Chuck & Michelle Steenwyk (20036)
Region Six Directors
We have recently been reflecting on our journey with the Newmar Kountry Klub. We feel we have been very blessed to have been introduced to the Newmar brand and NKK. Our journey started with Michelle’s parents (Tom & Linda Pikaart (11588L) purchasing their first of two Newmar 5th wheels back in 2000. It was an American Star. At the time of their purchase the dealership offered to enroll them into the NKK and pay for their NKK lifetime membership. Obviously, they took their salesman up on the offer. YES PLEASE! They immediately joined the Michigan Aire Kampers (Charter #4) and started their 18-year journey with the NKK.
Their journey along with ours began. Over the next several years we would live vicariously through them and their stories of travel, the friendships made, and of course the food that they got to experience. We would always look forward to their return from a rally just to hear about all the places they got to do, golf courses visited, but most of all we looked forward to the stories about all of their friends and the fun they just shared with them.
When a rally was close to home, we were invited to drop in on the rally. This was great. We were able to put faces to names. Everyone was so friendly and welcoming to us. They wanted to know about us just as much as we were interested in getting to know them. We were very much taken into the Newmar family just because our parents were in the family. We were hooked.
Fast forward to 2013. We were ready to finally upgrade from our 30ft bumper pull bunkhouse trailer that we had owned for 17 years. The kids had outgrown the bunk beds and had gone off to college. We were ready for a change. We started our search not knowing exactly what we were looking for. After a few weeks of searching, we purchased a 2000 Newmar American Star 5th wheel through a private party sale. The more we looked at the 5th wheel and the familiar key holder by the door we began to have questions in our minds about the previous owners of the 5th wheel. We were now the 3rd or 4th owners of this unit. We decided to do some digging into this. After asking questions and having Michelle’s parents dig out old paperwork it was discovered that Michelle’s parents were the original owners and her dad had installed the key holder by the door. How does that happen? It had been 8 years since they had traded it in. So, we began our NKK journey in the same unit our parents had!
We joined the NKK and Michigan Aire Kampers in 2013 and have never looked back. We have, like many of you, changed units over the years (we are now on our 3rd), but we are always excited to go on yet another adventure with our Newmar Family.
We have been blessed beyond measure. These blessings are due to all of you! We wish to thank all of you for the many, many hugs, friendships made in the United States and Canada, and kind words of support and encouragement through life’s ups and downs. The love from you, our Newmar Family is beyond measure! THANK YOU!!
REGION SIX 2024 CALENDAR OF EVENTS:
April 18-21 – Indiana/Kentucky joint rally in Florence, Indiana. Follow the River RV Resort.
April 20 – Ohio Buckeye Luncheon, Whitehall, OH
May 1-5 – Region Six Rally at Whispering Hills RV Resort in Georgetown, Kentucky (Kentucky Horse Park, Retired Racehorse Farm, Bourbon Trail)
May 16-19 – West Virginia Traveling Mountaineers chapter rally – Watoga State Park, Marlington, WV.
May 23-27 – TRI-State Rally (MI, IN & OH) at the Shipshewana Campground South Park, Shipshewana, IN. (Amish Thrashers Dinner, Shopping in Shipshewana, Bike Trails)
June 20-23 – Michigan State Rally, at Pine Ridge Campground in Birch Run, MI
August 15-18 – Indiana State Rally, at Michigan City campground, Michigan City, IN
August 29-Sept 2 – West Virginia State Rally, Jane Lew, West Virginia (3 Festivals)
September 5-8 – Kentucky Thoroughbreds Rally in the Gorge, Stanton, KY (Red River Gorge)
September 5-8 – Michigan Aire Kampers/Great Lakers Joint Rally, Manistique Lakeshore Campground, Manistique, MI
October 24-27 – Kentucky State Rally, at White Acres campground in Bardstown, Kentucky (Bourbon Trail)
*Visit the NKK website for the most up to date information on these and other events! Everyone from any region is welcome to join us at any of our rallies!