Dave Shank & Lynn Barley (24088)
Fulltimers Chapter – President
“Living consciously involves being genuine; it involves listening and responding to others honestly and openly; it involves being in the moment.” ~ Sidney Poitier
Summer already! So much has happened already this year. We have been on the road since mid-February after attending a Florida Sea Turtles Rally in Gainesville and then moving up through Jacksonville to see Lynn’s family before a visit to Charleston on our way to Gaffney for our annual service. We then progressively moved across Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico to attend our Desert Bloom Rally in Casa Grande, Arizona.
We were thankful that in two of those stops violent storms and tornados struck within a week of our departure causing severe devastation and while we were in Oklahoma City the dry weather and high winds sparked brush fires on the north and east parts of town shutting down two of the interstates. We were happy to move out of that area to Roswell, New Mexico (to visit MY family, ha-ha).
Our Desert Bloom Rally just ended, and we think it was a smashing success. Visiting the Caywood Cotton Farm taught us everything we could ever want to know about growing cotton in today’s desert and a visit to the Casa Grande Ruins, where we experienced how they lived and grew cotton in a desert environment hundreds of years ago, provided a valuable perspective. Charades by the campfire, a scavenger hunt and lots of great food including breakfast burritos prepared by our hosts Terry & Terri Roberts enhanced our experience. What a wonderful way to promote “Fun and Friendship.”
We would like to acknowledge and thank our officers, Victor & Pamela Lorentz, Vice Presidents; Barbara & Tom Palmer, Secretary; Debbie & David Seale, Treasurer, for their hard work and assistance in managing our chapter’s affairs as well as planning events and activities for our enjoyment.
Barbara Nuehring is our much-valued Traveling Times editor and consistently provides us with an exciting and informative quarterly issue including interesting articles about places to visit and other interesting tidbits. She maintains an archive of past issues for the last 13 years which are available to our members through our Facebook group.
It won’t be long now until our big event of the year, the NKK Fulltimers Rally and Annual Business Meeting. It will be held in Hannibal, Missouri at the beautiful Mark Twain Cave Campground, September 24th– 29th, the week before International. We are planning four breakfasts and two catered dinners in addition to a Riverboat Dinner Cruise to close out our farewell Thursday evening.
The Annual Business Meeting will be held Monday, September 25, at 10:00 AM in the Mark Twain Cave Campground Winery building. All members in good standing with the NKK and the Fulltimers Chapter are invited to attend. Election of officers will take place.
We are pleased to announce that this year’s humanitarian cause will be the Hannibal Alliance for Youth Services (HAYS). The Fulltimers Chapter takes pride in its long-standing history of leaving the areas we visit, benefiting from our presence there. Last year in Heber City, Utah we raised over $6,800 for the local charity.
We will have 47 coaches caravanning to the International Rally in Sedalia. Once again, this year at International, the Fulltimers Chapter will be hosting the ever-popular lemonade and popcorn station. We are planning to present several informational seminars to share our collective knowledge. Impromptu get-togethers and a chapter social will also take place.
Plans are firming up for the Third Annual Holly Jolly Rally to be held in St. Augustine, Florida December 10th-14th at the St. Augustine RV Resort. Registration will begin through the NKK website on June 27, 2023 @ 11:00 AM. We will be taking 30 reservations and will maintain a waitlist for the event. Check the NKK Calendar for more details. We expect to sell out again this year.
Join the Fulltimers Chapter by accessing the application form from the Fulltimers web page at https://newmarkountryklub.com/fulltimers-chapter-membership/ or contact Chapter Secretary Tom & Barbara Palmer at secretary.nkkfulltimers@gmail.com