The Death of The Samboree?!

[HSVBamaBob]

So, at our last Good Sam Club meeting our president brought news from our state chapter that Good Sam Corporate was planning on changing the name of "Samboree" to "Camp Out" to better market the RV Lifestyle.

Anyone else out there hear of this?!

[Rough2000]

HSVBamaBob wrote:
WOW that is AMAZING - and I wonder if it is legal?

Don't know the legality, but I am tempted to get the Arkansas Parks Department involved. I'm afraid that may blow up the entire program...it is a very good program. Just a failure in the Good Sam's state leadership.

[wbwood]

We looked at joining a local chapter and found the whole thing disorganized. Contacted 3 or 4 different chapters. One I never heard from. Another I didn't hear from for a month or so because the person getting the email was in the hopsital (come to find out, the entire chapter were older retired people), and the third we did hear back from and they sounded like they might of had some younger people in the group. But we couldn't make it to their campout (and it was a place we really didn't care to go to) and it did sound rather boring.

To be hoenst, I would rather just make some friends with local families (with kids around our kids age) and do it how we want to do it. We've met a few great people(and their families) from the forum here (wills250PSD, mockybirf, cecilT) at different campgrounds. Much rather do that and go and enjoy a beer around the campfire in the evening, than being on the same schedule all day long. People wanna do things different. And that should be ok. I shouldn't have to feel the need to go to someones campsite in the morning for coffee and donuts. Or to go out to eat at some place out in the boonies. We may not want to go out to eat. Or we may want something different.

[4X4Dodger]

Rough2000 wrote:
The Arkansas Samboree has gotten so bad that they have resorted trying to force people to go to the samborees. The Good Sam's state association has a contract with three of the State Parks to provide Volunteer Park Hosts. If members do not attend the Samborees for two years in a row, their volunteer privileges are taken away and they cannot Park Host at these three parks. Kind of flies in the face of Marcus Lemonis' program for more volunteering by Good Sam's members.
It's a shame when leadership decides to force people to an event instead of having a quality event where people desire to go!
Yes it looks like both the Samborees and Good Sam's are dying. Good Sam's may want to take an example from Escapees and get the GenX crowd involved.

IF this is true it is a gross violation of the kind of spirit that was intended for the whole "GOOD SAM" idea. I cant see the state of Arkansas going along with this.

[HSVBamaBob]

Loni and Jim wrote:
Like your post about the Arkansas Samboree. We went the the one in Phoenix AZ and once was enough. We've been to two FMCA Rallies and will go back again. They are going it right.

Ditto. If any reading this happen to own a Forest River RV, I can HIGHLY recommend the Forest River Owner Group (FROG) Campouts and Rallies. FROG hosts everything from small 10 rig Campouts to the annual ginormus FROG International rally in Goshen (they cut of registration this year at 750 rigs...all of which registered within the first week of open registration!)

[Pogoil]

We do not need to be entertained.

Pogoil.

[Loni_and_Jim]

Like your post about the Arkansas Samboree. We went the the one in Phoenix AZ and once was enough. We've been to two FMCA Rallies and will go back again. They are going it right.

[HSVBamaBob]

Rough2000 wrote:
The Arkansas Samboree has gotten so bad that they have resorted trying to force people to go to the samborees. The Good Sam's state association has a contract with three of the State Parks to provide Volunteer Park Hosts. If members do not attend the Samborees for two years in a row, their volunteer privileges are taken away and they cannot Park Host at these three parks. Kind of flies in the face of Marcus Lemonis' program for more volunteering by Good Sam's members.
It's a shame when leadership decides to force people to an event instead of having a quality event where people desire to go!
Yes it looks like both the Samborees and Good Sam's are dying. Good Sam's may want to take an example from Escapees and get the GenX crowd involved.

WOW that is AMAZING - and I wonder if it is legal?

[Rough2000]

The Arkansas Samboree has gotten so bad that they have resorted trying to force people to go to the samborees. The Good Sam's state association has a contract with three of the State Parks to provide Volunteer Park Hosts. If members do not attend the Samborees for two years in a row, their volunteer privileges are taken away and they cannot Park Host at these three parks. Kind of flies in the face of Marcus Lemonis' program for more volunteering by Good Sam's members.
It's a shame when leadership decides to force people to an event instead of having a quality event where people desire to go!
Yes it looks like both the Samborees and Good Sam's are dying. Good Sam's may want to take an example from Escapees and get the GenX crowd involved.

[ramgunner]

pnichols wrote:

Hmmmmm ... when we went RV'ing with our kids (Chinook, 24 foot Class C, chassis mount) years ago: Together our family hiked, fished from the shore or from rented row boats, explored creeks and looked for frogs and crawdads, dug for rocks, flew kites, roasted marshmellows, played board games in the evenings, etc..

Toy haulers, ATV's , riding trails, gas or electric golf carts, motorcycles, and bicycles were not required.

That's part of how things have changed. We hike, roast marshmallows, etc, but people also have ATV's and toy haulers to take them places. The two are not mutually exclusive, but there are more options today, and ATV's happen to be one of the most popular.

[pnichols]

ramgunner wrote:
ETA - there might be some appeal to setting up a local that's based around toy haulers and ATV's and riding trails. That's where the younger people (families) are.

Hmmmmm ... when we went RV'ing with our kids (Chinook, 24 foot Class C, chassis mount) years ago: Together our family hiked, fished from the shore or from rented row boats, explored creeks and looked for frogs and crawdads, dug for rocks, flew kites, roasted marshmellows, played board games in the evenings, etc..

Toy haulers, ATV's , riding trails, gas or electric golf carts, motorcycles, and bicycles were not required.

Come to think of it, now that we're empty-nester senior citizens the two of us still do on RV trips what our family did on RV trips ... with one added activity ... we go off-pavement further than when we had kids ... looking for rocks in the desert. I sure wish there were other RV'ers - young and old - who camped and explored this way. Maybe gatherings like this could be called (?)... I can't think of an appropriate name. :h

[ramgunner]

PawPaw_n_Gram wrote:

It seems from talking to folks in Louisiana Good Sams - that the state really has a younger average age than the other states of chapter members. And a great many still work/ are not retired. And they aren't willing to take vacation time in April for a Samboree.

...

Don't want to spend the weekend in the club room playing cards. They host bonfires, do hikes together, etc.

My wife and I are in that situation. Yesterday we found the site where we could look at the local chapters here and pretty much everyone is retired. We didn't see any younger families or people in their photo albums.

One thing we noted is that they go camping during the week, and since I'm employed full time and she's about to be a stay-at-home mom, that's just not practical for us.

We will be full-timing in a local park shortly for a while, but we decided that getting involved with the local chapters or attending Samborees isn't something we will be doing until we are a bit older.

ETA - there might be some appeal to setting up a local that's based around toy haulers and ATV's and riding trails. That's where the younger people (families) are.

[beemerphile1]

We just attended the Ohio Spring Samboree, er, Rally.

The rally cost was $45 per rig and early days were only $10 each. You could arrive on Monday and stay the week for a total cost per rig of only $85. Entertainment every night, tours, golf outings, seminars, and games every day, a real bargain. Free bean soup on Thursday, free sausage gravy and biscuits for Friday breakfast, all you can eat free donuts on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Free coffee, hot tea, iced tea, hot chocolate, and lemonade available 24 hours a day.

The rally theme was the "sixties" and at Saturday evening entertainment about a third of the 600 attendees dressed as hippies from the sixties.

The Good Sam regional representatives gave seminars and were available all day to chat with anyone interested in talking about the national Good Sam organization.

There were three RV dealers and one truck dealer present with new rigs to look at. You could tour multiple RV brands and there were Dodge, Ford, and GMC trucks side by side for comparison. There were somewhere around 15 other vendors selling all kinds of personal and RV items and accessories.

At Ohio events we ask first timers to wear a red ribbon which clearly identifies them as attending their first Ohio rally. The regular attendees go out of their way to make all the first timers welcome. It is so much fun being a first timer that many comment they wish they could be a first timer every time.

The Good Sam Club is alive and well in Ohio.

There will also be a Summer and Fall Samboree, er, Rally in Ohio. Make plans to attend if in the area.

http://www.ohiogoodsam.com/

.

[Dtank]

NC Hauler wrote:
Never been to one, have no desire to attend one...Alway's held so far away it was inane to try to attend one anyway....and as stated, YES....they are expensive, more than I want to pay to camp on top of each other...Just another way to bring in money....The local chapers when 10-15 members camp at certain campgrounds on occasion is much nicer, less hectic and usally at a campground that most can afford..

No big deal...I didn't start rv'ing back in 70' to go camping in a crowd and pay more than one normally would for no particular reason....Just another gimmick....nothing more, nothing less. Again, nothing wrong with locals.


........anyway, as stated by the Good Sam club rep...they're looking for younger people. I'll be 65 in July....so I'm not really welcomed anyway.....The younger generation can have it......

Well said.

For those who want to attend .....great!

Call 'em whatever you and the "powers that be" choose.

For the OP - thanks for the "heads up" for the new name -

It's good to know when and where they are, as if you are traveling, it's an RV park to avoid for the next stopover..;)

.

[dave_smith1]

I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member.

~Groucho Marx

My sentiments exactly.