News. BULLETIN August RVAA Executive Conference Continued on Page 2. RVAAHQ Bulletin is a publication of:

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1 RVAA Executive Conference 2008 RVAAHQ Bulletin is a publication of: News Join us at the Chase Park for RVAA s 2009 Executive Conference: August 4-7, 2009 BULLETIN August 2008 RVAA Members Show Positive Spirit at St. Louis Conference RVAA s membership turned out in positive numbers for the association s annual Executive Conference August 5-8, 2008, and the result was a meeting that provided an aggressive spirit of action for the aftermarket segment to work on hastening the industry s recovery from recent downturns. Though sizeable attendance drop-offs for the 2008 event were a concern, the results showed that members wanted to get together and sit with their supplier or distributor trading partners to discuss solutions not dwell on the negative reports seen throughout the nation s economy. We ultimately saw a drop in attendance of approximately 7% from our 2007 Conference in Denver, Colorado, reported RVAA Executive Director Karl Etshied. There were serious concerns over the previous six months that a much more sizeable attendance downturn could be seen at our St. Louis event, but as we draw closer to the August kickoff date, we saw many of supplier and distributor members making that decision to come and have meaningful discussions and exchanges of ideas about how to improve efficiencies on a lot of levels. The main focus for every meeting between our membership segments seemed to be reviewing how business was conducted in the past versus how it could be conducted in the future to increase efficiencies and cut costs. The RVAA Executive Conference gives its members a unique venue for carrying on targeted discussions among its supplier, distributor and manufacturer s agent members. Throughout the course of three days, association members can schedule up to fifty-two individual company-to-company meetings between distributor and supplier trading partners. The individual meetings last from twenty to sixty minutes, and generally Continued on Page 2 Recreational Vehicle Aftermarket Association 54 Westerly Road Camp Hill, PA Phone: FAX: Website: Industry Site:

2 RVAA Executive Conference 2008 News 2 focus on product introduction, past performance between trading partners and upcoming plans for the coming year to enhance success in the marketplace. A supplier/distributor meeting agenda was introduced this year at the 2008 conference with the intent of making these one-on-one appointment sessions even more efficient. Conference Co-Chair Mike Keller from Keller Marine/RV in Port Trevorton, PA, notes, We wanted to make sure that these sessions were as productive as possible, so for the first time in 2008 the members had the ability to exchange individual meeting agendas between session participants prior to the meeting. These agendas help to establish the goals for the meetings and to get some essential information out of the way prior to the beginning of a session. When a company has only twenty minutes to meet during an appointment session, you want to make the most efficient use of those minutes to get the most out of the meeting. These agendas help to make that happen. In 2009 the agendas will again be utilized by the association and given heightened emphasis to assure that all RVAA members exchange agendas for their meetings prior to the conference. It is one of many steps introduced at the conference to improve the efficiency of not only the meeting, but the aftermarket channel as a whole. RVAA Board Meets August 4 in St. Louis RVAA s Board of Directors met on August 4, 2008 at the Chase Park Plaza a day prior to the opening of the association s annual Executive Conference. The Board is led my President Mike McKay from StagParkway, Inc., and discussed a variety of programs and ideas for offering the association s membership greater value for their membership dollar as well as improving the efficiency of the aftermarket channel. We put a lot of emphasis this year on both developing some tools for helping our members improve some essential efficiencies of doing business as well as enhancing our outreach efforts to the industry as a whole, McKay reported. Our discussion in St. Louis not only produced some tangible programs that we were able to introduce to the membership at the conference, but additionally sparked some ideas for future work by our association s committees and task forces. The Board spent a portion of the meeting reviewing proposed Best Practice Standards for RVAA supplier members which were introduced by RVAA Vice President Piar Adams from Carefree of Colorado. The best practices were approved at the meeting and presented to the membership during the association s Annual Business Lunch on August 7. This is the collective work of several RVAA Committees and Task Forces, commented Adams. We were very happy that we were able to get a cohesive set of best practices put together to present to the membership during the conference. If these best practices are utilized, efficiencies can only increase and the resulting impact on costs all the way down the line is exactly what our members need at this point in time. The Board also approved the introduction of a new web-based production introduction tool for its membership called the New Product Showcase. The showcase will allow RVAA s supplier members to introduce new products throughout the year to the association s distributor membership in a costeffective and efficient fashion. Posted on Continued on Page 3

3 RVAA Executive Conference 2008 News 3 RVAA s new website, the New Product Showcase provides these capabilities to its membership as a basic membership service. New products will additionally be archived on the site to ultimately build a library of product summaries based on a company-bycompany basis. The RVAA Board will meet via Conference Call in September to discuss additional ideas brought forth at the meeting, and hold a full Board meeting during the Louisville Show in December, RVAA Holds Segment Meetings During 2008 Executive Conference The RVAA 2007 Strategic Plan called for the establishment of group meetings between the association s three distinct membership segments: Distributor, Supplier and Manufacturer s Agent. On August 6, these groups met in separate locations to hold their own individual segment meetings to participate in discussions that were specific to their particular segment s needs. The meetings, which took place during a luncheon at the 2008 RVAA Executive Conference, provided members with the ability to review and comment on the association s educational offerings and a proposed new election procedure for bringing candidates to the Board of Directors. A new business section of the agenda allowed each segment to bring up and discuss issues that were topical and specific to their particular membership segment. Each segment meeting was led by an RVAA Board member from that particular segment. Kim Elston from RVLI, Inc. led the Agent discussion, Mike Keller from Keller Marine/RV led the distributors discussion and RVAA Vice President Piar Adams led the supplier meeting. Additional Board members from each segment were ideas proposed from the members in each segment. The discussion was very interesting and I think the membership was happy to have the opportunity to have it, said RVAA Director Kim Elston. Many times the needs of our individual segments get lost in the needs of the overall association as a whole, and these separate segment meetings give the members an opportunity to raise points that are specific to their segment. Notes from all three meetings were compiled and will be reviewed by the Association s Board of Directors during their September Conference Call. Individual ideas and programs will be assigned to specific committees and task forces during the call to move forward in the hopes of addressing the specific needs of RVAA s diverse membership base. New Slate of RVAA Officers, Di- rectors Approved RVAA s membership unanimously approved a slate of Officers and Directors for the association presented during the August 7, 2008 Business Lunch held at its 2008 Conference in St. Louis. RVAA past President Ron Dempster from BRD Supply presented the report of his nominating committee and noted that one new Officer seat had been elected: Sylvia Koppen from Aim Wholesale, Inc., will serve as the Association s Secretary through Additionally, a new Board member, Robert Dansereau from Danzy Distributors, Inc., joined the association s Board for a term running into The remainder of the slate, which featured incumbent renominations, is as follows: present to act as recorders for comments and Continued on Page 4

4 RVAA Executive Conference 2008 News 4 RVAA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE President Mike Mckay StagParkway, Inc. Term Expires 2009 Vice President Piar Adams Carefree of Colorado Term Expires 2009 Treasurer Karen Arnold Hayes Brake Controller Term Expires 2009 Secretary Sylvia Koppen Aim Wholesale Term Expires 2009 Past President Ron Dempster BRD Supply, Inc. Term Expires 2009 At Large Member John Walsh Cequent Performance Products Term Expires 2009 BOARD OF DIRECTORS Supplier Steve Fischer Shurflo Term Expires 2009 Supplier Aaron Engberg Winegard Company Term Expires 2010 Supplier John Walsh Cequent Performance Products Term Expires 2009 Supplier Kevin Phillips Thetford Corporation Term Expires 2009 Distributor Steve Christenson Bell Industries Term Expires 2009 Distributor Dave Burns Carter Distributing Term Expires 2010 Distributor Mike Keller Keller RV & Marine Term Expires 2009 Distributor Robert Dansereau Danzy Distributors, LTD. Term Expires 2009 Agent Larry Hamlett W.L. Hamlett & Assoc. Term Expires 2009 Agent Kim Elston RVLI Term Expires 2010 RVAA Presents Honors at 2008 Conference RVAA President Mike McKay chaired the annual RVAA President s Banquet on August 7, 2008, an occasion that brings the association s membership together to honor the highest level of achievement in the RV aftermarket. This year s event featured the presentation of five awards in three categories all of which recognize contributions to the aftermarket and RVAA. Mr. McKay began the evening with the presentation of the Industry Partnership Award. Created in 2006, the award honors the achievement by members of the industry in elevating the presence of the RV Aftermarket. This year, RVAA chose to honor leaders of the Go RVing Committee on Excellence Task Forces that represented concerns affecting the aftermarket. President McKay presented the 2008 RVAA Industry Partnership Awards to Debbie Brunoforte, Little Dealer, Little Prices in Mesa, Arizona Chair of the Parts Replacement Task Force, Ellen Kietzmann, Blue Ox in Pender, Nebraska who chaired the RV Customer Warranty Task Force, and Stan Sunshine, StagParkway, Inc, from Atlanta, GA Chairman of the Industry Communications and Support Task Force. All three are highly deserving recipients, noted Mr. McKay. So many hours were put into the work of the Go RVing Committee on Excellence Task Forces and so much was accomplished, this was our association s way of honoring that level of commitment. The next award presented at the Banquet RVAA s annual President s Award was created to recognize RVAA members who go above and beyond in their efforts on behalf of the association throughout the year. The winner this year was Karen Arnold from Hayes Brake Controller out of Arab, Alabama. Ms. Arnold is currently RVAA s Treasurer and helped coordinate the complete reconfiguration of RVAA s fiscal and membership years to help the association more accurately monitor its budget on an annual basis. Karen has also worked extensively to help the association with membership recruitment and membership retention, two of the core activities of any association. The final award of the evening the Jim Barker Memorial Award was created in 1969 as the association s Lifetime Achievement Award and honors an RVAA member who has devoted his time and energy to the RV Aftermarket and the association over the course of a career. Previous winners Ellen Kietzmann from Blue Ox and Shirley Prest from Prest-O-Fit in Phoenix, Arizona made the presentation to the 2008 winner, Mike Keller from Keller RV/Marine in Port Trevorton, PA. Mike is a second generation winner his father George Keller won the award in To make the occasion even more memorable, Mike s parents and spouse were on hand backstage to present the award to him in person. Continued on Page 5

5 RVAA Executive Conference 2008 News 5 Mike is truly what the award is about, commented RVAA Executive Director Karl Etshied. He currently serves on our Board of Directors and this is his second time around on our Board. He gave a lot of his time some a few years back on our Board and willingly made the commitment to come back when we needed his help. Since doing so, he initiated the efforts to create standards for our association as well as co-chaired our conference committee for 2008 which brought the potential for a much more organized process at our Executive Conference for many years to come. Mike Keller is the 27 th winner of the Jim Barker Award and with the honor will now co-chair the Jim Barker Memorial Award selection committee for the 2009 presentation with Ellen Kietzmann, the winner in Best Practice Standards Introduced During RVAA s 2008 Conference In June of 2008, RVAA President Mike McKay from StagParkway, Inc., appointed a Task Force led by the Association s Vice President Piar Adams from Carefree of Colorado to finalize a set of standard best practices to be presented at the 2008 Executive Conference in St. Louis. The Task Force met on a weekly basis from the end of June through the end of July and presented its findings to the RVAA Board during their August 4 th, 2008 meeting. The Board approved that these Best Practice Standards be presented to the RVAA membership and their use encouraged to help improve the overall efficiency of the aftermarket channel. The Best Practices were broken down into three categories: Parts Best Practices, Education Best Practices, and Sales Best Practices. The series of Parts Best Practices were summarized to include the following: Established part numbers for all finished goods products and parts or sub assemblies Established UPC codes for 100% of all finished goods, and a plan to implement UPC for parts. Published lead times for all products and parts Published parts manual Published warranty policies and procedures A single Education Best Practice was also introduced at the conference. This practice called for RVAA members to: Provide factory technical and sales training to the aftermarket (WDs and Dealers) Recognized methods of training: In-person seminars Web-based seminars Published training manuals Published bulletins Published troubleshooting guides A group of Sales BestPractices included: Utilize RVAA s standardized price files Utilized RVAA s standardized new product/part form Utilize RVAA s graphics standards Online ordering capability for customers Provides stocking recommendations for best results Provide toll-free customer service hotline to WDs Mr. Adams concluded his report with a summary of what is on the horizon for the Best Practices Task Force now that these initial practices have been announced and agreed upon. He noted that the Task Force has now been appointed as a fulltime standing Task Force within the RVAA Continued on Page 6

6 RVAA Executive Conference 2008 News 6 Executive Committee. He noted that the continuing work of the group would focus on: further develop and define existing best practices develop new best practices develop a recognition program for members complying with the established best practices define how to promote and educate you on the best practices and how you can incorporate them into your business for best results RVAA Introduces New Products Web Service RVAA s Membership Committee Chaired by Kim Elston of RVLI and Steven Fischer of Shurflo Mfg introduced a new membership benefit that will help all RVAA members have the opportunity to launch new products to RVAA s member distributors any time throughout the year. The New Product Showcase now featured on RVAA s website will allow brief descriptions and photos of new products from RVAA member suppliers. This is something our supplier community has been looking for, said Co-Chair Elston. We have a unique capability in our association to get a supplier s products in front of the distributor community quickly and efficiently, and this web capability lets us take advantage of that. Members can submit product information to the association at any time with the stipulation that products have been introduced within the previous six months. Products will be posted on the site and then archived by company after ninety days. The site will ultimately be a resource center for RVAA supplier members to warehouse essential information about their latest products. Photos from This Year s Conference are on the pages that follow! RVAAHQ Bulletin is a publication of: Recreational Vehicle Aftermarket Association 54 Westerly Road Camp Hill, PA Phone: FAX: Website: Industry Site:

7 RVAA Executive Conference 2008 Photos 1 RVAA Business Lunch - August 7, 2008 RVAA President Mike McKay leads the meeting. Treasurer Karen Arnold Presents RVAA s Financial Report Conference Co- Chair John Walsh delivers a Conference 2008 Report. Past President Ron Dempster provides RVAA s Nominating Committee Report. Conference Co-Chair Mike Keller discusses enhancements to the 2008 event.

8 RVAA Executive Conference 2008 Photos 2 Membership Committee Co- Chairs Kim Elston (left) and Steven Fischer (below) discuss membership recruiting efforts and report on new membership benefits created in 2008 incuding RVAA s new website Education Committee Co-Chairs Aaron Engerg (speaking) and Kevin Phillips present the progress of the association s educational efforts. RVAA s Standards Task Force Chair Piar Adams reports the results of the group s efforts to the RVAA membership.

9 RVAA Executive Conference 2008 Photos 3 RVAA President s Reception - August 7, 2008

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12 RVAA Executive Conference 2008 Photos 6 RVAA Awards - August 7, 2008 INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIP AWARD RVAA President Mike McKay presents RVAA s Industry Partnership Award to Debbie Brunoforte from Little Dealers, Little Prices (Left), Ellen Kietzmann from Blue Ox (Middle), and Stan Sunshine from StagParkway, Inc. RVAA Awards - August 7, 2008 RVAA President s Award RVAA President Mike McKay presents RVAA s President s Award for distinguished service to the association in the preceding year to Karen Arnold, Hayes Brake Controller.

13 RVAA Executive Conference 2008 Photos 7 RVAA Awards - August 7, 2008 JIM BARKER MEMORIAL AWARD RVAA Board Member Mike Keller received the 2008 Jim Barker Memorial Person of the Year Award. The Award was presented by 2007 winner Ellen Kietzmann from Blue Ox and 2005 winner Shirley Prest from Prest-O-Fit. Also on hand to help celebrate the award were Mike s Mother and Father George (a previous Barker winner) and Margaret and wife Michele RVAA JIM BARKER AWARD WINNER Mike Keller Keller RV/Marine Port Trevorton, PA