March 2018 Where Strangers Become Friends & Friends Become Family!

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1 Nebraska March 2018 Where Strangers Become Friends & Friends Become Family! State Director s Message Rob and Joleen Baker By the time you read this, most of us will have one more month before we go CAMPING. We are excited to see all of you again. We hope you were able to contact your local RV dealers about their open house events and plan on attending the same. We are ready to support your efforts as well. Please let us know when it is scheduled and we will attend the event. We all know how important recruiting efforts are to Nebraska and National FCRV. Shari Weber mentioned the vitality that membership holds to our organization in her monthly communication. She indicated that we are recruiting new members slow and steady, unfortunately we continue to see drops as well. It is important to note that Nebraska has had only one drop since October. That is very impressive. We want to keep the momentum going through Please hand out flyers, post them, invite families to your campfires, potluck dinners, games, do whatever you can to increase our membership. We will be meeting with the Executive Board in March. This is the team that we put together to lead our state forward. We will give you more information on the meeting and topics we discussed in the April Calling to keep the general membership in the loop. What s Inside State Director s Message 1 Dates to Remember 1 State Chaplain s Message 2 Reg. Director s Message 2 Campvention Volunteer Opportunities 4 Campvention Awards 5 Fall State Gathering 5 FCRV Volunteers 5 Committee Reports 6 Chapter News 7 Recipe Corner 9 Editors Notes 9 Regional Director 10 Nebraska Directors FCRV Campvention Updates have been forwarded to all Program Directors, Field Directors and Members At Large. We have also Mar June July 9-13 Aug August October 5-7 July Dates to Remember Retiree Rally Tallahassee. Florida June Bug Windmill SRA Campvention, Doswell, Virginia Retiree Rally - Stromsburg Regional Meeting Corn Pickin Good Time, Double Nickel 2019 Dates to Remember Campvention, Hutchinson, KS received information on nominations for Awards that was also sent out to the same people. We have also included some information in this issue of the Calling. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask anyone involved at the state level or follow updates in Camping Today. This is your Nebraska FCRV. Input from the membership is always welcome and appreciated. See you all around the campfire. 1

2 State Chaplain s Message... Brrrrr!...I think I m ready for warmer weather. Even though the outside of my body gets colder with each passing winter, I find that the core of my body is still warm as it has always been. As a matter of fact, I find it is now even warmer because of Christ being in my life. I hope that as I live out the rest of my life that I will be able to pass this internal fire on to others. Some talk about old age as being the Golden Years but those living it don t find much gold unless they know where to look. It is so easy today to get caught up in the world, but the treasure that everyone is seeking is not found there, but in the Bible. It is in this book we find the answers to all questions we have in life, all we have to do is search for those answers. Luke 1:37 tells us- For nothing will be impossible with God. The world in which we live is becoming even more complex than ever before. The problems we sometimes encounter can become so complicated and overwhelming that we can be separated from our heavenly father. In most situations in which we find ourselves, we never have a second chance to make things right. But with God we are given as many chances as we need to come back to Him. He is a loving and caring father who will never condemn any of His children as long as they repent of their transgressions. 1 John1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness All God asks of you is to let Him guide you through your journey of life here in the world. There are much better things to come. Mert Feikert Regional Director s Message... REGIONAL RAMBLINGS FROM THE HEARTLAND Good day to each of you in the FCRV Family! A new camping year is at our door again, and we are off into another fun camping summer. I would like to start by recognizing people that are in new positions in Region 3. First, I would like to recognize Sherry McGuire as the New Assistant State Director for North and South Dakota. Sherry is a great choice for the Assistant State Directors Position and will be a great help to Jeanne Selby. Sherry has worked tirelessly over the years within the Roaming Buffalo. She has been a leader within North and South Dakota over the years and is a driving force with a great attitude and the drive to move the state foreword in the future. I would like to say Welcome and Congratulations to the new position! It is also with Great Pleasure that I welcome Rob and Joleen Baker to the Regional staff as the New State Directors of Nebraska. They were approved in November of 2017 by the Trustees and have taken the reins of moving Nebraska forward and once again a driving force in FCRV. I have met with them on a weekly basis over the last 4 months and they have made a great difference in Nebraska. They have a drive for membership and have the greater good of FCRV at heart. I would like to predict that they will go far in FCRV. Nebraska! There are great days ahead for you. Let s think about what we have coming up this year. We have National in Virginia coming in July! Have you registered yet? Are you going? We will be having Regional in August, location to be determined yet. I plan to have something in place by March 15, 2018 still giving Iowa the chance to fulfill the job as it is their turn on the rotation. It very well might be the time to look at the rotation and make the necessary adjustments to this or at least review it and update it. This will become something that I will look over with the State Directors in I also would like the input from you the members as well. You can drop me a line with your thoughts if you would like. 2

3 We are now deep in the planning of Campvention 2019 and WE NEED YOUR HELP! We have many open positions and need you to help fill them and take on the responsibility of that position. We have a tremendous number of people that have a skill and or a talent that is needed. YOU ARE NEEDED so get in there and let s fill up the jobs that need a chairman. Ivalee and I are the Co-chairs for Campvention and I know that there is no way that we can do this without you. You are the key to success with the talent that you have. We will be opening the positions to people from other Regions soon. I would like to be able to hold off on asking outside the Region for help and give you the members of Region 3 the opportunity to fill the open positions as it is our responsibility to fill, but we are not able to wait an unlimited amount of time. We need you now. There is not time to wait so get in there and volunteer. We have the talent within the Region to get this done and now is the time. I know that both Ivalee and myself would be as thrilled to hear from you about filling one of the many positions that we have yet to fill. I would like to encourage each of you to reach out and spread the news about FCRV and make the effort this camping year to sign up a new member this year and let s grow FCRV. You may have seen in the President s report that we have again dropped in numbers. This is a trend that we need to change if we are to survive the years to come. Do you feel that National Campvention is something that is a benefit to you as a member? Think about your answer as to why or why not, and I would hope that you would consider sharing your answers with me sometime. I am going to ask each of you again where do you see your Chapter in a year? What about in 2 years? I hope it is at Campvention, and a Chapter that is growing in numbers. With that I am going to say have a safe and wonderful camping season. I hope to see you at Campvention this summer, as well as plan to see you at the Regional. See you camping! Gerry Address: Gerald Pfirsch Sorrel Springs Ln. Frenchtown, Mt Home Cell heartland3fcrv@gmail.com Campvention Campvention 2019 will be in Hutchinson, KS July 7-13, Volunteer Opportunities Please share with your membership. We need volunteers. I know they are considering doing the Go To Meetings to make it easier for committee members (less time/travel) to attend in person. Let us know if you have any questions or if you would like to volunteer. Attached is the list of jobs that are filled, and those that still need volunteers so that the 2019 Campvention will be great. Please share how would be best for your state with your members. If you know of someone who you think would be good at one of these, call them and ask them if they would consider doing it. We still need four team leaders and numerous committee workers. If there is only one name, they still need a co-chair to aid and know what has been planned. Be thinking about how we can present to the 2018 Campvention to entice them to come. I am collecting some KS information to take to hand out. If you have some ideas, please let us know. I know you guys are as cold as we are herein KS. I'm tired of my big coat. Oh well!!! It is winter. Take care and be careful. Ivalee Vanderhoff Co-Chair for the 2019 Campvention campvention2019@yahoo.com 3

4 Campvention Volunteer Activities REPORTING TO CAMPVENTION CHAIRMAN Gerald Pfirsch, MT & Ivalee Vanderhoff, KS Advertising Master of Ceremonies Registration Linda & Garold Smith, & Keith & Beverly Koontz, KS Publicity Barb Turner, FL/OH Parking Vern Failer, KS & Jim Eyres, & Dennis Bolton, IA Scheduling/Program Book Eileen Naasz, KS Secretary Treasurer Bill Buggeln, & Keith Koontz, KS Team leaders I, II, III, IV, V TEAM I Team Leaders:??? &??? Bulletin Boards Commercial Bill Buggelin, KS Communications/Security Entertainment Equipment/Building Setup Golf Carts Steve Hitchens, KS Honey Wagons Joleen Baker, Nebraska Grounds Transportation - Ron Baker, NE Signs TEAM II: Team Leaders: Glenda Sellers, IA & Barb Dodson, MO Band Craig Weber, IL First Aid First Timers Hard Hat Luncheon Hospitalities Red Hat Luncheon Dianne Buggeln, & Kathy Schreck, KS Religious Services Mary Bolton, IA Seminars Eileen Naasz, KS TEAM III: Team Leaders Sherry McGuire, ND &??? Aluminum Tabs - Mary Bolton, IA CAMP Conservation Ron & Jo Hersom, IA & JeAnne Selby, ND Crafts DASAT Golf Outing Jim Turner, OH/FL Historian Newsletter Allan and Pat Smith, NE Parade (queen float) - Pet Parade Sherry McGuire, ND Wildlife - Joanie Stone, NE TEAM IV: Team Leaders: Dallas Dodson, MO & Earl Vanderhoff, KS Chapter Projects Pam Failor, KS Door Prizes Florence Fox, KS, Diane Hitchens, KS Headquarters Host Information/Locator Board Gwen Hillis, KS Photographer Ron & Mary Dietz, ND Special Needs Chairperson Earl Vanderhoff, KS & Dallas Dodson, MO Tours (Self-Guided) Keith & Beverly Koontz, KS Volunteers Dorothy Cole, KS Welcome Kits Virginia Barnett, KS & Kathy Scheck, KS TEAM V: Team Leaders: JeAnne Selby, ND &??? Adult Activities Mary Ann & Ed Hilger, KS & Ann & Ed Limper, KS Adult Games Teen Ball Kara Cornwell, KS & Kellie Cornwell, KS Teen Center Teen Pageant Kara Cornwell, KS & Kellie Cornwell, KS Teen Sports Ed & Angie Shaneyfelt, OH Teen Tea Ladies of the Sunflower Ramblers, KS Youth Dawn Baker, NE 4

5 Campvention Awards Greetings, Everyone: It s that time of year to start thinking about our dedicated volunteers who should be recognized at campvention with a national award. The forms and instructions are attached. Please take a few moments to review each of these awards Chapter of the Year, individual (Citation or Plaque), Humanitarian, Lifesaving, and the Hank Nathan Lifetime Achievement Award. As you do, try and think of someone (or a chapter) whose contributions to Family Campers and RVers during the past year (2017) deserve to be acknowledged. Who is that individual, couple, or chapter in your region, state or province you always count on to do what needs to be done? Scroll through the list of past plaque and citation recipients. Do you see their name? Let s put it there! A member may only receive a plaque once; however, a second citation may be awarded for exceptional or distinctive service. There is no limit on how often a chapter can earn an award. Surely you can identify at least one chapter in your state or province who meets the criteria. The following have agreed to serve on the Awards Committee this year: Claude and Mary Funk, Ohio, field staff representative from Region 1; Joanie Stone, Nebraska, Executive Board member (Wildlife) from Region 3; and Noreen Smith, Ontario, previous plaque recipient (1979) from Region 7. Please do you re your best to help ensure the Awards Committee receives plenty of nominations to judge. If you have any questions, or need help getting started, please let me know. Thank you, Sue Carlsen Recording/Corresponding Officer (carlsens@tampabay.rr.com FALL STATE GATHERING October 5-7, 2018 Corn Pickin Good Time Double Nickel Campgrounds, Waco, NE This campout replaces the October Fall Planning Workshop, we will still have a planning meeting but combine with food & fun. Come & enjoy. Put the date on your calendar and join us in Waco, NE. This is for your information and there may be more ideas coming before October. Friday - 7:00 p.m. Evening campfire, maybe hotdogs, chips, etc. Saturday: Starts with CAMP, have a great walk with Ken & Sandy Kendall Breakfast will be served after the walk. Followed by crafts, Root Beer floats, games, a hayrack ride and a couple of informational meetings, not exactly in this order. Saturday evening - catered meal Sunday: Sunday Service and rolls or donuts and a drink. A registration will be sent out later this spring, don't forget to put the date on your calendar. Any questions, call Jan Van. FCRV Volunteers... Good Samaritan Project lasts for Twenty- Three Years The Explorers Chapter of Omaha, Nebraska, continues its tradition of volunteer projects in the name of FCRV. Though our chapter has decreased in size, we still have dedicated members who like to do for others and continue the tradition. One of the projects the chapter has done is work with the Ronald McDonald House in Omaha. The house opened in 1994 and every year since our members have fixed a 5

6 Christmas dinner for those in the house, as well as some other times throughout the years. The members prepared ten individual hygiene kits for ladies and gentlemen, a total of 20 kits. In the month of December, the chapter fixes a dinner and has Santa to come to visit the children. The chapter purchases a gift for each sick child in the house as well as their brother or sister at the house. Santa has always been one of our members. In past years, Santa also would go up to the University Medical Center and visit the children there. This year we served 30 people in the house. The house only allows no more than six individuals to come and prepare the meal which must be done at the house. The chapter also collects pop tabs and purchases items for the house such as paper products, cleaning supplies etc. This has been a very rewarding project for our members as well as Ronald McDonald House. Operation Lone Star As your all are aware, the devastating impact of Hurricane Harvey in Texas was really bad. The Explorer Chapter of Omaha, Nebraska decided to continue their tradition of helping others by helping with Operation Lone Star. Member, Jan Franklin, brought to the members attention the project of Operation Lone Star. The project was asking for personal hygiene kits to be distributed to shelters etc. The kits consisted of a gallon size zip lock bag filled with a wash cloth, dove bar soap, shampoo and conditioner, toothbrush and toothpaste, sanitary pads, (ladies), dove deodorant, comb, safety razor, shaving cream for men, and words of hope. Joanie Stone Explorers Chapter Committee Reports... State Photographer... Janene Feikert At Christmas time I took about a hundred photos of our family. I was so anxious to have all our family who were present, and some who were not, see the memory of our day. But how to share?? I went to Walmart and printed off about 25 pictures. It cost me $11 bucks! You know how many have viewed the pictures? 6 family members! (out of 20!) Pictures are easy to take with cell phones and cameras these days, but how is best to share them? How to preserve them??? I created a family share site on Shutterfly to share my Christmas photos with our family. Nebraska FCRV groups have the same issues with sharing photos of our campouts. I have created a Shutterfly Share Site to share pictures with our campouts and events. 6

7 If I have your , you will receive an message telling you there are new photos to see on Shutterfly. This is not a scam! It's OK to open the site! Not only can you view the photos that have been posted, but you can leave comments about the pictures. AND, you can post your own pictures, as well. Please give it a try. Open the site and have a look! AND, try adding pictures from your chapter's campouts! Camp photos that are currently on this site date back to 2011!! If you receive a message from "NebraskaFCRV" please take a moment to 'take a peek' and leave a message telling me that 'you were there.' Chapter News... Explorers Chapter Officers 2018 President: Earl Franklin efrank141@earthlink.net (402) Vice Pres.:Dick Provost rprovost5@cox.net (402) Secretary: Joanie Stone alandjoanie.stone@gmail.com (402) Treasurer:Jan Franklin efrank141@earthlink.net (402) Rollin Turtles 2018 Officers Installed L to R: Glema and Mel King, Kathy and Don Beverly, Glenna and Daryl Chapelle, Allan and Pat Smith, Joy and Jacque Dughman President: Kathy and Don Beverly Vice Pres.: Daryl and Glenna Chapelle Secretary: Allan Smith Treasurer: Mel King (back up Joe Schneider) Board members at large: Jacque Dughman and Connie McGinnis The Rollin' Turtles installed their new officers at the Feb 18, 2019 meeting. State Directors Joleen and Rob Baker were guests at the meeting. Other guests were Tom and Mary Jane Kermmoade of Lincoln. Obtaining camping reservations has become more difficult, so this year the Club will choose its campsites during its September meeting, so members can get a head start on reservations. As it has for several years, the Rollin' Turtles will celebrate St Patrick's Day at Risky's Sports Bar and Grill in Lincoln on March 17. The next meeting will be at Anderson Library Mar. 18, at 2 pm. Allan Smith, 2018 Camping and Meeting Schedule Jan 21 Anderson Library Feb 18 Anderson Library Mar 18 Anderson Library Apr Henderson May Victorian Acres Jun Rock Creek SRA Jul Louisville SRA Aug Two Rivers SRA Sep Big Lake, MO SRA Oct Wilbur Nov 4 Anderson Library Dec 2 Christmas Party Triple F Triple F Campers Triple F has stayed very busy over the winter. In November we got together at Lansky s for our planning meeting. Everyone is very excited about the new schedule and can t wait to get their campers out and ready for summer. In December we met at Jon and Kathleen Meinstad s for our annual Christmas 7

8 party and potluck. This month found us at Bill and Roni Farber s house for our business meeting and a soup dinner. We have new presidents this year, Eric and Teresa Mathews. And we welcomed new cadet members, Allen and Claudia Gaibler as well. A major topic of discussion at our meetings has centered on how to get the word out to other campers about FCRV and increase interest in the organization. We have been contacting RV dealerships in the area about joining them at their open houses or leaving FCRV flyers with them. Dawn, our Youth director, has plans for getting the kids more involved in the running of the organization in hopes of developing future leaders. She has volunteer projects and activities lined up for the kids. John, our CAMP director, is making plans for a club trip to a bowling alley soon. In March we plan to kick off the camping season at Base Lake in Bellevue, weather permitting of course. Mary Brashaw, Secretary TRIPLE F CAMPING SCHEDULE Mar Base Lake, Bellevue Apr Hayworth Park, Bellevue May 4-6 Wilbur May Hall County, Conservation project June 1-3 Ponca State Park June June Bug, Windmill July Pawnee July Pine Grove, Christmas in July Aug Lewis & Clark, Onawa Sept. 7-9 Viking Lake, Iowa Oct. 5-7 Double Nickel, Fall Workshop/State Oct Auburn Nov. 3 Lansky s, planning meeting Dec. 15 Christmas Party Scenes from the Triple F Christmas Party Lucas, Tyler and JR We are encouraging our Triple F youth and teens to be more involved in our meetings. In February, the kids painted Valentine pictures. They used a cotton swab on a special sheet to paint their Valentines. There was very little mess, and they had a great time! Pictured here are Lucas, Tyler, and JR. Teresa Mathews 8

9 Recipe Corner... HAM & BEAN SOUP 1 Lb. dry navy beans-clean and soak overnight per directions on package, and drain. 4 qts. Water I think I use a little less. 1 lb. ham bone with meat 1 onion, chopped 2 carrots, chopped 2 stalks celery, sliced 1 or 2 potatoes, diced ¼ t. garlic powder ¼ t. pepper ½ t. paprika ½ to 1 t. liquid smoke In a large pot, simmer ham bone, beans (that have been soaked overnight), and water until beans are almost tender. About 1 ½ hours. Remove bone and cut meat off. Mash 1/3 of beans & return to pot. Put all ingredients in pot & simmer until vegetables are tender. Submitted by Mary Brashaw, Triple F Chapter From the Editors: I am back again as your state newsletter editor. This time I am happy to have the help of an assistant editor, Mary Jo Yager. We will be working to make the process of submitting items and pictures as easy as possible for you. We want you to know that we are open to suggestions from any of you at any time. It is your newsletter, made up of articles and photos that you send in. Please don t hesitate to make comments for changes to improve our communication. Part of an editor s job is to make corrections in spelling, punctuation and format to improve the readability and consistency of the articles without changing the content. If you don t want us to make any changes to your articles or photos, please let us know. The editor and assistant editor will work together to proofread and, hopefully, prevent any mistakes. Formatting, such as two columns, will be done when it makes the best use of space. It was suggested we shorten the length of the newsletter for those who want to print it off. Items like registration forms will still be full-page size. You can print only the pages you want by selecting them in your printer settings. If you don t know how to do this, send us a message and we will try to help. Another suggestion is to limit color to cut down on use of colored printer ink. We will attempt to strike a happy medium, making pages attractive but cutting back on unnecessary clip art. You can always print off the pages in black and white. We want to avoid copyright issues caused by including items that are taken from a source that owns the rights to their use. If you send in an item that you have acquired elsewhere, we need to know the source, and that it is free to use. We have to certify that all material contained within a newsletter is used by permission and is acknowledged. OK. That s it. We promise not to be so long winded again. Pat Smith - editor Mary Jo Yager assistant editor Editor s Notes Send chapter news items, articles, special member recognition, photos, comments. and corrections to the Calling editor s inbox: psmith031@gmail.com. Issues will be posted monthly March through October. One issue will cover the winter months Nov. Feb. Deadlines will be the 20 th of the month before each issue, and Oct. 20 for the winter issue. I, Pat Smith certify that all material contained within this newsletter is used by permission and is acknowledged. 9

10 Regional Director Gerry Pfirsch Nebraska Directors State Director Rob and Joleen Baker Secretary Jan VanArsdall Treasurer Eric and Teresa Mathews Chaplain Mert Feikert Conservation/Wildlife Steve and Marcia Witmer Scholarship Chair Jan VanArsdall Retirees Mahlon and Judy Dickey D.A.S.A.T. (Disaster and Safety Awareness Training) Vacant Youth/Teen Dawn Morgan-Baker Photographer Janene Feikert Calling Pat Smith, Editor Mary Jo Yager, Assistant Editor CAMP (Campers Actively Moving Program) Ken and Sandy Kendall Field Directors Name Chapter Joan Stone Explorers Rob and Joleen Baker River City Wanders Rob and Joleen Baker Triple F rojopapio@cox.net Ina Hill-Carriker Golden Rockers inacarriker@yahoo.net Vacant Courageous Ramblers Jan VanArsdall Rolling Turtles jvanars@neb.rr.com Ken and Sandy Kendall Heartland Runabouts kendalls4824@gmail.com Jim and Janet Staehr Republican Valley Sodbusters jjstaehr@gmail.com Leonard and Lynna McKenney Members at Large lynnamckenney@hotmail.com 10

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