June 2018 Rally
Dates: June 15-18, 2018
Location: Greenwood (Crozet), VA
Hosts: Matthews and Nichols
Campground: Misty Mountain Campground
The 2018 Cardinal Virginians celebrated the 25-year milestone of the chapter at Misty Mountain Campground in Greenwood, Virginia on June 15, 2018. The Club, which was formed on May 8, 1993 at Glenn Murray Campground in Buena Vista, Virginia, is a Chapter of the Family Motor Coach Association.
The weekend began even earlier as many members arrived on Wednesday, June 13. The formal dinner was held Friday. Invitations were sent to current members and all previous members through the hard work of Baynard and Sherree Barton. It was so good to hear from several who said that it was just too difficult to get to the dinner but that they loved hearing from us. Seventeen coaches (33 individuals) attended the celebration and participated in the events throughout the weekend and 8 additional guests came for the dinner.
Additional dinner guests: Two of our active members, Feliza Jones and Dave and Evelyn Crabtree were not able to camp for the weekend but still came to celebrate with us for the evening. Feliza is a charter member of the club. Previous members Jo Lynn Senger and Connie Bradley and her son Steve joined us for the celebration. We were so pleased they were able to join us for dinner. We also received messages from two past members: Ethel Ackers from Rocky Mount, Virginia and Sam Massey. Ethel said her husband, Eugene, passed away 3 years ago. Sam’s daughter shared that he is now 90 years old and still loves his Cardinal Virginian memorabilia. Maxine Schremp, Senior Vice President of GEAR represented FMCA and her husband George also joined us for the weekend.
Friday began with three activities based on interests. A large group of 10 went on a chauffeured tour of local wineries and Bold Rock Cidery and a much smaller group played golf. The tournament comprised of two golf die hards—Gene Matthews and Timm Seaman, and the remaining group “relaxed”. I know the wine tour was a great hit as they hardly got back in time to enjoy “happy hour”—or was it that happy hour started three hours earlier on the road?
Smokin' Kitchen and Tap catered the dinner which was artfully decorated in our Cardinal Virginia theme by Cheryl Brown. Our dinner was followed by a presentation by Maxine of a 25 year Certificate of Accomplishment for our chapter and a check in the amount of $100 from FMCA. The entire message in the award is included later in the newsletter. The recognition from our National Organization was very much appreciated. There was a lot of visiting with new and old friends followed by an extravagant desert at the bonfire. Paul and Carol Melton guided our efforts at making gourmet s’mores. We had an intimate wood fire in the fire pit and indulged on s’mores with a combination of: toasted coconut, peanut butter cups, traditional chocolate bars, peppermint patty, and caramel in any combination you wanted! Yum, yum.
Saturday brought out a side of our members that was new to me. We convened with a Top Chef breakfast by our own Patty Nichols, rally co-host. Some, and I won’t say who, are super competitive. How do I know? We had a scavenger hunt with an hour and half to find 50 items. At first it appeared that it was a simple process. It’s a good thing Carol was the judge with ultimate power as it was hard to figure how a pair of tighty-whities could be submitted as a pair of green shorts! You know who you are! (I think we even have a picture for the scrapbook.) Others were equally inventive with their finds—the letter T put in a sandwich bag for a tea bag. Love it. The final winners were Debbie Robbins, Rhoda Schoepf, and Neil Strong.
After an afternoon of much needed rest, we converged as a group to enjoy each other’s cooking with a Covered Dish diner followed by a 25th Anniversary cake. We also had game night. Some of us were so tired; I, myself, fell asleep early and missed it. But there are still some with more stamina and enjoyed two fun games, prizes and more heated competition!
Sunday morning was again an opportunity to get together. After indulging in still another of Patty’s amazing breakfasts, Bill Brown led us in Sunday morning devotions. Denny Byrd also shared memories of some of the founding members that he knew in his earlier motoring days with the club. One thought Denny brought forward was that that original group was so friendly and helpful and he felt that we are continuing that tradition 25 years later with the current members.
Again, I would like to give Kudos to a great team that helped me put together a great 25th anniversary celebration weekend. Patti Nichols for her outstanding breakfasts and presentation of meals, Carol Melton for fun, fun activities, Sherree and Baynard Barton for invitations, name tags and favors, Cheryl Brown for creative themed decorations and all of you for your participation.
Members present: Gene and Judy Matthews, Dennis and Barbara Sarmento, David and Joyce Martin, Debbie Robbins and Neil Strong, Baynard and Sherree Barton, John and Patti Nichols, Steve and Lynn Bowers, Karen Lohr, Bob & Sherry Sonnessa with daughter Erin and their grandson, Baynard and Sherree Barton, Denny and Cheryl Bird, Bill and Cheryl Brown, Paul and Carol Melton, Kamal Rojiani and Deni Dillon, John and Rhoda Schoepf, Timm and Sharon Seaman and special guests representing GEAR FMCA Maxine and George Schremp.
Rally writeup by Judy Matthews, Rally Host
25th Anniversary Rally Attendees