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Pre-convention activities were fun!

254Women registered

2Weekend Warriors

157Member rigs camped

11Vendor rigs camped

507Hours of volunteer time

40Hours of member presented seminars

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1 • Horseback riding at Tanque Verde Ranch was enjoyed by several women on Sunday.2 • In spite of a few location moves, registration went smoothly once it got going.3 • The Solo Travelers Chapter held a well attended meet and greet on Monday evening.

4 • Full Timers Chapter also held a meet and greet for members and those interested.5 • Beginning and advanced maintenance classes were held Monday and Tuesday.6 • Monday’s golf scramble participants have a picture taken after their rounds at Del Lago.

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Nice compliment!Ann Steiner shared what the RV park’s maintenance man told her: RVW is, “without a doubt, the nicest group we’ve ever had in the campground.” He added that he hopes we come back often.

Photographers...Thank you Deb Spence, Bev Laing, Myra Roselinsky, Nancy Reed and Pat Reader for sharing photos for this section.

CONVENTIONMore than 250 women attended convention activities from October 31 to November 10 in Tucson, AZ It was a whirlwind week for the more than 250 women who attended the 2019 convention in Tucson. Wind and rain was literally a factor for those who arrived for pre-convention camping and activities. Yet by Tues-day and opening ceremo-nies, the sky had cleared and temperatures risen. Many of those arriving early visited southern Arizona sites on their own. One group went ATVing, a few visited area win-eries, and many took in the nearby parks and the flavors of Tucson. A large number were enrolled in the two maintenance classes taught by Barbara Jording. Both classes were given excellent ratings, in spite of a few feeling “overwhelmed” with information and others wishing the slides were larger and easier to read! By Tuesday, when convention officially started with the first timers event and the traditional opening ceremonies, RVW had filled up the closest campground and late arrivals had to camp further away. A contributing factor to running out of room was the large LaMesa RV show held the same time we were there. For many, the inconvenience was made up with

the Sonoran hot dog lunch the company provided on Wednesday, and at

least one pair of women purchased a new Class A at the show! There were many comments about how nice it was to have everything

located in one building. Seminars were all together in one end, fundraising and vendors were in the middle, and there was a large area for our entertainment and banquet at the other end of the building. While the fairground’s sound system left a lot to be desired, RVW members and ven-dors stepped up and helped solve the problem. Seminars started Wednesday and continued through Saturday, with more than 40 offered. Ven-dors offered seminars that includ-ed health and insurance info, RV caravans, tire and fire safety, and items and knowledge to make your rig better and safer. Member seminars were sometimes geared to specific groups, like Solo Travelers or Full Timers panels, but there were lots

of others for everyone. These included choosing an RV, using maps and navigations systems, planning a rolling rally and how to take better pictures with your phone camera. Craft sessions offered included Zentangling and barn quilt paint-ing, and several of the evaluations said more craft classes should be

offered. Evening fun is always a highlight of con-vention, and this year proved no exception. From Wednesday’s welcome party and member rodeo through Saturday’s banquet, everyone was well fed and well enter-tained. The welcome party barbecue was deli-

cious. Then the member rodeo had everyone on their feet (or at least watching) as we roped calves and rounded up pigs (none real of course)! Thurs-day gave members a chance to show off their talents, with emcee Stephanie Ringer giving a performance of her own with her numerous costume chang-es. Friday, we enjoyed the music

of Diane Van Deurzen and Lisa Otey, a local

RVING WOMEN’S 23RD ANNUAL

19Old Pueblo tour participants

12Horseback ride participants

15Golf scramble participants

90+Attending their first convention

53In the basic maintenance class

61In the advanced maintenance class

Continued on page 14

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Vendors help make convention a success

singing duo. There was even dancing in the back of the hall during their performance. Convention started winding down on Saturday with the annual membership meeting. Board members were able to report on all that RVW had done the past year and plans for the future. That was followed by our annual remembrance ceremony, where six RVW members who passed this year were honored: Barbara Roeder, Rachel Harley, Tobin Clarke, Kip Locati, Helen Anderson and Kay Houchin. Then it was back to the rigs to get ready for the evening banquet. Once again, Gold-

Days filled with fun, food, friends and learningContinued from page 13

en Corral catering provided an excellent meal and the RVW band provided the music. Quilt and 50/50 raffle winners were announced and before you knew it, the flags were being retired and everyone was encouraged to start planning for the 2020 convention in Sarasota, Florida. From the Ice Cream Social sponsored by the So-CALjourners Chapter and Sky Med, to the many vendors and dozens of items sold by fundraising, it

was a successful, entertaining, educational and fun convention! Convention Coordinator Linda Elliott wanted to thank everyone who volun-

teered, many stepping up at the last minute. While there were many volunteers, like security, registration and cart drivers who were part of those 507 volunteer hours, there were also a lot of members who just volunteered when they saw

a need and their time was not recorded.

CONVENTION 2019

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3Special Guests

Alta Jones and Gerri Pries From the very first convention in Lodi, California in 1996 to the 20th in Mesa in 2016, these two members never missed a convention. They hung up their convention badges after Mesa and did not go to the 21st or 22nd, but they wanted to make the drive down from Apache Junction to drop in on the 23rd and see friends they have traveled with for more than 20 years. It was a special treat and an honor to have them come to the closing banquet.

First Timers Event and Opening Ceremonies start it offMore than one-third of those attending the convention were there for the first time – and many were also new RVW members

Business meeting led into the Closing CeremoniesThe annual RVW Business Meeting, the Remembrance Ceremony and then the banquet marked the close of convention

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1 • Under the direction of the Member Services Committee, those attending the convention for the first time were given a useful gift – a combination ruler, level and notepad. They also were able to meet other chapter members and were introduced to the RVW Board of Directors.2 • It’s an honor to carry in the chapter flags, as well as to post the colors for the two countries represented by RVW members. After the U.S. and Canadian flags are posted, the national anthem for each country is sung.

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3 • RVW President Bev Smethurst conducts the annual business meeting on Saturday.4 • L.T. Turkatte places a rose in memory of her wife, Tobin Clarke, at the Remembrance Ceremony held the last day of convention. Six RVing Women who passed this year were honored at the ceremony.5 • The RVW band performed at the end of the convention. Coming from all over the U.S., they practiced together all week.

TUCSON, ARIZONA

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More than 40 seminars offered info & fun

In addition to learning, it’s all about making connections

Making “healthy” friendships Mary Mays did not know teaching a seminar session on health and fitness trackers would lead to new friends. Amy Mook, Edwina Brown (front row) and Jan Jirsak, Lin Erhardt and Mary Mays (back row) met in the seminar. “We had an amaz-ing time talking about why and how to use tracking data from smart phones and watches to improve our health and fitness. We talked again several times, sat together at the banquet, and agreed to stay in touch and meet again next year!” Mary said.

CONVENTION 2019

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Good food + great entertainment + friends = success!From a barbecue and member rodeo to professional (and non-professional) entertainers, there was something for everyone

Fundraising is an important part of convention eventsMoney made from convention is one way RVW makes up any budget shortfalls. Dues alone do not completely fund RVW.

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Under the direction of Jan Miller, fundraising was very successful. In addition to silent auction items (far right), there were several donations that helped. Dee Johnson is donating proceeds from her book to RVW (see page 64) and Betty Burnett once again donated a quilt to raffle off. The lucky winner of the quilt was Madeline Borthick.

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1 • Hot dogs, ice cream, barbecue and a banquet – it couldn’t get any better!2 • After the barbecue, the welcome party turned into a rodeo, with RVW mem-bers roping, barrel racing and catching those pink pigs.3 • Thursday night was a member talent show, and talent definitely showed up. Some were good, some were funny, but all were entertaining.4 • The professionals took over on Friday night. Tucson performers Diane Van Deurzen and Lisa Otey soon had the audience clapping, stomping and even danc-ing as they moved through jazz, blues and other musical genres.

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TUCSON, ARIZONA