July State Director's Message

Spring (temperature wise) came last weekend and left last weekend, so much for cool evenings. Summer weather is here. We are putting the finishing touches on our summer travel plans, which include the 2010 International rally. We will be working with first timer’s orientation. If this is your first International rally come by, Pam and I would enjoy meeting you. As usual we will have a Florida get-together during the rally. We will announce when and where at the rally. We are writing this article Memorial Day Weekend and would like to say thank you to all our military members past and present. The lives we are able to live now are due to the sacrifices you have made.

Have safe and wonderful travels this summer. God bless you and your family.

John and Pam Hassell (16073L)
Florida State Directors
850-533-6886
floridankk@live.com

June State Director's Message

Another state rally has come and gone. We enjoyed great times with friends, new and old alike, great entertainment, wonderful southern cooking and the weather worked out pretty well too. Thank you to all who helped and those who attended making this truly a special rally.

As you may have heard by now we announced that this state rally would be our last as State Directors. We have a very wonderful son who will be a senior this year and has devoted a lot of time to us and the Kountry Klub; we thought it only fair to spend his last year of high school doing things with and for him. We want to thank him for always being willing to move boxes, run errands, set up equipment and much more. Now, let’s go visit colleges!

Thank you is just not enough to say for the help that so many of the Kountry Klub members have given us in our 3 years as directors and not just the Florida members either. The encouragement and support we have received help us have 3 really great years. We would like to encourage you if you have even a small desire to apply for the state director’s position to call us or email us with any questions or concerns. We have been asked so often, “Isn’t it just so much work?” It is work, but with the amount of volunteers to help everything falls into place. As with anything in life “you only get out of it what you put into it”. This work is a lot of fun and has many blessings that come with it. As we have said so many times since we joined the NKK we now have friends all over the US and Canada and we will treasure them for life.

We look forward to seeing everyone at the 25th Annual International Rally in Goshen, IN. If you have not made your reservations yet we encourage you to come join us. We will have our traditional Florida State cook-out, be on the look-out for time and location to be announced at the rally. John and I will be helping with the first-timers during registration so please come by and see us when you register.
God bless you and yours and God bless our troops,
John and Pam Hassell, 16073-L
Florida State Directors

John and Pam Hassell (16073L)
Florida State Directors
850-533-6886
floridankk@live.com

          SEPTEMBER FLORIDA SEA TURTLES CHAPTER MESSAGE                     

Most of our friends and families are off traveling. This summer heat seems to be endless and we are looking forward to the cool fall nights. Planning for our upcoming rallies is taking shape. The November rally should open our season with some live music, airboat rides, and a little golf here in Okeechobee. December we will gather in Sarasota at Sun-n-Fun RV Park.

For some great rally photos, visit our rally buddy Shirley Bennett’s web site at Photographybyshirleybennett.com and click on Photos by Categories, then on Newmar.
Drive safely
Remember our rigs take up a lot of real estate on the highway. Almost all of us are retired and travel with an endless time line; I know personally we cruise at 62 mph and a lot of people pass us, but we do get there in time. Our rigs do not stop on a dime so it is important to take precautions and drive carefully.
Hope to see ya'll in the fall, or at International.

Bob Ehlman, (18970)
President - Florida Sea Turtles

                    JULY FLORIDA SEA TURTLES CHAPTER MESSAGE                     

Hi All!

Summer is here and our northern friends have left to go back to family and friends. Here in Florida some of us are heading north and some will stay home, but we are visiting with friends and family and getting plenty of grandma and grandpa time with the sweetest grand kids in the world. I’m not partial, but mine fit right in that category.

Before we know it, it’ll be August and time for the International Rally in Goshen. Hope to see all of you there. Happy Trails!

Bob Ehlman,(18970)
President, Sea Turtles

FLORIDA EMERALD KOAST SANDPIPERS

SEPTEMBER MESSAGE

The Sandpipers are in a holding pattern for the Summer Months. Some of the members are traveling to cooler climates and others are getting ready for the trip to the International Rally. Hope to see you there.

The Sandpipers September Rally will be held 10 – 12 Sept. with early arrival on the 9th, at Top Sail State Preserve and RV Park. Ron and Pallie Coogle NKK # 4880 are the Host. Any questions can be directed to them at (850) 623-4356. We are not going to have an official rally in October as the Region 5 rally is normally held during this month, and we allow our members to attend if desired. November and December rallies are still in the planning stage and will be reported later.

See you down the Road.

Ron Coogle
Emerald Koast Sandpipers President

July Message

The Sandpipers held their May Rally at Coastal Haven RV Park in Fairhope Alabama. Dale and Lou Polka with Buddy and Jane Price assisting really did a fantastic job. We had great food, and good times. We also had Wii games competition, with Bowling and Golf and some attended a car show. The ladies went shopping and found lots of things to spend money for.

At the rally, we also received some sad news. Linda Barnabee (former Sandpiper members) informed us via e-mail that Mr. Barnabee (known to us as Mr. “B”) had received a serious diagnosis. The Barnabee’s had to sell their rig last year because of health problems with Mr. B and of course had to drop out of the club. We discussed the situation and some of the members decided to make a quick trip to Inverness Florida, the Barnabee’s home, to provide some moral support for Linda. We made a quick trip and arrived home Wednesday, 26 May. As I write this article, we have just received word Mr. B has had a turn for the worse. We ask that all of you keep Linda in your thoughts and prayers.

June, July, and August will be quiet for the Sandpipers, except that several are heading to Indiana for the International Rally. Hope to see you there.

The September Rally will be held 10 – 12 Sept. with early arrival on the 9th, at Top Sail State Preserve and RV Park. Ron and Pallie Coogle NKK # 4880 are the Host. Any questions can be directed to them at (850) 623-4356. We are not going to have an official rally in October as the Region 5 rally is normally held during this month, and we allow our members to attend if desired. November and December rallies are still in the planning stage and will be reported later.

See you down the Road.

Ron Coogle (4880)