Our main role is communicating with you, the RVAA membership.

How We Do It

• E-Newsletter

If you’re reading this you get RVAA’s E-Newsletter.  Expect eleven per year, every month except December.  We try to keep them interesting and hope you find them so.  Please leave comments after you read the articles.  We want your feedback.

If you’re not on the E-Newsletter mail list click here to sign up. 

• Printed Newsletter

A multi-page, full color RVAA newsletter will be mailed to members in January.  We hope you’ll find this useful too.  Expect two printed newsletters per year.

• RVAA’s web site  -  http://www.rvaahq.org

Click and take a tour.  You’ll find A LOT of useful info.  To make a good thing even better, in 2012 The Marketing Committee will begin a complete update of rvaahq.org.  This will be a long term project.  Watch for some updates in time for the August conference, and more after.

What We Communicate

Only news and information about RVAA   -   Watch for articles soon on new RVAA programs, Member Benefits, RVAA Best Practices, the 2012 Executive Conference, and more.

And We

• Spread the word

The Marketing Committee has an ongoing effort to expand readership of the newsletters and visits to the website.  We actively reach out to RVAA members, prospective members and all within the RV and related industries.

• Listen to You

We read the comments you leave on the website, track which E-newsletter articles and web pages are popular and may even ask you some survey questions in the future.  The information we gather is passed to the RVAA Board who use it to evaluate and improve RVAA programs.

Who We Are

Raymond Arth, Robert Burianek, Cathy Coates, Rich Elliott, Kim Elston, Frank Hone, Doug Northcutt, David Shapiro & Todd Vice

Happy 2012!  See you at the Conference in August!

New Member Education and Mentoring

New member education and mentoring has and will be a priority for the upcoming year.  The committee members have set up a minimum of four occurrences to communicate with these members.  This includes:

• Personal phone calls and e-mails to gauge the new members experiences surrounding the conference
• A webinar to further educate the members on methods to make the most of the meetings and networking opportunities in Chicago in 2012
• A phone call prior to the conference to address any issues and assist in scheduling suggestions will occur

Membership Recruitment

Membership recruitment is a main objective for the committee and following a record year for new member signups we have our work cut out for us.  However, with the new Service Member category the pool of potential members has increased considerably.  This year we will continue to actively pursue new members via various traditional methods and we will also solicit the current membership for viable potential candidates.

In addition, the enhancement of the RVAA website has made the sign up process even easier.  In the second half of the recruiting season for 2011 the committee was able to receive, review, vote and forward the applications to the board faster than ever before.  This entirely electronic process has further reduced expenses and potential errors that may have occurred with the previous hard copy method.

Membership Retention

Another main objective is membership retention, primarily focused on any current members who may be at risk of not renewing their membership for the coming year.  With any association, RVAA is comprised of businesses and without proper communication by the association as to the benefits of membership the perceived value may diminish.  Therefore, the Membership Committee is also charged with developing methods of reinforcing the value of membership to the representatives and addressing any questions they may have about maximizing their ROI.  This includes, but is not limited to the following:

• Reinforcing the benefits of the Executive Conference
• Encouraging members to participate in committees
• Stressing the importance and value of the Best Practices program
• Much more…

In Closing

The Membership Committee has experienced unparalleled results in attracting new members, retaining current members, and providing education and mentoring to new members.  However, a major objective must be to attract additional committee members who are committed to providing these services to further the association.  Therefore, if you or one of your associates would like to become an active participant on the Membership Committee please contact RVAA or myself for more information.

Trey Miller, Commercial Manager
Fan-Tastic Vent
RVAA Membership Committee Co-Chairman
trey@fantasticvent.com

Keeping a vibrant parts & accessories supply chain is crucial not only for the success and profitability of RVAA’s many members, but also for the host of RV manufacturers, RV dealers, RV parks/campgrounds and RV retail stores in this industry. The founding fathers of RVAA, then WDA, realized early on that much could be accomplished by working together with the other RV trade associations.

A perfect example of this was the 2008 Committee on Excellence task forces RVAA worked on in conjunction with RVIA, RVDA, and ARVC. The taskforces were charged with coming up with recommendations to improve what was then reported as dismal RV-consumer satisfaction. The five task forces were separated into five categories: Replacement Parts Availability, Customer Warranty, Industry Communication & Support, Industry-Wide Training and Product Quality. To read their finished reports go to: http://www.rvda.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=home1&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&CONTENTID=4499 (Please note an RVDA log in is required)

Not only did various RVAA members actively participate in the taskforces, past RVAA President Ellen Keitzmann of Blue Ox chaired the Customer Warranty taskforce, and past RVAA President Stan Sunshine of Stag-Parkway chaired the Industry Communication & Support task force. Former Executive Director Karl Etshied served as RVAA’s staff liaison for the Committee on Excellence.

While RVAA has participated on major endeavors like the Committee on Excellence task forces, it also works with the other trade associations on smaller but no-less-important projects.

RVAAs’ members continue to supply educational speakers for RVDA’s national convention on topics related to the aftermarket. The Association has also provided contributing writers to RVDA’s trade magazines RV Executive Today and RV Technician. In 2006, RVDA President Mike Molino was awarded with RVAA’s Industry Partnership Award. The award was then given to RVIA’s President Richard Coon the following year in 2007.

RVAA members are also very active within RVIA. Carl Pfalzgraf of Atwood Mobile Products is the former chairman of RVIA. He also served as the chairman for the Supplier Committee for many years. RVAA members Kevin Phillips of Thetford and Jeff Rutherford of Carefree of Colorado currently serve on RVIA’s Board of Directors.

RVAA board member Craig Floyd of Technology Research Corp. is the current chairmen of RVIA’s Supplier Committee.  Serving with him on the committee are Phillips of Thetford and Mike Farmer of Carefree of Colorado.

Dana Nelson, RV Pro

RVAA continues to play a leadership role in the industry by demonstrating to dealerships that a strong parts and accessory department can improve overall profitability.  RVDA, through the RV Learning Center, also supports the RV AfterMarket through education and certification programs for retail parts specialists and parts managers.

As RV Learning Center Chairman of the Board Jeff Pastore of Hartville RV Center told RVDA members at the recent RV Dealers International Convention/Expo, “We all know that the dealership profit centers of four and five years ago are not the same as they are today.  Many dealers I talk to understand that the service, parts, and accessories departments have become even more important to our collective bottom lines.”

Retailer Parts Learning Guides and Certification

Improving dealer profitability and customer satisfaction are two of the primary reasons RV Learning Center developed educational efforts aimed squarely at the fixed operations areas at RV dealerships.

Through a partnership with The Ohio State University, the RV Learning Center maintains curricula and corresponding Learning Guides for parts managers and parts specialists.   Topics covered include parts and accessory store merchandising, marketing, managing inventory, and customer relations.   In fact, the Learning Guides include many of the tasks and skills for retail parts and accessory people included in the “Dealer Tips” section of the RVAA website.

Once a retail parts professional has enough experience and education, they are eligible to take a certification exam and earn either a certified parts specialist designation or the more advanced parts manager designation.

Continuing education is required to keep both certifications current.  This is where RVAA members can have a big impact on parts certification – through providing training to retail personnel and offering certificates of completion so that the training can apply to recertification.

Parts and accessory training programs can be in person or online.  So in addition to providing continuing education that can help retailers do a better job with your products and processes, you can help certified parts personnel meet their recertification requirements.  For more information on the parts certification programs, visit www.rvlearningcenter.com.

RV Industry Training Calendar

Another industry partnership that continues to bear fruit was developed in 2007 through the Go RVing Committee on Excellence – The RV Industry Training Calendar at www.rvtrainingcalendar.org.   RVDA along with RVIA, RVAA, and ARVC – the National Association of RV Parks & Campgrounds, developed the calendar as a free, one-stop resource for all industry personnel to both find and list training opportunities.

All industry training providers can post information about national, regional, and local training programs. You can login to the calendar and upload events by the appropriate dealership department. Information includes the title of the event, description, date, time, location, cost, and contact person.  Both RVIA and RVDA promote the calendar and provide prominent links on our websites.

Use RVDA and the RV Learning Center as a Resource

RVDA and the RV Learning Center recognize the importance of the parts and accessories market and look forward to continuing our strong relationship with RVAA and its members.  I urge you to share this information with your company representatives who interact with dealership employees on a regular basis.  Continuing education and parts certification can help ensure that the RV AfterMarket remains a vibrant part of the RV industry . . . and improve everyone’s bottom line.

RVDA Vice President for Communications Phil Ingrassia has worked in the RV industry since 1990 and is Certified Association Executive (CAE).   He can be reached at pingrassia@rvda.org.

Many campgrounds, RV parks and resorts have on-site stores that offer everything from firewood and pre-packaged foods and beverages to holding tank treatment products.

But while some parks have well developed campground stores with a variety of products, there is a huge potential to expand their product offering, particularly with RV aftermarket products and services.

Campers patronize campground stores because they forgot something or because they want to avoid a trip into town to pick up what they need. So the better stocked we can make these stores, the better we can serve the camping consumer. So why not consider expanding your distribution channels to include campground stores?

Campgrounds have hundreds of people walking through their stores each day during their peak seasons. Wouldn’t you want these shoppers looking at your products?

You might even consider cross-promoting campgrounds in your market area. If you agreed to promote campgrounds in your market area, they might be inclined to refer their customers to you for products they don’t carry. Imagine the referral relationships that could be built between campgrounds and major automotive suppliers and repair shops.

And if your company does not have the time or resources to contact individual campgrounds, consider using ARVC as a potential cross marketing partner.

ARVC has over 3,300 affiliated campgrounds, RV parks and resorts. They represent a significant marketing opportunity, not only individually, but collectively. We just negotiated an agreement with Just in Time Communications, Inc. that will deliver huge savings on DirecTV cable service to ARVC-member campgrounds, while also bringing Just in Time Communications and DirecTV business they might otherwise lose to competitors. This agreement is unprecedented in the campground business. And we’re going to be announcing more agreements like this in the coming weeks involving other companies.

So if you’re serious about expanding your sales channels for RV aftermarket products and services, why not contact me.

I’m certainly interested in exploring new cross-marketing opportunities on behalf of our members. And, even in this day and age, campground stories remained one of the most untapped retail channels in the country.

Paul Bambei
President & CEO
National Association of RV Parks and Camprounds

Today’s ever-changing business and media environment is one that increasingly demands immediacy, making it easy for all of us to lose perspective.  We must not overlook the fact that nearly 250,000 RVs will be shipped to RV dealers this year, finding their way into the driveways, as well as the hearts and lives, of our customers.

And, even with the monthly and annual fluctuations of RV shipments tracked by RVIA, RV ownership has steadily grown to a new peak with 8.9 million households now owning an RV, according to RVIA’s latest RV Consumer Demographic Profile being released this fall. That is up from 7.9 million households in 2005 and 6.9 million in 2001. These record ownership levels reflect the enduring appeal of RV ownership, despite economic challenges.

RV ownership rates have surged among adults aged 35-54 and those over 55, according to the research. In the 35-54 demographic, RV ownership rose from 9.0% of vehicle-owning households in 2005 to 11.2% today.  Among those 55 and older, ownership rates grew from 8.6% to 9.4% of vehicle-owning households.

Also promising are the future purchase intentions the study identified among new market entrants as well as current and former owners. A total of 21% of all U.S. households expressed interest in purchasing an RV sometime in the future. This is on par with the 23% rate in the 2005 study and ahead of the 16% rate in the 2001 research. These purchase intentions won’t be realized overnight, but they offer encouraging long term indications that there will be continued strong demand for RVs in the years ahead.

Considering these findings along with the feedback I’m hearing from RV manufacturers, suppliers and dealers, I believe that the RV industry has a bright, promising future, particularly if we continue to work together in unity and concert as we always have.  As we say goodbye to 2011 and look ahead to a new year, RVIA remains as committed as ever to working with our industry partners – RVAA, RVDA and ARVC – to realize that future.

Richard A. Coon
President
RVIA

Volunteering for an RVAA Committee only takes about 1-2 hours a month of your time and provides great opportunities to:

• Network
• Grow the RV Aftermarket
• Work on rewarding projects

Please choose an RVAA committee to get involved in and call or email Laura Hallen, Member Services Manager of RVAA at lhallen@rvaahq.org or (630) 596-9004.

Here is a list of committees and a brief explanation of the roles they play within RVAA.

Marketing Committee

The Marketing Committee helps promote and drive major initiatives, primarily through communication to members and the RV industry at large as necessary, that support and advance the mission and vision of the Association.  The main responsibilities of this committee currently include a monthly newsletter, a semi-annual print newsletter, and managing the content on RVAAHq.org. Measuring participation in different initiatives, creating and managing databases, and providing marketing support for other RVAA committees are also included in the Marketing Committee’s role.

Education Committee

The Education Committee creates programs and activities within RVAA to help grow the RV Aftermarket. These programs and activities are targeted towards RV parts managers and parts personnel of RV dealerships. The role of the Education Committee includes professional training and information to help the RV aftermarket parts stores, outreach programs, and creating partnerships with other associations and events driven to help the RV aftermarket.

Membership Committee

The Membership Committee recruits and identifies new companies to join RVAA as well as creates programs for retention of RVAA’s current members. Programs aimed at educating, mentoring, and helping support new members that have joined RVAA are also created in this committee. This committee plays a large role in advising membership during the Executive Conference as well.

Member Benefits Committee

The Member Benefits Committee creates programs and opportunities to add value to RVAA members and their membership of RVAA. This committee has ownership on the Aftermarket Statistics program and RVAA’s Best Practices. It is also in charge in developing other value added initiatives for RVAA and its membership. The Member Benefits Committee also assists the RVAA Management Firm with decisions and needs involving the Executive Conference.

Aaron Engberg
Director, Mobile Products – Winegard Company
RVAA President

During the course of the meeting, it was decided that, due to the importance of the Strategic Plan to the organization, and the effectiveness of our discussions, this should become an annual event for the Board.  As a result, the Board held their second annual Strategic Planning meeting in Colorado this past June.

The Strategic Plan for our organization is, by definition, a “living” document.  As the needs of our organization change and/or the market conditions we experience require a response, the RVAA Strategic Plan will be changed accordingly.  This does not mean that the document would simply be tossed out, but rather that the required changes would be made in a thoughtful, measured way by the Board of Directors, in accordance to the needs of the organization.

The complete Strategic Plan from 2010’s meeting is available on the RVAA Website.  The 2011 revised plan from our Board Meeting last June, is printed below for your review:

GOAL # 1 – MEMBER BENEFITS

To enhance RVAA’s core member benefit programs to provide the highest level of service and value to its aftermarket members.

1. EXECUTIVE CONFERENCE

• Examine the possibility of developing a teleconference feature for networking small distributors into meetings at the conference by Conference 2011.

2. “AFTERMARKET EFFICIENCY” BEST PRACTICES PROGRAM

• Distributor Utilization- determine amount of distributors utilizing RVAA-approved electronic forms by 8/2010.
• Supplier Utilization of Best Practices:

Achieve 50% Bronze or better by 8/2011

Achieve 75% Bronze or better by 8/ 2012

• Develop system for presenting new members information about Best Practices. Develop new member compliance requirements by 2012.
• Provide continuous education, publishing and measurement of “Aftermarket Efficiency” program.

3. AFTERMARKET STATISTICS PROGRAM

4. SUPPLIER PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS (SPA) PROGRAM

• Execute SPA Program August/2010 in current format with request for distributor comments.
• Develop a task force for SPA to create program enhancements by August 2012

GOAL # 2 – MEMBER SERVICES

To ensure that RVAA receives ongoing feedback and information on member needs and new member satisfaction with the association’s services.

• RVAAHQ WEBSITE – by 12/2011

Develop methods for including company-specific aftermarket news.
Create a committee priority to determine methods of driving traffic to site.
Create a functional system for encouraging supplier members to post new products.

• Monthly Email Newsletter Communication to membership – by 8/2011

GOAL # 3 – MEMBERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

To increase membership to include all eligible suppliers, distributors and manufacturer’s agents.

• Send out new members names and links to distributors upon new member approval by 10/2011
• Develop a setting and event for new members by conference 2011.
• Review all membership category applications for changes by 10/2011.
• Develop an online membership application by 11/2011.
• Distribute information from all relevant sources to RVAA members that would provide additional value to membership (ongoing).

GOAL # 4 – Aftermarket Advocacy

To create meaningful educational content for the RV industry through targeted press communications and RVAA’s Aftermarket NOW program.

• Continue acquisition of educational content for RVAA Aftermarket NOW section of website and promote through press releases.
• Continue targeted monthly national aftermarket editorials through 6/2011.

GOAL # 5 – RVAA Leadership

To identify and develop the future leadership of RVAA.

• Develop a realistic set of expectations of what members should expect from RVAA and what is expected in return (ongoing).
• Encourage all new members to participate in an RVAA committee upon joining the association (ongoing).

GOAL # 6 – Long Range Planning

To create a systematic approach for consistently reviewing the Strategic Plan and for determining long-range goals and objectives of the Association.

• Review existing strategic plan as an agenda item at all RVAA Board of Directors meetings (ongoing).
• Hold an annual meeting of the RVAA Board dedicated entirely to revision and updating of the Association strategic plan (annual).

GOAL # 7 – Association Management

To continue to manage the Association in a professional manner.

• Review and periodically adjust and enforce Association bylaws and other policy documents consistent with the Guiding Principles and Mission of the Association.
• Create a plan to insure continuity of operation of RVAA in the event of the loss of Executive Director or catastrophic event affecting ability for members to pay association dues.
• Develop a set of specific written procedures for all association activities.

A Kansas City newspaper company was hired to manage the new association as they already managed the larger Automotive Warehouse Distributor Association known as AWDA.  Earlier AWDA had developed a formal Executive Conference which had successfully brought auto suppliers and distributors together in a private meeting format. In 1974, WDA adopted a format based on this model and held their first conference in New Orleans which invited suppliers and then allowed distributors and suppliers to meet individually at pre-scheduled times.  Some 40 distributors made up the organization at that time consisting of RV, and Manufactured Housing specialists. Ted Kaplan presided at that first Executive Conference.

In the early years, distributors held total control of association activities.  However in the early 1980’s, representation was given to supplier and agent members both in membership status and in equal board representation.  This major by-laws change gave non-distributor members the chance to have more input into the future of the association and gave them the ability to be elected to the Presidency of the association.   Beginning with John Roba in 1992, seven out of the next ten past Presidents have been a supplier or agent.  New membership divisions were established to represent both suppliers and distributors in both the RV and Manufactured Housing segments as their needs continued to change from each other.  This dual practice continued until the strategic plan was established in 1995, which identified a clear focus on the RV aftermarket. The name of the association was officially changed from WDA (Warehouse Distributors Association) to RVAA (Recreational Vehicle Aftermarket Association) at the 2001 annual executive conference in Huntington Beach.

Today the association represents suppliers, distributors, and manufactured agents specifically for the billion dollar RV aftermarket. The association believes in the value of the two-step distribution system and is fiscally sound.  The Board of Directors represents all sizes of companies and elements of the market who all share the common RVAA vision and goals. “The vision of RVAA is to be the educational leader and resource in the RV aftermarket, helping RV dealers leverage their parts and accessories stores for maximum sales and profitability”

I am very excited and honored to be your next President. Piar Adams set a strong foundation for me and has made it easier for RVAA to continue to improve as an association.

The new Board of Directors for the upcoming term is very strong and I will make it our priority to continue to add value to your membership.

Communication, member participation, and outreach programs will be a key emphasis. We will also make sure that we continue to add value to the executive conference for all segments of our organization.

I am looking forward to serving the association over the next two years and appreciate the support the membership has already provided.

Sincerely,

Aaron Engberg
RVAA President