President's Message

Greetings Dogwooders,

Carolyn and I just returned from Virginia International Raceway (VIR) where there was a small gathering of Dogwood Members for the Heacock Historic Races. For those that enjoy cars and racing, it was a nice albeit “hot hot hot” weekend. There’s probably a lesson here. Next time, I’m going to lead a delegation to speak with Mother Nature ahead of time.

There are two important things to be thinking about that will influence the continued success of our chapter. Both involve volunteering for the work that keeps the chapter healthy.

First, we need volunteers to host the Christmas rally. We all know that hosting this rally can be a lot of work at a busy time of the year. Perhaps you can volunteer to host a portion of the rally like one of the evening meals or two breakfasts, etc. If you’ve never hosted before, this would be the ideal opportunity to join with others to host this event.

Second, your nominating committee has started its work. Our chapter is made up of a diverse group with a variety of talents. This would be a good opportunity to give back to the chapter by volunteering your talent. Just make you wishes know to any of the members of the nominating committee.

Best regards to each of you. We look forward to seeing you at Rockahock.
Mann

Rockahock Rally

Dogwood's summer rally will be held August 6 - 8 at Rockahock Campground in Lanexa VA. Located on the Chickahominy River between Williamsburg and Richmond, the campground has full hookup sites and a pavilion for our group gatherings. Hosts for the rally are Bobby & Barbara Dyke and Terry & Judy Davis.

Campsite: Make your campsite reservation directly with Rockahock. Rates are $42.75 plus tax per night or $95 plus tax for a 3 day stay (several members plan to arrive on Thursday). Includes water, electric (30 & 50 amp) and sewer. Call Jody at 804-966-8362 or online at rockahockreservations@gmail.com. Mention that you are with Dogwood. Check out Rockahock's website Deadline for making reservation is July 16.

Rally fees are $20 per person and cover the meals listed below. Send check, payable to Barbara Dyke at 5325 Iron Bridge Road, Richmond VA 23234. Please register by July 16.

Schedule for the weekend:
Friday:
5:00 pm Happy Hour. Snacks provided. Bring your own beverage.
6:00 Dinner. Cold cuts, cheese, tomato, lettuce, breads to make your own sandwich or cold plate.

Saturday:
9:00 am Breakfast. Salt herring, eggs, bacon, biscuits, coffee, juice
9:45 am (or when we finish breakfast) Business meeting
5:00 pm Happy Hour. Bring a snack to share.
6:00 pm Dinner BBQ ribs & chicken, garden salad, potato salad, beans, dessert

Sunday:
9:00 am Breakfast. Muffins, coffee, juice

Please bring your own beverage (unless noted provided), plate and utensils for all meals.

If you have any questions, call the Dykes or Davis.

Updates:

The following people have signed up to attend the rally as of July 16:

Barbara and Bobby Dyke
Judy and Terry Davis
Shirley and Mo Martin
Carolyn and Mann Duff
Cil and Fairleigh Schoolar
Carol and Don Warthan
Joyce and Dennis Reid
Donna and Carl Gruel
Liz and Butch Jones
Anke and Ed Fisher
Karen and Berkley Alexander

Dian and Mel Hughes

Barbara and Max Hicks

Eileen and Bill Guttridge

Susan and Jim Buelow

Pat and Bubba Allen

Marilyn and Tom Nolte

Pat and Clarence Seamster

Paul and Nancy Cummings

Dan Moore

Bill and Rachel Ferebee

Fred and Maxine Luxton

Dickie Cannon

Benjamin Smith

___________________________________________________________

Registration Form for Dogwood Rally Rockahock August 6-8, 2010

Names ______________________________________________

Number of people attending ____________

Amount Enclosed $_______________

Other 2010 Rallies

Mark your calendars for these upcoming Dogwood rallies. More information will be provided closer to the rally date.

August 11-14: FMCA International Convention in Redmond Oregon. If you will be attending and are able/willing to represent Dogwood at the National Director's meeting, please contact Ed Fisher or Mann Duff.

September 17-19: Country Waye RV Resort in Luray VA. Head to the mountains and kick off the fall season in scenic Luray. The campground has spacious sites with full hookups and a yurt for our group gatherings. Hosts: Fairleigh & Cil Schoolar and Butch & Liz Jones. Country Waye web site

October 20 -24: GEAR in Winston-Salem NC. There will be a Dogwood happy hour one evening during the rally. If you are interested in volunteering at the rally, contact Max Hicks, for driving trams (golf carts) or Berkley Alexander for monitoring seminars.

November 5-6: Urbanna Oyster Festival. Ed Fisher's garage (and campground). Hosts: Berkley & Karen Alexander

December 3-5: Holiday Trav-L-Park Campground in Virginia Beach VA. We still need hosts for this rally. Please consider volunteering for at least one meal.

Highlights from the VIR Historic Races Rally

Six coaches attended the rally at Virginia International Raceway for the Heacock Classic Gold Historic races. Hosts for the rally were Mann & Carolyn Duff. The one word that best describes the weekend is HOT.

Throughout the weekend our hosts provided meals featuring hamburgers, French toast & eggs, and pork loin. I am not sure how much lemonade the group consumed - the Greenwoods arrived with a 5 gallon cooler of iced lemonade on Friday and the group replenished it several times throughout the weekend.

Several members (Wilt & Barbara Greenwood, Mann & Carolyn Duff and Jim Buelow) survived the Wilt Greenwood Driving Experience when Wilt drove us in his Hemi powered towed around the track at a breath taking pace.Those on board can attest to the power and speed of the of Wilt's "want to be" race car. Members watching from the infield observed for several laps that we rounded the corners on 2 wheels. Unfortunately the brakes weren't up to the task of fast laps and we finally exited the track with smoke billowing from failing brakes much to the relief those on board.

As usual at VIR, there was constant activity from early morning until late in the day on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Our campsite was in the infield overlooking the track and in close proximity to the paddock where work to prepare cars for racing moved at a frantic pace. Those who are fascinated with cars had fun walking through the paddock, viewing the activity in the garages, and enjoying the activities in the pits. Even those who weren't all that interested in the racing found pleasure from the enjoyment of those who did. Photos of some of the weekends' activities are included here.

Member Updates

Several Dogwood members have had surgery or been under the weather in the past few months: It was good to see Susan Buelow, who is recovering from recent surgery, at the June rally and we were glad to hear that Connie Tillman, who was under the weather at the April rally, is feeling much better. Margie Davis is recovering from surgery and there are probably others who I don't know about. We wish everyone a speedy recovery and hope you are feeling better soon.

Membership: Dogwood currently has 59 members (52 whom have paid their 2010 dues). Dan & Fran Elkins and Don & Sheryl Wayman are not renewing their FMCA/Dogwood memberships. We wish them the best.

Tappahannock Rivahfest

Cil and Fairleigh Schoolar have extended an invitation to anyone interested in attending the Tappahannock Rivahfest on June 19th. 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. Or if you just want to come for the day, stop by for a visit.

For more information on the festival, check out the festival website. If you are interesting in attending, please contact the Schoolars.

President's Message

Greetings Dogwooders

It wasn't my idea to include the photo at the right. No, it's not me riding the motorcycle, no it's not Spanky on the back; he's our cat. Look at the reflection in the helmet. That's Shamu, our motorhome. This is the scene we saw earlier this year as we were heading north through South Carolina.

Carolyn, Spanky and I are just now getting home from ten days of motor homing fun. We spent the weekend of April 16 – 18 at the Dixie Fair Grounds in Winston-Salem, NC at the planning session for GEAR 2010. It will be held October 20 -24 in Winston-Salem so be sure to mark these dates on your calendar. My plan is for Dogwood to win the bean bag baseball event this year so be prepared for tryouts and practice at Dogwood rallies between now and then. There will be lots more GEAR info in the future so stay tuned.

Following the GEAR planning session, we enjoyed a couple of days at Thousand Trails Forest Lake where we visited the Richard Childress Racing Museum and did some geocaching. From there, we went to Virginia International Raceway for the Dogwood rally hosted by the Gruels and Martins. The food was outstanding, the racing was excellent and as usual, there was an abundance of Dogwood camaraderie and did I mention, the food was excellent. VIR turned out to be a good location for a rally so plan to rally with Dogwood at this same location at the Virginia Historic Races June 4 – 6. There’s more info on this elsewhere in eNews.

Once again, it’s time to start thinking about elections of Dogwood Officers. Your nominating committee (Jim Buelow, Nancy Cummings, and Carol Warthan) will soon be starting its work to select candidates willing to serve the chapter in the positions of President, Vice President Membership, Vice President Rallies, Vice President Communications, Secretary, Treasurer, National Director and Alternate National Director. The nominating committee will also nominate three members for the next term of the nominating committee. If you have an interest in serving in any of these positions, throw your name in the hat by making your wishes known to any member of the Dogwood nominating committee.

Carolyn and I will be hosting Dogwood's next rally June 4-6 at VIR. We’d love to have a huge turnout. Mark the dates on your calendar and make your reservations. We look forward to seeing ya’ll there if not before.

June Rally at VIR for Historic Races

Take a step back in time and watch cars from the 50s, 60s and 70s race on the tracks at VIR.

Join us June 4-6 for a Dogwood rally at the Virginia International Raceway in conjunction with the running of the Historic races. VIR is located between South Boston and Danville.

Camping: We will dry camp on the grassy infield along the track. There are no designated "sites" and the place fills up quickly on a first come first serve basis. The cost is $50 to dry camp for the weekend (Friday - Sunday).

Races: Various car races are run during the day on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Everyone will need a ticket for the race each day you are there since we are camping within the actual raceway. You can set up your lawn chair along the track to view a race. A 3 day ticket to the races is $30 to $40 per person depending on how you purchase your tickets. For those that have golf carts, bikes, four wheelers, etc, this may be a good place to use them. The track is over 3 miles around and part of the fun is seeing the activities from various vantage points.

Rally Fees: The cost of the rally is $20 per person (or $40 per coach with 2 people) and includes the following meals: Friday and Saturday dinners and happy hour snacks, Saturday and Sunday breakfast.

To Register for the Rally:
1. Mail a check for your rally fees, payable to Carolyn Duff, to Carolyn at 2351 Castlestone Road Midlothian, VA 23113. Please register by May 16.

2. Purchase your race tickets directly from VIR using one of these purchase methods: (1) purchase via the internet and print our own tickets (go to http://www.virnow.com/2010-events , scroll down to June 4-6, Heacock Classic Gold Cup Historic Races) or (2) call the racetrack at 434-822-7700 ext 116 or ext 300 and they will mail your tickets or (3) purchase tickets at the gate. The costs vary slightly depending upon method of purchase. Mention promo code GCMCC10 for a $10 discount. Refer to update below.

3. Purchase your camping pass at the gate when you arrive. Or refer to update below for discount.

More information will be provided closer to the rally. Contact Mann or Carolyn Duff if you have any questions.

Below are a few links for more information on various aspects of the weekend
Photos from the 2009 historic races
Driving directions
Golf Cart rentals
About VIR including a nice aerial view of the facility

Updates:

5/11: Mann has arranged for a group discount. Call Crista Walker (VIR) 434-822-7700 x116 and tell her you are with the Dogwood group, promo code GCMCC10. The weekend race pass is $20.00 ($10 discount) and the weekend camping pass is $45.00 ($5 discount).

The gate opens at 7 am Friday and the promo code expires 6/2/10. Mann asked if we could arrive on Thursday and the current answer is no because of insurance requirements for security.

Attendees: Duff, Fisher, Schoolar, Greenwood, Dyke, Buelow?

Other 2010 Dogwood Rallies

Mark your calendars for these upcoming Dogwood rallies. More information will be provided closer to the rally date.

August 6-8 : Rockahock Campground in Lanexa VA. Located on the Chickahominy River between Williamsburg and Richmond, the campground has full hookup sites and a pavilion for our group gatherings. Hosts: Dyke, Davis. Rockahock web site

September 17-19: Country Waye RV Resort in Luray VA. Head to the mountains and kick off the fall season in scenic Luray. The campground has spacious sites with full hookups and a yurt for our group gatherings. Hosts: Fairleigh & Cil Schoolar, Butch & Liz Jones. Country Waye web site

October 20 -24: GEAR in Winston-Salem NC. There will be a Dogwood happy hour one evening during the rally.

November 5-6: Urbanna Oyster Festival. The Ed Fisher Garage and RV Resort. Hosts: Berkley & Karen Alexander

December 3-5: Holiday Trav-L-Park Campground in Virginia Beach VA. We still need hosts for this rally. Please consider volunteering. 2-3 couples are needed to host this event.

Highlights from VIR - Rolex Races Rally

Nine coaches attended the rally at Virginia International Raceway for the Rolex races. Hosts for the rally were Donna & Carl Gruel and Shirley & Mo Martin. We kicked off the weekend with dinner together at the Oak Tree Tavern located on the raceway complex. Throughout the rest of the weekend our hosts provided delicious meals featuring brats, French toast and beef tenderloin.

Below you can see some of the racing highlights from the GRAND-AM Rolex Series race at VIR on Saturday. This was one of many races run throughout the weekend.





Our campsite was in the infield and in close proximity to the paddock where work to prepare cars for racing moved at a frantic pace. Those who are fascinated with cars had fun walking through the paddock, viewing the activity in the garages, admiring the haulers and marveling at the $$$$ flowing through the activities in the pits. Even those who weren't all that interested in the racing found pleasure from the enjoyment of those who did. Mother Nature watched out for us and we enjoyed good weather for all of the weekends activities. Photo's of some of the weekends' activities are included are included here.

Special thanks go out to our hosts for a great rally.

GEAR

GEAR (rally for the Eastern Area of FMCA) will be held in Winston-Salem North Carolina October 20-24.

Dogwood has several members (Greenwoods, Hicks and Alexanders) who are serving as committee chairmen. Max needs volunteers to drive the trams which are 6 person golf carts. You will drive 2-3 hour shifts throughout the event with the number of shifts you are assigned being dependent upon the number of volunteer drivers. Berkley and Karen need volunteers to monitor seminars.

Volunteers can arrive as early as Monday (normal arrival is Tuesday and Wednesday). If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Max or Berkley. A chairman must submit your name as a volunteer in order for you to receive your volunteer credentials which are required for early entry (there is no place to note that you are a volunteer when you register).

Treasurer and Audit Reports

Barbara Dyke has submitted the December 2009 - March 2010 treasurer's report. Click here to review her report.

During the April rally, an audit of the financial records was completed. Below is the report submitted by the audit committee.

Audit of Dogwood Financial Records

Mr President: The audit committee met on April 24th 2010 to review the Treasurer's (Barbara Dykes) Books. The Audit Committee consisted of Liz Jones, Cil Schoolar and Mo Martin. The audit was completed and the results showed that the books were accurate, clean and complete.

Mo Martin

Member Concerns

Former Dogwood member Tony Winn passed away on April 23. Click here to view his obituary. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife Amelia whose address is 8312 Quailfield Road Mechanicsville VA 23116.

Several Dogwood members have had surgery or been under the weather in the past few months: Susan Buelow, Sheryl Wayman, Rachel Ferebee, Connie Tillman, Max Hicks (and there are probably others who I don't know about). We wish everyone a speedy recovery and hope you are feeling better soon.

Membership: Dogwood currently has 61 members (53 whom have paid their 2010 dues).

We have one new member. Welcome Dennis & Joyce Reid of Mechanicsville.

Nick & Elizabeth De Monte and Tom & Ann Ottum are not renewing their Dogwood memberships. We wish them the best.

Recipes for French Toast Casseroles

Donna Gruel provided these recipes for her delicious French Toast casseroles that were served at the VIR rally.

Company French Toast

1/2 cup margarine
1 cup brown sugar
12 slices bread
5 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups milk

Melt margarine. Combine sugar and cinnamon. Arrange 6 slices of bread on top of 1/2 of melted margarine in a 13 x 9 pan. Sprinkle bread with 1/2 the sugar mixture. Top with remaining 6 slices of bread, drizzle with rest of margarine. Sprinkle with remaining sugar mixture.

Combine eggs and milk. Pour over the bread. Cover and chill overnight.

Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.

Serve with syrup like regular French toast.

Sausage Stuffed French Toast

4 eggs
3 cups milk
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 package sausage Aidels Smoked Chicken apple, chopped
4 cups apple peeled, cored and sliced
3 tablespoons butter
3 cups apple cider
pinch ground cloves
12 slices of bread - French or egg is good

Preheat oven to 350

Whisk together eggs, milk, nutmeg and cinnamon in a large bowl.

Cover bottom of large baking dish with 6 slices of bread, cover with sausage then cover the sausage with the remaining 6 slices of bread.

Pour the egg mixture over bread layers. Let stand 15 minutes (or overnight).

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes until golden and puffed.

In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add apples and saute until slightly soft, about 3 minutes. Add cider and cloves, boil for 5 minutes over high heat until apples and cider form a syrup.

Cut the baked French toast and serve with spoonfuls of apples and syrup.

President's Message

Greetings Dogwooders,


Ordinarily, our winter travels are the best of the year and I’d be saying something like “it’s tough work but somebody has to do it”. This year has been different. Weather almost everywhere has been cold or windy or wet or something less than we’d prefer. Places that Carolyn and I have been are no different, but when we look past the crummy weather, there have been lots of positive notes: grandchildren in Houston, TX, beef brisket at Peters in Columbus, TX, the Opry in Brenham TX, Cajun and Zydeco music in Eunice LA, great geocaching in Pascagoula, MS, and white sand beaches in Gulf Shores AL. Maybe things aren’t so bad after all. For those of you that have stayed in VA, we have followed the news there too so we know you’re ready for a change.

I know it probably seems early to be thinking about elections of Dogwood officers but fall will be here before you know it. Two years will have passed and it will be time to elect new officers for the 2011–2012 term. Your nominating committee (Jim Buelow, Nancy Cummings and Carol Warthan) will be beginning their work soon. If you would like to serve, throw your name in the hat by making a member of the nominating committee aware.

Spring is coming and it’s time to start thinking of the fun times we have at Dogwood rallies. We look forward to seeing many of you at VIR in April to kick off the 2010 Dogwood rally season. Speaking of rallies, we need rally hosts for the 2010 Christmas rally in VA Beach . There’s an abundance of help available so let Sheryl Wayman know if you’d like to volunteer to host the rally.

Y’all travel safe,

Mann

Rally at VIR for Rolex Races

Start your engines! Start off Dogwood's 2010 rally season at the Rolex races and enjoy the camaraderie of your fellow members.

The first Dogwood rally for 2010 will be held April 23 - 25 at the Virginia International Raceway (VIR) in conjunction with the running of the Rolex races. Donna & Carl Gruel and Shirley & Mo Martin are your hosts for the event. VIR is located between South Boston and Danville.

Camping: We will dry camp on the grassy infield along the track. There are no designated "sites" and the place fills up on a first come first serve basis. The cost is $50 to dry camp for the weekend (Thursday - Sunday). Call VIR if you interested in one of their 9 full hook up campsites (they book up quickly).

Races: Various car races are run during the day on Friday, Saturday and Sunday with the main Rolex race being run Saturday afternoon. Everyone will need a ticket for the race each day you are there since we are camping within the actual raceway. You can set up your lawn chair along the track to view a race. A 3 day ticket to the races is $50 to $60 per person depending on how you purchase your tickets. They are less expensive if purchased in advance and more expensive when purchased at the gate. For those that have golf carts, bikes, four wheelers, etc, this may be a good place to use them. The track is over 3 miles around and part of the fun is seeing the activities from various vantage points. Lots of information is available at the VIR web site though you may find it easier to check the links at the end of this article.

Rally Fees: The cost of the rally is $20 per person (or $40 per coach with 2 people) and includes the following meals (and preliminary menus):
Friday dinner: brats & fixings, dessert
Saturday morning: French toast casserole
Saturday dinner: beef tenderloin, baked potatoes, salad, dessert
Sunday morning: muffins, donuts

To Register for the Rally:

1. Mail a check for your rally fees, payable to Donna Gruel, to Donna at 97 Barnes View Lane, Kilmarnock, VA 22482, . Include on a separate piece of paper the names of the people attending, phone numbers where you can be reached, your email address and amount enclosed. Please register by April 1.

2. Purchase your race tickets directly from VIR using one of these purchase methods: (1) purchase via the internet and print our own tickets (http://www.virnow.com/2010-events scroll down to April 23 – 25, Bosch Engineering 250 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series; see notes below for promotion code for discounts) or (2) call the racetrack at 434-822-7700 ext 116 or ext 300 and they will mail your tickets or (3) purchase tickets at the gate. The costs vary slightly depending upon method of purchase.

3. Purchase your camping pass at the gate when you arrive.

More information will be provided closer to the rally. Contact Donna Gruel or Shirley Martin if you have any questions concerning the rally or Mann or Carolyn Duff if you have any questions concerning camping at the racetrack or the races.

Below are a few links for more information on various aspects of the weekend

Photos from last year’s Grand Am Bosch Engineering

Driving directions

Golf Cart rentals

About VIR including a nice aerial view of the facility

Updates:

3/23 Carl Gruel said that if you buy your tickets to VIR online, enter Promotion Code GAMX10 to get the tickets for $35 (plus handling) each versus the "normal" $50.

3/23 VIR writeup on the Bosch Race weekend

3/27 Evidently promotion codes for discounts don't always work so you may need to search the internet for a valid code. To get the 3 day pass for $35 Connie Tilman used promo code GAPOR10 and Mann Duff used promo code GAMAZ10.

4/3 Members who have signed up to attend the rally: Carl & Donna Gruel, Mo & Shirley Martin, Wilt & Barbara Greenwood, Mann & Carolyn Duff, Terry & Judy Davis, Butch & Liz Jones; Bobby & Barbara Dyke, Ed & Connie Tilman, Fairleigh & Cil Schoolar

VIR write up on Bosch Race Weekend

The Bosch Engineering 250 Is Coming!

The Bosch Engineering 250 Weekend presents the best of sports car racing on America's finest natural terrain road course. With dozens of great spectator viewing areas, a family friendly environment and late night fun too - you just can't beat the Bosch Engineering 250.The event takes place on April 23-25, 2010. The racing includes GRAND-AM's top-tier Rolex Sports Car Series that has established itself as the most competitive professional road racing championship in North America. The Rolex Series Daytona Prototype category has attracted the attention of superstar drivers and universally recognized teams through its extremely raceable and relatively affordable format, and has revolutionized sports car racing with plentiful battles at the front of the field and close finishes in virtually every race.

Like the Daytona Prototype class that has redefined prototype sports car racing, the Rolex Series GT class has done the same for high-performance, production-based sports car racing. With an eye toward the cost-containment and close competition that has propelled the popularity of the Daytona Prototype class, the GT category provides a stable battleground for the world's top automobile manufacturers. Perhaps best of all, the Rolex Series' two-class format allows race fans with just two easy-to-distinguish classes of race cars - Daytona Prototypes and GT.Also featured that weekend is the GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge, featuring straight-from-the-showroom American muscle cars and the hottest imports. Still more racing is on tap for the weekend, with the SCCA Pro Jetta TDI Cup, featuring Diesel Powered VW Jetta TDI's having a double race weekend. There is also the Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup, the Mustang Challenge and Skip Barber National, so there will be racing from almost dawn to dusk. New this year, VIR will have 2 big screens (one in the paddock and one across from turns 4-5) for fans to watch the live speed feed of the action.Off the track, there is also tons of stuff to do! Come early and camp for the entire weekend and bring the family (15 and under are free!). For kids, there will be a kids zone with inflatable activities. There will even be a soccer clinic for young fans that want to try to something a bit different during the race weekend. Visit the VIR Go-Kart track and try your hand at racing yourself. Fan laps will get you on track in your own car (sign up required at the VIR store). The pre-race grid walk will get you up close with the cars and drivers before the Rolex and Continental races.Admission includes paddock access, so you can see the cars and drivers up close all weekend long. On Friday night, there is a celebrity pro-am go-kart race to benefit Camp Boggy Creek and fans will be picked to part of the action. On Saturday night, there will be a battle of the bands for some after hours fun. The Pagoda grill is open during the day and Oak Tree Tavern every evening.

Rally Schedule for 2010

Click here for 2010 rally schedule.

We still need hosts for the Christmas rally. It is recommended that 2 or more couples host a rally and that members who have hosted before team up with those who haven't. And remember to chip in at rallies - set up, cook, clean up - so that the burden is not placed solely on the hosts and everyone can have a good time.

Member Concerns

Donna Tolson wrote: It is with a heavy, but rejoicing heart, that I inform you that our good friend and motor home traveling friend, Ralph Parsons, has passed away up in Spotsylvania, VA of ALS. His wife, Janice, and family were with him when he peacefully passed away Feb 15th. We sure will miss this gentle giant of a man! I know he enjoyed his time with the Dogwood Chapter too.

Janice’s address is: 11204 Field Circle Spotsylvania, VA 22551-4657

Ralph W. Parsons Retired U.S. Army Col. Ralph W. Parsons, 75, of Spotsylvania County died Monday, Feb. 15, 2010, at his home. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 18, at Chancellor Baptist Church. The arrangements are being handled by Covenant Funeral Service, Fredericksburg. More information is posted at http://obit.covenantfuneralservice.com/."

Mann received this news on March 4 so there was no opportunity for earlier notification.

Member Travels

This winter mother nature redefined the term "snow bird". Southern states from Florida to Texas reported the coldest, wettest winters in years. Despite the bad weather, Dogwood members enjoyed their travels.

Wallace & Nancy Twigg: Nancy and I spent a couple of weeks in Florida this winter. We arrived in Port St. Lucie just after the first cold snap. Although the temperatures had moderated the wind continued to blow the entire time we were there. From Port St. Lucie we traveled over to Polk City and spent the majority of our time with friends at Mount Oliver Shores North. What a wonderful community. We had strawberries in Auburndale, visited Lakeland and Winter Haven and made out first visit to LazyDays. I’m still at a loss for words to describe that place. Everybody needs to go there once whether you buy anything or not. I still have 3+ years to retirement but I think we’ve narrowed down the area of Florida where we want to spend our winters. Safe Travel,

Mann & Carolyn Duff; As we headed south in January, we joined Donald & Carol Warthan for dinner in Gaffney South Carolina. We spent 2 months in the Houston area visiting with Mann's daughter and her family. On our trip home we spent time in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.

Donald & Carol Warthan: From one "snowbird" to another...when we left home it was 18 degrees...and it never got out of the teens at night until we got to Ocala, FL. We are now in Palmdale near the southern end of Lake Okeechobee and it's still hanging in the mid 30's at night. However, it does warm up pretty quickly...71 degrees at 8:00 this morning. So much for "global warming"..."Climate Change" I can accept but have trouble believing all the hoopla about global warming. We will be heading back north in a couple of weeks.

Steve & Judy Czarsty: We are in the Southwest, not as warm as we would like it but all in all enjoying what we get. We are on the way to Albuquerque for the show, hope to see some people from the east but I guess not many. We had a good time at the Southeast Rally in Brooksville, saw a lot of folks there, snowbirding in Florida. We will be heading to South Carolina as quick as we can to help Steve and April get ready to bring the newest Czarsty into the world, talk about getting excited we are! See you all soon...

Carl & Donna Gruel: We were in Texas this Winter for about 10 weeks and we did not find any "suitable" weather. But, we keep in mind that it was a tough Winter all over the country, we know from all the news reports that it could have been and would have been worse somewhere else. We are looking forward to the April Rally and being Hosts along with Shirley and Mo Martin. We'll be begging ovens during the weekend to make it all come together in the dry camp situation.

Butch & Liz Jones: We left early for our trip to Florida and missed the first big snow storm. We stayed south a month missing all of it and it sure was good to have the freedom to decide to stay away (Butch recently retired). We spent three nights on the way down in Charleston, did a lot of tourist bit, then on to St. Augustine for two days and rest of time in Nokomis, Fla. where we spent lot of time on beaches and touring towns Sarasota to Venice. Even though it was the coldest winter "they can remember" as some said, the days in the 60's with sunshine were just fine with us.

Jim & Donna Venable are in central Florida for the winter. The local weatherman said that the first two months of the year were the coldest in the last 58 years. We are still having the best time possible with all the cold weather. We are looking to go to the Strawberry festival on March 4 , senior citizen day and enjoying all of the sights and strawberry short cakes. Hope that the normal weather Florida comes soon.

Members who will be attending the FMCA International Convention in Albuquerque: Steve & Judy Czarsty, Wilt & Barbara Greenwood.

Wilt & Barbara Greeenwood are in Benson AZ at the Escapees park at the moment, recovering from our $9000 transmission replacement in Birmingham, AL. We missed Quartzsite and the INTO rally, but are OK now and expect to attend the Monaco International pre-rally in Tucson and the FMCA Convention in Albuquerque. Back home in early April .