Our Unit is continuing to grow and we are seeing increased participation at our events. Treasurer Ruth Baldwin informs me that we now have more than 40 members plus an additional 30 affiliates. However these numbers should even be 20% higher if we could all get our dues in! Please hurry and send your $55 members dues (or $10 affiliate dues) payable to WDCU-WBCCI to Ruth Baldwin, 6126 Callery St., Pittsburgh, PA 15206. Please include your WBCCI #, email address, phone number, and mailing address. If you are unsure of your status then send Ruth an email at baldwin@icubed.com. This will be the final email newsletter sent to those members who are not paid for the 2000-2001 year.
Our Harpers Ferry Joint WDCU and Vintage Airstream Club 3rd Annual Gathering was wonderful. The weather was perfect and the company even better! We had a business meeting on Saturday, November 4th which went well as we confirmed our plans for 2001. The Gathering had 34 coaches/members in attendance with more than 75 folks including many children. John Gilliland and Harley Muse deserve much credit for putting on such a wonderful event. Look for Linda Moore pictures to appear on both the WDCU web site and the Vintage Airstream Club web site.
We have some other great news to announce. The 2nd Annual Cherry Blossom Rally is a go. The Rally will start on Thursday, April 5th and end on Sunday, April 8th, 2001. These dates also coincide with the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington DC. Our 2001 Rally site is WDCU Charter members Clayton & Christi Rogers 140 acre farm in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, which is a central location between Washington DC, Annapolis and Baltimore, Maryland. Gordon Ward of the WDCU is currently examining our transportation options with consideration of a shuttle bus for Friday, April 6th and Saturday, April 7th with regular stops between Washington DC and Annapolis. Garnett Horner is already making plans to do a Wagon Wheels parking while Clayton is planning nightly campfires in the center of the circle. Other amenities are to include gray water dumping, available water, and Porta-potties. Plans for providing limited electric service are under current study. Continental breakfasts will be available for Friday, Saturday and Sunday while dinners will be included for Friday and Saturday evening. All WBCCI and vintage Airstreamers are encouraged to join in but there will be a cut off of 50 trailers with initial preference to WDCU members and affiliates. Costs and directions are to follow in the near future so continue to check our Unit web site. To get onto an early sign-up sheet, contact Clayton & Christi Rogers (#16040), 410.798.8754, csrvinc@aol.com. This is our Unit signature Rally and a great opportunity to kick off the RVing year while DC is typically at its peak and full of activity. Please plan on joining us.
This year the 22nd Annual Region 2 Rally is being held in Toronto from May 22-28, 2001. Further details will be provided as they become e-vailable.
The 2001 VAC Wagon Wheels caravan is being led by WDCU Treasurer Ruth Baldwin and WDCU 1st VP John McHugh to caravan from Two Harbors, MN to Sioux Falls, SD for this summers WBCCI International Rally. The caravan will take place in early to mid June with details to be posted onto the VAC site as they become available.
This leads us to the 2001 WBCCI International Rally that will be held in Sioux Falls, SD from June 26th to July 4th. Last year the WDCU had nine coaches in attendance, let's try and double that this year!
Our second 2001 WDCU Rally and Annual Business Meeting is slated for August 10th to 12th, 2001. This Rally is being planned by WDCU Charter members Linda and Wayne Moore in their home state of New Hampshire! Look for details in upcoming newsletters and on our Unit web site as the Moores finish selecting a site and planned events.
The final WDCU Rally is our joint Rally hosting the 4th Annual VAC Northeast Gathering for the November 1-4, 2001 extended weekend. This year we wish to go to either the eastern shore of Maryland or Deleware. WDCUers Margaret Natof and her sister Gayle McClelland are planning on hosting it.
For those of you who missed our Business Meeting, we had an appreciation ceremony for those many folks who have helped make each and every one of our Unit events such a success. So far for our first year of Rallies, the following sites and hosts have helped bring out this success:
November 4-7,1999: Sharletsville, PA (John & Esther Dona)
April 5-8, 2000: Washington DC (Harley Muse & Ruth Baldwin)
May 24-29, 2000: Kutztown, PA (Wilson & Cindy Yerk)
June 26-July 4, 2000: Bismarck, ND (WBCCI International Rally)
July 22, 2000: London, UK (Anthony Slocock)
August 4-6, 2000: Limestone, PA (John McHugh, JR & Sabina Freeman)
October 6-9, 2000: Newport News, VA (Garnett Horner)
November 2-5, 2000: Harpers Ferry, WV (John Gilliland & Harley Muse)
Note that we have now had events in 4 states, 1 federal city and 2 countries. As discussed above, our plans for 2001 include MD, Toronto, SD, NH and either DE or MD. The point I wish to make is though we are the Washington DC Unit, our membership is physically located in many regions of the world as we are a true global Unit using our Airstreams the way that they are meant to be used. I hope that if amy of our memebrs wish to host an event in their hometown that they too will step forward as we all love to travel.
As I am writing this newsletter I am sitting in my living room surrounded by boxes. As many of you know I have accepted a transfer to a position in Rhode Island and in two days, (Wednesday, November 15, 2000), the movers are coming to take the boxes and then on Saturday we will make the move North. Regardless of this transfer, I continue to look forward to another year as the WDCU President and plan on continuing to be at each and every one of our planned events. I hope you join me.
Tom Howarth Editor, The Capitol Times Newsletter