dates and campground information are included in the Rally Master’s article. I reposted it in this newsletter in case you missed it… We have Rally Hosts working hard on the plans – hope you can make it to Rockahock this year!
And as Jim has shared – we have our officer elections this year. We are working on the election ballots now, and they should be in your inbox in the coming weeks. So be on the lookout for that!
If you have any questions now, please email me at FMCADogwood@gmail.com, and I will respond as soon as possible. Also, if you have ideas for items that would be useful to Dogwood members, please submit them via email and we will look at how to incorporate them into the Blog.
Hello Dogwood Friends,
I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the summer, hopefully with some travel.
July
Y Ann Schrecengost - Had knee surgery the week before the 30th Anniversary rally so they couldn’t make it. Sent a get-well card.
Y Doug Owen - Had an aortic valve replacement on 21 July. Sent a get-well card. Saw him & Mary Ann at the 30th rally and he was feeling so much better.
Y Berkley Alexander - Spent a couple nights in the hospital right after the 30th rally. Sent a get-well card.
August
Y Berkley Alexander - Went back into the hospital for a week with the same issues as in July. Still needs our prayers and good wishes.
Y Sue Cipa - She had back surgery in late July. Sent a get-well card.
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,
Sunglasses 😎
My safety topic is a short one about sunglasses. It turns out, I am fortunate to have good “distance” vision, but I need (and use) over-the-counter reading glasses. For this good-distance/poor-reading condition, I am pleased to state that Medicare, combined with my cataracts, terminated my life-long experience with nearsightedness when I chose the “distant” vision replacement lenses. This distance-vision condition means I can purchase, then misplace or break those really inexpensive, plastic-lens reading glasses. Heck, I have enough “reading pairs” laying around to the point where I have a pair of reading glasses at-the-ready in most rooms of my house and two pairs in the RV: One up front; One in the bedroom. But I digress. The distance-vision condition allows me to purchase low-to-mid quality (non-prescription) sunglasses for driving. A lesson learned some years back is that I enjoy the “graduated darkness” design glasses. They seem to be just right for most daytime driving, but the reduced shading (when looking downward) allows me to easily view the RV dash gauges … and perhaps more importantly, the RV camera-monitor screen. Other than trailers and 5th wheels, I think most RVs now come equipped with rear-looking cameras, with, perhaps, the addition of left- and right- viewing cameras whose view appears on the dash monitor when using the RV turn signals. One instance where I had regular (non-graduated) sunglasses on, I found that the RV monitor-screen was being darkened to the extent that I had to quickly slip off those glasses in order to safely see what my camera system was offering me. These regular sunglasses seem to work fine in a car, but ouch: Not so in my RV. So, as I mentioned above where I have “reading glasses in every room”, I have a pair of graduated sunglasses that are ALWAYS kept on the dash of the RV. But there are times when the darkness of the graduated lenses doesn’t seem to be enough (driving west of I-40 in late afternoon, for example). Several years ago, a thought popped into my brain: “Hey Robi, you should purchase some of those after-market, darkened, flip-down sun visors.” You know: These rectangular-shaped “visors” are sold, typically, so that they can be attached to your car’s existing sun visor. You can just flip them down to reduce sun glare but still maintain vision through them. Well, I purchased a pair that is stored on my RV dash. I removed the “flip down” hardware that they came with because that type of mounting would NEVER do in a RV. Next, I noticed that just one of these visors wasn’t dark enough, so I taped the two of them together to obtain double the darkness … but I can still see through them effectively. If I need to shield my eyes, a quick reach of my left hand to grab the “visors” … and I can safely continue to look forward at the road ahead. Safe travels y’all.
Robi
THINK
SAFETY
EVERYDAY!
Wishing everyone safe travels.
We would like to help you celebrate your annual milestones. Please send your dates (just the month is fine) to FMCADogwood@gmail.com so we can include you on those special months. 🥳  |
| Berkley & Karen Alexander |
Updated 8/17/2026
Hi all, Wanted to share a quick update. I received a note from Karen and she shared some good news - Berkley came home from the hospital on Sunday (8/16).
She says he is doing ok and wanted to thank everyone for their prayers and good wishes and to "please keep them coming"!!
Sincerely,
Nanette Meyer, Care Person
FRVA Dogwood Chapter
__________________
Updated 8/11/2026
Hi all,
Want to give you a quick update on Berkley. He is back in the hospital with the same symptoms as a couple weeks ago. He was admitted again this past Sunday. Still no determination on what is causing the issues.
Karen said he was doing ok but asked for our prayers and good wishes. Let’s continue rallying around them with Dogwood love!! ❤️🙏
We'll keep you updated.
Sincerely,
Nanette Meyer, Care Person
FRVA Dogwood Chapter
__________________
Posted 7/28/2026
Hi all,
Want to pass on that Berkley spent the last 2 nights in the hospital, but is thankfully back home and resting. They are waiting on the test results to determine exactly what was going on, but the initial thought is pneumonia.
He was feeling poorly after getting back home from the rally and decided to have it checked out.
Karen asked for your prayers and good wishes. Let’s rally around them with Dogwood love!! ❤️🙏
We'll keep you updated.
Sincerely,
Nanette Meyer, Care Person
FRVA Dogwood Chapter
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| 1996 ~ FRVA Dogwood Chapter ~ 2026 |
Hello Dogwood Family,
We hope that all is well with you and that you are enjoying your summer. Here’s the summary for the 30th Anniversary Rally. If you missed it, you missed a great rally.
The rally was held at Rockahock Campground in Lanexa, VA July 23-26, 2026. The campground facilities were great and campground owners and management provided us with outstanding customer service, as did the onsite restaurant - the Split Chick Grill. Both facilities provided us with several items to use as gifts for our Friday evening raffle. A very positive review was posted on their website.
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| Dogwood 30th Anniversary Rally |
We had 46 attendees at the rally including: Bob Weithofer, (FRVA VP) and wife Pat, new members Steve Raileanu (EAMA Central Region VP) and wife Jeanette, along with Berkley Alexander, (EAMA Treasurer) and wife Karen, Steve and Judy Czarsty, (Dogwood Founders) and Carol Warthan (a long time Dogwood member), and new members Mike and Coreen Gelber and Mark and Nancy Lague. Welcome to Dogwood new members. We sincerely hope that we made you feel welcome to Dogwood.
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| Ed, Denise, Rick, & Jack |
The rally kicked off on Thursday evening with a social hour and pizza and salad for dinner. After dinner we had a campfire provided by the Tilmans and were then entertained by the Dogwood Bluegrass band featuring Ed Herbert, Rick and Denise Davis, and Jack Warren. A very enjoyable evening was had by all. Thank you Tilmans and our very own Dogwood band.
Friday morning, we had a delicious potluck breakfast with lots of goodies provided by attendees. No one left hungry. Thank you, attendees, for a great meal.
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| Jim, Ed, & Mike |
Friday evening, we had a summer cookout with burgers, hot dogs, and all the trimmings, along with fruit and desert. Yummy.
After dinner we had several raffles and gave away $300.00 along with enough nice gifts for everyone. Gifts included a beautiful afghan donated by Susan Buelow, and a beautiful quilt donated by Connie Tilman.
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| Robi |
And after that, we were entertained by none other than our own Robi Robison with a Karaoke show. Yes, Robi definitely has some hidden talents. Great show with lots of clapping and singing. Thank you very much Robi.
Saturday morning, a delicious breakfast was provided by the rally hosts. As usual, no one left hungry. Following breakfast, a business meeting was conducted by President Ed Herbert. Minutes will be published.
Saturday evening, we had a delicious Pork BBQ dinner provided by our hosts, and two beautifully decorated cakes for dessert.
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| Dave & Bob |
And after dinner Bob Weithofer (FRVA VP) presented Dave Meyer with the Robert L. Richter Award, an FRVA award to honor individuals who excel at managing chapter newsletters, publications, and member communications. And Dave certainly excels in his position as our VP of Communications. Congratulations Dave for a job very well done...
Steve Raileanu (EAMA Central Region VP) also presented a 30th Anniversary Certificate and a check for $150.00 from FRVA to President Ed Herbert to commemorate the 30th anniversary of our chapter. Congratulations Dogwood, and thanks to all of our members who make Dogwood the great chapter that it is!
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| Ed & Steve |
After the presentations, we had the pleasure of viewing the 30th Anniversary video produced by Paul Cummings. This is the third video Paul has produced for Dogwood, and they have all been great, and this one was no exception. It was a great show with lots of great memories of 30 years of Dogwood history. Thank you very much Paul. A Dogwood trivia followed the video with awards for the correct answers.
Sunday morning , we had our final breakfast of the rally, and most members said their farewells. Numerous members stayed over Sunday, so we gathered for a final dinner on Sunday evening with plenty of leftovers.
We sincerely hope that all who attended the rally had a wonderful time and look forward to seeing you at a Dogwood rally in the near future.
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| 1996 ~~ 2026 |
And many thanks to all the hosts and to those who assisted in making this rally a great success.
Regards and Safe travels.
Your Hosts,
Jim and Susan Buelow
Paul Cummings
Ed and Jean Herbert
Dave and Nanette Meyer
Doug and Mary Ann Owen
Jack and Mary Warren
Here are links to the Rally Photo Album and Video
Jul - Dogwood's 30th Anniversary Rally
Dogwood's 30th Anniversary Video 2026
BTW – We now have Dogwood Tote Bags commemorating our 30th Anniversary… They turned out really nice! Watch for them to be advertised on the blog. Here’s a sneak peek at what they look like 🙂
Lobster Fest 2026
Anyone in the mood for lobstah? The Maine Rally dates are 8/26 to 9/2 and we are heading to Boothbay!
Your Rally Hosts: Alexander, Bonewitz, and Meyer
Call the campground at 207-633-4782 for Reservations and Information.
You may have to go to the Shore Hills website to print out the reservation sheet. Click here for Reservation Form and mail to Shore Hills Campground
Campground Information:
Shore Hills Campground & RV Park
553 Wiscasset Road, Boothbay, ME 04537
Your Campground Hosts:
Neal and Jean Reny
207-633-4782
email: camping@shorehills.com
Depending on how long you wish to stay will determine how much your reservation fee (deposit) will be.
NOTES:
Deposits are non-refundable
Cash, checks, and traveler’s checks accepted
Credit Cards and Debit Cards are NOT accepted
Come join us!! There is no Rally Fee. This rally includes happy hours, potlucks, and restaurant outings to be decided on a day-to-day basis.
Cabbage Island Clambakes (207-633-7200). Last day is September 1. If you want to go on you need to make reservations now.
Please address any Rally questions to Rich Bonewitz or Dave Meyer and please let us know if you are coming!
