Hello, after the looooong 2020, we have just completed our first rally since the lock-down began early in 2020. At the time of your reading this article, the Arizona Suncatchers have completed our rally in Camp Verde. We were gratified that 27 rigs trusted us to appropriately manage COVID protocols to host a rally safe for all. We had a good number of low NKK membership numbers and many first-time attendees – although after the long rally pause, we all felt like first-time attendees! Our plan was based upon having the majority of group events outdoors, and we were blessed with clear, cool and windy weather – the snow held off until after the rally! One of the highlights of the rally was touring the Arizona Copper Art Museum – what a treasure! Our docent, Drake, singularly hosted each of our groups and his knowledge of the history of copper and its application to all aspects of our lives was astounding.
The Arizona Suncatchers completed our election of new officers. Effective March 21, 2021, the officers are Jeff & Linda Leinwand, President, John & Kathleen Behrens, Vice-President (walk-on candidates – now that’s a funny story!), Larry & Marj Miller, Treasurer, and Duane & Sandy Frederiksen, Secretary. This year’s successful rally was due to the leadership, creativity and efforts of the team working collaboratively to plan the camp sites, meals and activities. They are an awesome team – we look forward to their tenure!
We had a bit of excitement on our way to the rally. We had many items to load for the rally, so I went to retrieve the rig a day earlier than our usual practice. Boy were we lucky – the rig wouldn’t start and our RV roadside service said that they were not able to identify a provider to jump start our rig. Luckily, the local auto supply stores were open and I became familiar with a new piece of equipment – a battery booster pack.
I selected a NAPA Carlyle 550 jump starter/portable power supply – 2400 peak amps, 550 cold cranking amps, 12-volt pack. I popped open the bay door, clamped the cables appropriately, and the Cummins turned over immediately. Once the engine was operating, I was able to then begin operating all the other systems on the rig. The battery pack now provides me a great deal of “peace of mind” for the future when I retrieve the rig from storage. I hope this little anecdote may be of help to others that may face a similar situation.
We look forward to seeing you all at the International Rally in West Virginia in July. We will be searching for interesting and novel eats along the way!
We can be reached at email huntla1@mac.com or cell 248-933-1405.
Laurie Hunt & Duane Paige (21070)
Past-Arizona Suncatchers Presidents
