Please read the below information on the position of Members-at-Large, the two candidates that have applied for this important position, and voting procedures.
Candidates for the position of Members-at-Large must be a Kountry Klub member in good standing who own a Newmar Recreational Vehicle. The Members-at-Large are elected by the general membership. The candidates shall have no ownership in, or be employed with, any RV dealership. It is a three year term starting August 2, 2024.
The voted in Member-at-Large will be your representative on the Kountry Klub Board of Directors. As a member of the Board of Directors, they will be working closely with the International Directors, the Klub office staff, Region Directors and other Board Members. They will travel to rallies and attend Board Meetings as necessary. They will have a good understanding of the Mission and Goals of the Newmar Kountry Klub and a good understanding of how the Klub functions.
The below candidates will address the International Rally attendees during the opening ceremonies and voting will be done by secret ballot during the Kountry Klub Business Meeting at the close of the rally.
If you do not plan on attending the International Rally, and wish to vote, you may request a ballot from the Kountry Klub office. This must be done in writing (Newmar Kountry Klub, PO Box 30, Nappanee, IN 46550) or by email to kountryklub@newmarcorp.com. Ballots must be returned to the Klub office no later than June 28, 2024. The unopened ballots will be securely kept and taken to the International Rally where the votes will be counted by those appointed. The Members-at-Large will be determined by the candidate receiving the most votes on the first ballot.
Evan & Debbie Hughes (NKK#19771) Incumbent
To those we haven’t had the pleasure of meeting yet, we would like to introduce ourselves, we are Evan and Debbie Hughes and we are your Members-at-Large. Before we get into who we are, let us explain the term Members-at-Large so you have an understanding of our role in the Newmar Kountry Klub.
Members-at-Large represent and are accountable to the general membership of an organization. Members-at-Large serve as a liaison to the general membership.
This position is the only elected position on the Newmar Kountry Klub Board of Directors. The term is three years and the sitting members are elected by you the member. The responsibilities of the Members-at-Large are to meet with you, the members, listen to your thoughts, concerns and ideas on how to improve the experience of being a Newmar Kountry Klub member, create solutions for concerns, bringing those thoughts and ideas back to the Board of Directors. As well as promoting the Kountry Klub as a whole, introducing the fun and friendship to prospective and future members. That being said we are honored to have been your Members-at-Large since August of 2018.
A little about us, we were both born and raised in California near the beautiful Pacific Ocean, and although we met at a young age, while volunteering for a Search and Rescue team, we did not marry until later in life. After careers with the County of Marin we decided to retire and follow a dream, traveling the United States and Canada in an RV. We purchased our Ventana LE and the rest as they say is history. We love our Home on Wheels and the fun of traveling. We lived on the road as full timers from 2012 to 2022, at which time we purchased a home in Tennessee. But never fear we are still 80 percent of the time on the road, and enjoying every minute. We now consider ourselves ‘most timers’.
Throughout our lives, both of us volunteered in professional and private organizations, holding many positions in those groups, while working and enjoy the gift of giving back. We knew that even in the full timing lifestyle there would be a desire to give back and be involved, it’s in our nature to do so. We joined the Kountry Klub and Fulltimers Chapter and deeply appreciated the the sense of community and family they offered. We believe the Kountry Klub is unique in its open and accepting nature, if you own a Newmar product you are welcome: from the newest made to the oldest, and yes there are 1980’s still on the road today. After a few years of being members of our Chapter we became Presidents and along with the wonderful members, and the ground work of our predecessors, we helped to regrow the chapter.
In 2018 we decided to run for the position of Members-at-Large and once elected have taken this position seriously. We believe that one of the best ways to get your input and to be a voice for you, the members, is to meet face to face and talk. To ask for your input about how we can help to improve your experiences with the Kountry Klub. We do this by attending rallies, luncheons and special event throughout the country.
During our term as Members-at-Large we have had the pleasure of meeting many members throughout the US and Canada. We have learned a lot from our members about what you would like to see in the Klub. We have taken those ideas and shared them with the other members of the Board of Directors. We thank you for your wonderful ideas. Although planting seeds (your ideas) and watching them grow takes time, we see flowers blooming and changes taking place. The future of the Klub looks exciting. We are asking for your support to continue in this position, by voting for us in July.
We know that it is important to keep those lines of communication open and ideas flowing back and forth. We are your voice, and are available by phone and email. Give us your thoughts and ideas and we will take them to back to the International Directors and then the Board of Directors.
We want to hear from each and every one of you. What can the Klub do to help make this a better experience for you the members? Please let us know.
We look forward to talking,
Debbie and Evan Hughes
Hello from South Florida to our Fellow Newmar Owners and NKK members:
Bill & D’Lu Semple here and we would like to “throw our hats in the ring” for the Members-at-Large Position. We have been married since 1989 blessed with two wonderful children. Our Daughter is married (with three grandkids) and the co-owner of a construction company. Our son is also married and a Deputy Sheriff here in Florida. We are currently enjoying our second Dutch Star and have been Newmar Owners since 2016. We love this brand and the excellent service we have received. However, we feel the NKK could do more to better serve its membership.
Here’s why: Since joining the NKK, D’Lu and I have had the pleasure of meeting some amazing people. These are the type of people we want to spend our retired years with. However, we noticed many people came to 1 rally and never returned. So we started attending other rallies to see what the “rally market” looked like. We joined AIM and discovered they had as many Newmar owners sign up in just 2 years that it took the NKK to do in a couple decades. It showed something was missing. We also attended the FMA (Fleetwood) rallies. In addition, we got to hang out with a group of folks at a Grand Design Rally.
We concluded the NKK is not doing enough for its membership. A couple years ago, we used our event planning background to propose a new style “special event” after getting enthusiastic feedback from our local chapter. After going through the NKK structure, we found it very cumbersome with added cost markups without added value. It told us to wait until there was change. After meeting our new International Directors, Duane and Laurie, we would like to offer our event planning background to work within the current NKK framework and help to broaden the type and the quality of events. We hope you will consider D’Lu and I for the Members at Large Position. Our goal would be to work within the existing NKK framework to assist Duane and Laurie to bring more fun to the NKK family.
Here’s our Background:
1998 – Current – DB Marketing Team, Inc.
– Provided promotional products with an emphasis on making custom items not found in the traditional industry catalogs. Our business worked with 2 large companies in the Cruise and Golf Industries. Currently, D’Lu works with 1 Fortune100 client which frees us up to spend up to 6 months per year in our Dutch Star.
– 2013 – 2023 – Dragon Lazer – Multiple Engraving machines to support our client base. Sold to a great company out of Colorado. We volunteer if needed to our new friends, Debra and Steve. We sold this so we could travel more.
– 2009 – Present – Bill – Police Officer – Town of Highland Beach (P/T) – retired in 2020, brought back in 2023 to run the towns Patrol Boat on some weekends.
– 2001-2009 – Event Planners running annual Bahamian Rendezvous involving multi-function fun based boating events with an active, extremely “social” crowd while providing safety overwatch that didn’t damper the fun. Fishing Tournaments, Cooking Contest, Poker Runs, Pig Roasts, etc. As a group, everyone kicked in a little extra so we would bring 4-6 Active Duty Military (on leave) for an intense
vacation the Bahamas.
If you elect us to the Members-at-Large Position, we will work and support Duane and Laurie. We bring up alternative opinions (must be part of that aging “no filter”) but once the decision is made, we are team players. Our daughter and son-in-law (and grandchildren) live in Wisconsin so a meeting in Nappanee means another visit with the grandkids. Works for us!
The submitted photo is from our recent Hawaii Cruise. Our Dutch Star would not float so we had to take a ship. 🙂
We may be old…. How about some fresh ideas for our events? Would you like the option of some more energetic activities? How about a rally with a totally different format? For those so inclined, wouldn’t it be nice to have an “ala carte” of other activities.
Here’s an example: Would you be interested in attending an NKK “Tri-Fecta” where you join a team and compete in Fishing, Golfing & Shooting. All would be on a fun based format. Fun based means with Golf, it will be Best Ball. Really bad golfers would get the option to throw or roll the ball if need be. The purpose of the team idea is to meet and do “stuff” with other people.
For an event night, how about high speed go-cart racing with just your fellow NKK members. For many of us, it may take a while to get our arthritic frames into these low to the ground fun machines, but don’t worry. Someone will pull you out of the car after the race.
Why should just the teens and pre-teens team up to play laser tag?
Have you tried Axe Throwing yet?
I wonder how many would attend a class teaching the Electric Slide, Macquerena (sp?) or other line dances.
During our Super Show Rally, maybe a small group could go pig hunting early on parking day so we can have a “Pig Roast” on Saturday night?
How about a different type of seminar. Would you attend an “Extreme First Aid & Protection” Seminar? Do you know what to do if your spouse falls and a stick creates a puncture wound in their torso? What about a crack addict pounding on your door at 3 am in a rest stop and he’s coming in? An accident occurs in front of you and there is a car that rolls over? Interested in really helping out?
Wouldn’t it be nice if there were therapists giving chair massages in the main meeting area during our rallies?
Too many of us do a poor job of “mingling”. Many retirees fall into their ancient high school habits of forming “cliches”. At a recent FMA rally, all attendees were given a homework assignment where you had to find residents of 23 states. The contest went on during happy hour. It caused a LOT of mingling. Offering Team Building style fun based events that will “nudge” you to participate with new friends is a great way to build friendships.
If you don’t mind getting wet, we could plan White Water Rafting or ATV Trip. If you want to feel your heart racing, why not participate in a zip lining trip.
When we are in a Legal Gambling city, lets plan a trip to go visit the casino for those so inclined.
Grand Design has a trailer full of event “swag” a local chapter can borrow for an event. For our chapters, maybe an NKK swag trailer that can be shared. (1 for each region – yes, I know this is a hefty expense)
Have you ever been to an AIM rally? Nightly all-inclusive happy hours with after dinner entertainment. They hire bands that will get you wiping the dust off your dancing shoes.
We Newmar Owners seem to be part of three groups. Those that live full time in their coaches, those that can travel whenever they want in their coaches, and those still working where free time is precious. NKK does a good job with the first two groups, but in our opinion, does not offer a competitive vacation option for the third group.
Newmar Corporate should offer us an incentive to share our coach design ideas with their Product Managers. If they use one of our ideas, they should offer a service credit that reflects the impact of the new design idea.
Folks, we are on limited time. Let’s do our best to make the most of it so that when we come to end of this wonderful journey we call life, we can say “whew, what a ride”
That’s our .02. Feel free to share your thoughts/suggestions to Bill (dbteambill@gmail.com) or D’Lu (dbteamdlu@gmail.com). If you think we would be a good addition to the NKK staff, please consider voting for us at the International Rally as we are running for the Members-at-Large Position
Safe Travels.