I am happy to report that I have heard from a majority of the Presidents about voting for a new State Treasurer by mail. No one reported negatively. I want everyone to know that by the 28th of January I will have had time to hear from the chapters about anyone they know who is interested in the position. Then I will mail a bio for everyone running to the Presidents and they, in turn, will send in their ballot. By the Spring Fling we should have a new Treasurer in place to take care of the organization’s business matters.

An audit of the books was completed very quickly before January 1st. Thanks to all who helped with that. I appreciate you very much. Everything was in good order as we knew Mavis would have it. Phil was very helpful too, so please thank him when you see him.

Sally Sturman is planning a Good Sam potluck to be held on Tuesday, February 7 at their park hall at 6 p.m. The park is Bonita Mesa on the north frontage road just west of Fortuna Rd. There is very limited parking so please try to carpool and park on 9 ½ E which is just next to their park. Please pass the word around so that everyone will know about it. Bring your own table service. Please call Sally at 208-634-9243 if you need more information. Susan and I will look forward to seeing you there. The hall is in use until 6 p.m. so don’t arrive early.

If you have questions about Member Services call 1-800-234-3450.

I can tell you that your renewed membership card will NOT have a renewal date on it. When ever you use your member card at a campground, Camping World, etc. the renewal information will be revealed to them. You will receive renewal notices in the mail. That is unless you have specified automatic renewal and gave them credit card information. You do not need to purchase President’s Club memberships at Camping World now because your Good Sam card automatically allows you that privilege.

Chapters that change their Constitution and By-Laws only need send them to the State Director who approves them or otherwise. Once they are approved by the SD they will be returned to the Chapter President. A copy will be kept in the file cabinet the SD keeps while in that position so it will be on file for you.

There are 5 Highways magazine issues being planned for 2012. Watch for an insert called Hi-Way Herald that should give information for our particular area of the country. It will be different for each other area in the country. Hopefully, you will be able to send in things about your chapter and have it published. This insert will also be given to people who buy at Camping World so they can see what we are all about. Photos in digital form are one method of getting attention focused on your chapter. We will try to get some things on about the state meetings we hold, etc.

I hope we will get more information soon to help develop new ways to reach Good Sam members who are not currently in a Chapter. National is working on something but are not quite ready with it.

Roadside Assistance, formerly Emergency Roadside Assistance, is available through me, if you desire it. Please talk to me at our Spring Fling or Samboree. I would like to say that the value of owning this program is the best of any you might purchase. I can explain why personally when we talk.

Of course, membership is what we must be concerning ourselves with all the time. I hope the National plan will be of help, but if we want our chapter to grow we must be sticking our necks out and approaching people to join us. There are a lot of people out among us who want the same things we already have: a chapter to belong to, with a good schedule of campouts, fund raising events, fun times to do different things, and interesting places to travel to. Many times all we have to do is ask…..stick out our neck!!

Please get on line to find the information needed to register for the Spring Fling. You can find it by clicking CALENDAR on the menu at the top of this page. Joyce Barcus will mark you down for your participation but you will not need to send any money. You will pay at the door when you walk in after parking. An agenda will be published later so you know what to expect. Be on the watch for a new path to the fairgrounds which will make parking much simpler and effective. The entrance will be just west, about a block, from the regular one.

The Idaho Samboree will be at Blackfoot, June 7-10 with June 6th, Wednesday, as early bird day, gates open at 9:00 a.m. Many things are planned and we will be on our way. The Fairgrounds RV Park will be available at $15 per night. All reservations there are made through the Fairgrounds office 785-2480 and the fee will be paid directly to the Fair, not collected by Good Sam.

The paragraph above was sent to me by Jack Olney. The fairground office had received a call from someone who said that Idaho Good Sam would be paying for the space. NOT!

The IRS sent my Tax Return back! AGAIN!!!
I guess it was because of my response to the question: "List all dependents?"
I replied -
"12 million illegal immigrants",
"3 million crack heads",
"42 million unemployable people on food stamps",
"2 million people in over 243 prisons",
"Half of Mexico" and
"535 fools in the U.S. House and Senate."

Apparently, this was NOT an acceptable answer.

The holidays are over so it is time to get back to work. I hope you will be in contact with me if you have questions that I can try to answer. We will still be as close to you as the computer email or the phone.

Presidents please look for another email letter very soon. This will pertain to holding an election for State Treasurer. Hopefully, I will have candidates who will be running for the office and have a short account of their qualifications that I can forward.

Susan and I, many members of the Kaveman Travelers and other chapter members from the Treasure Valley attended the Memorial Service for Mavis Cronk on December 16 in Nampa. We are so sorry to tell you that Mavis lost her brave battle with cancer. She did a great job as State Treasurer! She was a great lady and loved being with the Good Sams, her family and Phil. We will all miss her.

Everyone interested in becoming Idaho State Director in 2013-14 should be making themselves known at the Spring Fling. It will be much easier on our newly elected Treasurer, as he/she must take charge of the election with National’s direction.

In the same breath, I hope you have not forgotten that Joan Strawn, State Secretary, has been asking to be relieved of her job. She has been in the position for a number of years and has other activities that she and Ben wish to take part in. I hope men will not rule themselves out when thinking about the Secretary position. If you want more information give Joan a call or get hold of me! Thank you.

Membership is a never ending problem for most chapters. I am hopeful that National will soon give us all some good direction and help with membership. That is the one thing most State and Provincial Directors are asking for help with. I do think there will be some new ideas coming down the pike that will help us to get those new Good Sam members into a chapter. If we help by telling of our experiences, I hope that will encourage new members to join in on the fun. All of our chapters will be much better because new members have new and different ideas. We must accept these ideas with enthusiasm and be willing to give up our old, and maybe not so great, way of doing things. But no matter how long it takes for National, keep asking and looking for additions to your chapter!!

When you work out new and revised changes on your Constitution/By-Laws please send them to the State Director for approval. National has just sent the following: “The Good Sam Club no longer requires the Constitution and By-laws of State/Provincial and Chapter organization be submitted for approval. Any provisions in the Chapter’s documents contradictory to the provisions of the Club Constitution, By-Laws, or the General Policies of the Club are null and void.” “State/Provincial Directors have final say as to whether or not a Chapter Constitution & By-Laws are contradictory to the Club Constitution, By-Laws, or general policies of the Club”

I had no idea this was the case until I received a revised Payette Rovers Constitution and By-Laws back from National. So the State Director will be your elected official who will be approving these documents from this point forward.

Jerry Robertson, Idaho Webmaster, reports that he has helped 13 chapters initiate their own websites. That is nearly half of our chapters in Idaho. For any of the chapters who do not maintain a website, Jerry is ready to help you get started. All he needs is to have someone in the chapter type up a blurb about the chapter and email it to him. You could mention where you are, when you meet, your campout plan for 2012, and off season activities, etc. Email him at glr.curator@gmail.com. I will look for you on-line!! (Click CHAPTERS on the menu at the top of this page.)

The Spring Fling is being planned as I write this. The contract is signed and Boots has a lot in mind for us. Watch our website for more information around the first of the year. Boots was hopeful she could schedule us at Homedale but the people there fizzled out.

Planning for the Samboree in Blackfoot is well underway. Jennie McCormick and her committees have been hard at work planning a great event. Look for the registration form on line now. A second page gives some more particulars of the event. You can send your registration to Barbara Tehle at any time.

The contract is signed and it is a great one for Idaho Good Sams. The committee will work out the plans for us later.