1-800-537-0622
The Place was Dodger Stadium, the
Year, 1984. Here, a group of 28 Country
Coach motorcoach owners gathered to form what is known today as the Country
Coach International Club. Their goal was simple--to promote the recreation
lifestyle as a whole, enjoying the unique camaraderie afforded by motorcoach
travel and rallying as a group of Country Coach owners in exciting areas across
the nation. In 1984, the Club was chartered as an International Chapter of the
Family Motor Coaching Association and has become one of the larger independent
RV clubs in North America. In November 2009, CCI celebrated its 25th
anniversary with FMCA.
From its humble beginnings, this club has grown to exceed 2000 members today.
In fact, Country Coach International is one of the larger FMCA Motorcoach
chapters in the nation.
Rallying revelry with a distinct Country Coach flavor is being offered in two
different regions of the country in 2010. First CCI will rally May 19th - 23rd
in the beautiful Texas Hill Country at Buckhorn RV Resort in Kerrville. Enjoy
creatively prepared, tasty meals, outstanding entertainment, and
the camaraderie for which this club is famours shared with fellow Country
Coach International members. Jerry and Geneva Keeton and Joe and Beverly Smith
will serve as the Rally Hosts at the event. Then join us on the East
Coast at Myrtle Beach, SC in October! Bill and Linda Brock and Wayne and Linda
Cleveland will serve as rally hosts at this event. Registrations are currently
being accepted for both rallies, and space is limited. Check out the Breaking
News section for more news on both events. You must be a Country Coach
motorcoach owner to attend Club rallies.
Several active Area Country Coach Clubs also function independently and
maintain robust schedules of activities of their own. Bringing club members
living within a specific geographic region together from month to month, these
local chapters embark on varied group outings and activities in addition to the
regularly scheduled Club-wide rallying opportunities. Look elsewhere on
this site for a listing of area clubs.
From 1990-2005, Country Coach International supported Dogs for the Deaf, of
Central Point, Oregon as its official rally charity. Through its donations, the
club placed over 26 hearing dogs in many states nationwide, including Texas,
California, Oklahoma, Washington, Wyoming, Arizona, Oregon, New York,
Connecticut, Missouri, New Jersey, Tennessee and Kentucky, at a cost of $5,000
per sponsorship fee. Since 2006 the club has supported Children’s Miracle
Network at rallies raising thousands of dollars to benefit children in need
within the areas of the country where we rally.
Join
the Club today to become a part of this energetic organization of
fun-loving Country Coach owners.
..........Read on below for a delightful look back at the early years!
In The Beginning…a brief
history of the Club
By Jack & Jan
Gossett, founding (and lifetime) members of Country Coach International
In the beginning, a long
time ago (1983), in a land far away (Wisconsin), we attended our first Family
Motor Coach Association rally and saw that the various motorhome clubs were
having such a good time together. We thought, why not form a club for Country
Camper? We contacted Bob Lee. He liked the idea , suggesting a get together at
the November 1983 Dodger RV Show in Los Angeles.
We put an article in the
FMCA Magazine inviting any interested Country Campers to the Dodger Stadium for
a get-together during the RV Show. To our surprise, 49 Country Campers lined up
in the parking lot on the hill overlooking Los Angeles. During the next few
days of camaraderie and RV shopping, the group decided to start a club and
selected President and Secretary/Treasurer. We collected money ($223.25) for
postage and the club and the treasury were born. How great it was to meet
fellow CC owners. The group looked forward to a rally in the spring.
The first official meeting
of the Club was held on March 1st through the 3rd, 1985
in Mesa, Arizona at Greenfield Village Resort. There were over 100 coaches in
attendance. We knew we were truly an International RV Club, when our first
arrivals at the rally were Sir Richard and Lady Ann Prince-Smith from Augres
House, Great Britain and Rancho Mirage, California. At this rally we were
treated to the first of many famous Bob Lee Chicken Barbecues. The Company flew
in several factory technicians for much appreciated coach service.
The Mesa Rally was a
pre-rally to the Tucson FMCA Winter Convention. It was certainly a new
experience for us to organize a caravan and then successfully park 55
motorhomes in our parking area. When a Pace Arrow joined us with one of our CC
numbers in their window, the parking crew thought there was a mistake, but we
parked with the CC’s. It was good thing because they came with CC friends and
left the convention owning a new Country Camper.
Since the 1985 FMCA Summer
Convention was scheduled for Puyallup, Washington, at the Mesa Rally it was
decided this would be a perfect time to have a pre-rally at the factory in
Junction City, Oregon. Many of the owners had never been to the factory, so
this was a big event. Country Camper paid for much of the rally and the
employees were very instrumental in making it a fantastic success. Sixty eight
coaches were in attendance for this rally and 46 of them caravanned to
Puyallup.
The events for the Club in 1986 were in Kerrville, Texas, pre-rally to the San
Antonio FMCA and Bowling Green, Kentucky, pre-rally to the FMCA Summer
Convention in Lexington, KY.
The first Class Reunion was held in 1987 in Junction City, and we always tried
to hold it during Scandinavian Festival time. By 1993, the rally had outgrown
the factory parking areas (and the school) so it was moved to the Lane County
Fairgrounds in Eugene, Oregon.
The Club was named
International Country Coach Country Club at the first rally and this didn’t
change until 1992 when it became Country Coach International.
Early on we realized we
needed a newsletter. Seventy-nine name suggestions were received and “On the
Road Again” as submitted by JoAnne Merlo of Woodland Hills, California won.
That name of our quarterly newsletter remained intact until it was incorporated
in the Country Coach Destinations magazine in 1995 (in fact, it remained
the identifying name across every page of the Club’s section within that
company’s magazine).
Many people helped the Club
during its formation years. We met Blanche Miller of Junction City, Oregon at
Dodger Stadium, and when she volunteered her services, we knew we had a person
who could handle anything. For many, many years she wore many hats. Blanche
remained an inspiration to all right up to her passing in 2008. In addition to
the ubiquitous Blanche, Dennis, Diane and Mandy Frank of Santa Ana California
edited and published the newsletter for four years. In 1988, the newsletter won
the top prize for the best newsletter of any club in FMCA. The Franks brought
home a beautiful plaque from the convention in South Bend, IN. The first
officers of the club were Robert Schmidt, Monroe, Washington-National FMCA
Director; Paul Ollenberger, Fresno and Charles Durling, Santa Barbara,
California-Vice Presidents.
Of special note as we
reflect on this club’s early years are Brenda Kozachuk, of Houston, Texas and
our second president, who took that gavel and ran with it, and Don and Mary
Dolan who gave many hours to the club as Executive Directors. The club got its
good start with the help and support of the Lee Brothers and their wives—Bob
& Terry, Leonard & Alice, and Ron & Cookie. Of course, all the company
employees played a prominent role during these early years, including Carol
Taylor Clay who served as company liaison for many years, and Gary Dwyer who
headed up the factory service back then, to list a couple of the many employees
by name.
This is just a short
history of the Club’s beginning. When we left office in 1986, we had 289
coaches in the club—today the CCI Club membership tops 2,000 coaches! Now, when
we attend a rally and hear the treasurer’s report, hear how many member coaches
we have, see friends we made 20+ ago, get a hug from a person who went on one
of our 47 Class Act Tours, and on and on, we are proud we had a hand in its
early days. ** Note: This article originally appeared in
the Summer 2004 Country Coach Destinations Magazine.
Today the Club remains committed
to providing a robust ownership experience rich with camaraderie and a shared
affinity of like-minded recreation enthusiasts. Your Club Board of Directors
led by the Jack Hoadley, and ably assisted by 18-year CC veteran Sherry
Fanning, Club Manager and your Club Office Coordinator Leslie May, are hard at
work on rallies, enhanced member benefits, and more, all just around the
corner this year! Country Coach International has grown to be one of the
larger FMCA chapters in America. CCI touches its membership coach families
monthly through the Electronic Newsletter, On The Road Again. In 2009, Country
Coach International celebrated its 25th anniversary as a chapter of
FMCA, launched its own independent website, www.countrycoachclub.com,
and introduced a Members Only Forum for fellow CCI members to exchange
information.
Country Coach International, 800-537-0622, Email:
Club@countrycoachclub.com
Through the Years…YOUR
CLUB PRESIDENTS
1984-1986 Jack Gossett
1986-1989 Brenda Kozachuk
1989-1990 Bill Koerner
1991-1993 George Shallbetter
1993-1995 Mark Layton
1995-1997 Bill Pontsler
1997-1999 Ed Carter
1999-2001 Bob Colclazier
2001-2002 Ray Stevens
2002-2004 Bob Pastorello
2004-2008 Jerry O’Connor
2008- 2010 Ted Wright
2010- Jack
Hoadley