RV Weekly

When I first heard that RVIA was going to give their Distinguished Achievement in RV Journalism Award to Kevin Kernan, I thought, ‘Wow, I’ve never heard of him. I wonder what role he plays in the RV industry.”

I recently got the press release from RVIA stating that he contributed to our industry by going on a two-week vacation to Phoenix in an RV to see the Super Bowl and then wrote about it in his sports column located in the New York Post newspaper. To Mr. Kernan’s credit, when he wrote about his RV experiences, a whole bunch of consumers were exposed to how great the RV lifestyle is. Even so, I have to admit, him being the award recipient made me smile.

As the newest editor in the RV journalism community (I’ve only been covering the industry three years), I wondered why some of the other trade journalists who have been here many more years than I weren’t chosen for the award. In talking with Greg Gerber at RV Industry News, I learned that RVIA stopped giving the award to trade journalists back in the 2000-2001 timeframe. The award goes to consumer journalists who have done an exceptional job highlighting the joys of RVing. This kind of makes sense since because it’s a pretty good public relations move for our industry.

Knowing the reasoning for choosing a journalist outside the industry, I’d like to throw out an alternative idea. If we look at the various industry publications, I think any one of my competitor magazine editors are well deserving of the award. They spend all day, five days a week, keeping the industry informed, trying to improve how members of the industry work together, how businesses communicate, in addition to making every effort to help RV businesses be more profitable. The RV trade editors have been doing this for years.

Melissa Broadus, the editor of the RV Dealer Association’s trade magazine, RV Executive, has been serving the industry for six years and has made a tremendous impact by helping dealers share ideas on how to be more successful. She has worked diligently to provide valuable training information to dealers, as well as keep dealers abreast of trends that may impact them through her publication. Melissa would be an excellent candidate for this award.

Sherman Goldburg, the publisher of RV Business by Affinity Group has served the industry for 23 years. Sherman actually received the award back in 1993. Sherman’s more recent accomplishments include creating this year’s Top 50 Dealer Awards which took place in September at RVDA. Offering dealers an award to acknowledge the best and brightest is great idea. Sherman would also be an excellent candidate for the award.

Greg Gerber, editor of RV Industry News has served the industry for eight years. Greg, introduced industry related blogs to the RV community. Many bloggers now participate discussing topics (some controversial), adding ideas and opinions to better our industry. This gave the RV community a voice and place to debate tough issues. For this, Greg would be an excellent candidate for the award.

Brad Worrell, the editor of RV PRO magazine has served the industry for four years. Brad worked to reveal how important the RV aftermarket is to our industry and how this segment is a viable profit center for dealerships. He relentlessly encouraged dealers to pay closer attention to the aftermarket segment of their business. For this, Brad would make an excellent choice for the award from RVIA.

So there you have it, a group of people who work day-in and day-out providing excellent journalistic content that is exclusively RV related. Everyone on the list has done this for years. Keep in mind that the list is not all-inclusive. There are a number of others that haven’t even been listed here. Don’t you think they deserve a nod of appreciation from the industry? I think the industry would suffer if they all decided to take an extended vacation, but hey if that is what it takes to get an award, I say send them to the Super Bowl.

In an election update from RVIA released yesterday, Derrick Crandall president of the American Recreation Coalition explained that recreation leaders gathered in Washington last week to discuss troubles the recreation community is facing.Crandall explained in the election update that the ARC board created an outline of steps that need to be implemented immediately. Those steps include:

1. Create a list of challenges facing recreation businesses
2. Assess possible “grass-roots capabilities” focusing on obtaining congressional support and constituents.
3. Create an action plan that would be a clear help to recreation businesses

The ARC leaders agree that until consumer confidence rebounds economic recovery isn’t likely.Are the above mentioned steps what the recreational community need to rebound from the current economic times?Do you plan to take action by contacting your elected officials to shed light on the issues facing the industry? As my publisher would say, “the squeaky wheel gets the grease.” What do you think?

Those in the RV industry have been speculating for weeks now about the RVIA show attendance numbers. I have heard every number ranging from 35 percent down to the same as last year.

The most recent person to comment on the show’s attendance was the President of the Louisville Convention and Visitors Bureau, Jim Wood, who said the RVIA attendance “is a little soft.”

Unfortunately, I don’t have the exact attendance number, but I think the industry is missing the main purpose of this national show. It isn’t about those who aren’t going; it’s about those who are and what they do with their show experience.

The saying goes that “you have to spend money to make money,” and those who choose to spend a few extra dollars to attend the show will more than likely benefit next year.

One important adage that is held closely in marketing is that marketing should be held at the same level or even increased in a down economy. One can extrapolate this thought into trade show attendance. Spend wisely now to obtain a greater ROI in the future.

Additionally, simply attending the show without a carefully thought-out plan is fools folly. Participants need to make the most of their trade show experience by planning ahead and targeting the companies they need to communicate with before even getting on a plane.

What are your thoughts? Should the industry be worried that show attendance might be down or should we focus on ways to get the industry back on track?

I recently received a press release from the Civil Society Institute (CSI) stating that they are urging Congress to mandate any Detroit automaker loan guarantee bailout be conditional on the auto industry dropping ongoing litigation against four states requiring stronger emissions standards.

40MPG.org and TheCLEAN.org are both organizations under CSI who lobby against global warming by encouraging cleaner emissions standards. The states with legislation that the auto industry is battling are California, Vermont, Rhode Island and New Mexico.

Pam Solo, 40MPG.org founder and CSI president says, “Just because Detroit is pleading once again for another bailout is no reason for Washington to give these companies a ‘free ride.’ If taxpayers are going to be put at risk by guaranteeing new loans, then any such new help should be conditioned on the U.S. car companies ending their campaign to frustrate state-level efforts to clean up car and light-truck emissions that cause global warming. Further, Congress should insist that every penny of the $25 billion in new loan guarantees that Detroit is seeking be targeted to building the cars of tomorrow, not the gas-guzzling dinosaurs of yesterday. Business as usual for Detroit is a bad investment without the incentives for Detroit to do what it seems it cannot do for itself.”

According to CSI, since the election, President-elect Obama plans to move swiftly to overturn a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) denial of a waiver being sought by California that would allow the state to move ahead with its tougher vehicle emission standards.

A total of 15 states have adopted regulations requiring automobile manufacturers to reduce significantly the greenhouse gas emissions of their cars and light trucks. Under the uniform set of regulations adopted by these states, automobile manufacturers must reduce new vehicle greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent over 2002 levels. The reductions are phased in on model years 2009 through 2016.

The U.S. automobile industry has been waging a four-year legal battle against state emission standards. They prevailed upon the Bush EPA to deny California a Clean Air Act waiver in a decision that was contradicted by the analysis of EPA’s own staff. CSI says this denial will be reversed one way or another: California has sued EPA to obtain the waiver and, like other states, is faring well in court. President-Elect Obama also has promised to reverse the EPA waiver denial according to CSI.

My question for readers is, “Is this the time to put conditions on automakers to save their companies?” When one of our largest industries in the nation is over a barrel, do we stipulate any financial help they may get based major shifts in the products they produce just to accommodate a few states regulations? On the other side, are the current emission standards detrimental to our long term nation’s health and this is the perfect time for change? What would happen if the auto industry stood up to this type of regulation and said, ‘Hey, if you don’t want to drive our cars and trucks then we wont sell them in your state.” How do you think consumers would feel if they couldn’t buy a Ford 150, Dodge RAM or Chevy Silverado.

RVIA’s 46th Annual National RV Trade Show kicks off in less than a month and to build anticipation for the event RV Trade Digest will be e-mailing four additional newsletters. Yes, that’s right an additional newsletter each week.

The four newsletters will be published on Nov. 7, 14, 21 and Dec. 5. These newsletters will feature RVIA show news, new RVIA products, blogs and more. The Friday newsletters are not meant to be a substitute for attendance at the show but to enhance what the show has to offer.

If you plan on attending the Louisville show and have a product, story or event you would like featured in the Friday RV Trade Digest newsletters please contact assistant editor Jackie Kimmel by e-mailing Jackie@rvtradedigest.com or calling 1-800-547-7377 ext. 1148.

In addition to the newsletters, RV Trade Digest will be publishing daily blogs from the show Dec. 2 - 4 on our Web site www.rvtradedigest.com.