News & Views
An informational email from the WBCCI 
Electronic Communications Committee 
September, 2014
Farmington, New Mexico
International Rally 2015   
Look what's waiting for you in the
Land of Enchantment.

For more information visit farmington.wbcci.net 
or 
 
Set in the San Juan Mountains
McGee Park at the San Juan County Fairgrounds

Click HERE to Learn More about the campground and attractions in San Juan County. 

Campsites with Electric and Water are available for the first 575 rigs to register.
Tours Galore not far from Farmington
Ship Rock

Durango, Colorado  1 hr 15 min

Four Corners, NM - 1 hr 10 min

Mesa Verde, CO  1 hr 15 min
Are you new to Airstreaming?  Or already a master mechanic?
Either way, you'll learn more about maintaining your new or vintage Airstream at the immensely popular Tech Seminars.  At Gillette there was standing room only, into the hallways, to hear from our own Airstream experts.  
The Farmington International Rally will offer even more sessions and opportunities for you to improve your skills. 


"Fish on!" or "Fore!"  It's your choice in Farmington NM.



Attractions En Route to Farmington
From the North - The San Juan National Forest

From the Southwest - The Grand Canyon

From the Southeast - Santa Fe


From the West - Monument Valley

New Airstreamers are flocking to caravans. 
Airstreams leaving Cape Giradeau, headed to Cairo, IL.  Photo by Kani Ripley.
New and long-time WBCCI members are rapidly discovering the joys of caravanning.  Sixteen of 26 rigs on the 2014 Cajun Culture Caravan were new to caravanning.  Not to be outdone, the current Alyeska caravan has 21 first-time caravanners among the 35 Airstreams in the Far North.  No doubt other caravans are seeing a spike in interest, too.  Word is getting out that joining a caravan is the ultimate in fun, friendship, and adventure with your Airstream.

What many new members don't realize is how fast caravans fill up, sometimes two years in advance.  So visit the WBCCI  caravan site today and get your reservation in, or you might miss the adventure. 

If you don't have time in your schedule for a longer, national caravan consider joining a Unit or Region caravan.  The experience is much the same, but the time-frame is shorter.  Visit the club website's "Short Caravan" page to learn about these mini-caravans.  If you are leading a Unit or Region caravan, please contact  Marion Pember to advertise your caravan on wbcci.org.  It's a great way to fill any open spaces and meet members from around the country.
The next generation of Airstreamers at the Region 10 Rally.
Photo by Scott Goranson
President's Message, reprinted from the August Blue Beret
As I look forward to the next year as your International President, I can't help but spend a few moments reflecting on the past. This is a great club, one of the strongest in the world. After 50 years, it is still the world's largest single brand club. The club is built upon the base of its units and regions, rather than from the International level. It is by far the most democratic of all the large RV clubs. Its strength comes from the hard work of a lot of different dedicated people throughout the club at all levels. I'm humbled when I think about the contributions of our past leaders. Many have given untold hours of service to the club, and have contributed a large portion of their lives to making it what it is today. I know there have been some major bumps in the road; there have been times of internal strife and conflict, but through it all under their leadership, we've been able to protect our values and standards. We owe them so much! It is my sincere hope that I can carry on with a portion of the skill and energy of these past leaders.
Several of our officers will be changing roles this year; a big thank you to the unit, region and international officers, also standing committee chairmen and other members who have fulfilled their commitment to the club. I also want to extend a thank you to the new leaders who have committed themselves to a year or more of service to the club. I feel good about the new officers who are coming on board this year. They are intelligent, energetic and independent thinkers. They will add the checks and balances to the mix that is required for a group like ours to make the best choices possible. We will face some challenges including finding a new Corporate Manager and getting him/her trained for the job. These problems are only small bumps in the road. An even bigger problem we must face is that we are in a time when the fundamental base of Airstream owners that make up our club and will be the members of the future, have somewhat different needs and expectations than those who been members in the past. Our club has been composed of individuals who were serious RV users; mostly they had time for longer caravans and longer rallies. They liked their events well-planned, and they were greater fans of organization and order. The Airstreamers of tomorrow may well not be retired. They live in a more hectic world; they have less time to devote to their love of Airstreaming; for them rallies and caravans need to be short enough to fit into a hectic life with too short available vacation time.
This shift will not be a major problem for WBCCI; it only means that we have to make changes in the way we plan and organize our rallies and events. How fast will these changes need to be made? Well, faster than most of us realize. Last year about 15% of our membership turned over. And of the new members, a very large percentage fits into this younger member profile. For us to ignore this fact would be extremely damaging to the organization we love.
The WBCCI of tomorrow may not be the same WBCCI as today, but I feel confident that it will continue to be a great club as we go forward. Nothing can stop this, so long as we keep our attention focused on our purpose. Believe me, it's not about minor differences on some of the issues; this is only trivia. It is about what holds us together: the fact that we share the same vision, the same purpose. Our very reason for existence is to provide high-quality cost-effective caravans, rallies and a social structure to all Airstreamers, whatever their race, religion, creed, or reason for owning an Airstream may be. Nobody, no other RV club anywhere in this country, or anywhere else in the world, can do this as well as we can; we are for all Airstream owners everywhere - the world's greatest RV club.
You can't imagine how humbled I am by having been given this year as your president.
I just know we are going to have a great year.
-  Joe Perryman, WBCCI President
Apparently there are no plans to repair this road, ever.
Wally's Invitation to Capetown to Cairo Caravan
Wally's letter to prospective members of 
the "Cape Town to Cairo Caravan"   



















Click HERE to view the rest of Wally's letter to prospective members of what is now popularly known as the "1959-60 Cape Town to Cairo Caravan" (caravan #20). The European part was actually the 1960 European Caravan (caravan #24).  Actually, many of the African Caravanners joined the European Caravan which was already in progress due to the African Caravan falling behind schedule and arriving in Cairo a couple of months late.  Some of the African Caravanners fell out before the Africa part was completed and some completed Africa but chose not to continue to Europe. 
By Joe Peplinski, VAC Historian
Installing Your New Numbers and Stars
Jon Garinn definitely got it right,
the very first time!

WBCCI is definitely growing! 

Just look at any issue of the Blue Beret to see how many new members are joining each month.  With all this growth we are seeing lots of questions about installing those Big Red Numbers.  For complete instructions, go to wbcci.org and download the PDF file.  You can also order new numbers and stars online or via snail mail. 

Remember, the numbers will fit differently on different Airstreams, especially vintage units.  You might decide to put them on a plaque instead of your rig.  However you choose, display your WBCCI numbers proudly!
 


















 










WBCCI members are nothing, if not creative.
Please send us your Airstreaming pictures. 
 If you have pictures depicting WBCCI caravans and rallies, please share them with us.   These pictures may be used for promotional material, the Membership Directory, "Blue Beret" cover, or published in "Club Scenes".  Pictures should be of rally/caravan activities.  When choosing a photo, consider the potential member and what would entice him/her to join the club.  Please include a description of the picture, member names, specific rally/caravan, dates, etc. and send to [email protected] or [email protected] or WBCCI, PO Box 612, Jackson Center, OH 45334. 
NOTE:  Original photos or .jpg  file formats are preferred.