Good Samers like Waco!

07. Apr, 2012 0 Comments

By Bill Foster, Editor in Chief.

Not like the boom years but still a great bunch of RVers come to Waco each
year for their Spring Rally. They are members of the Good Sams clubs, which
has members who live the RV life.
For $75 you can hook up your RV on the HOT fair parking area and have light
and water hookups for a whole week.

State Director Karen McAbee, Sr,. says she tries to have enough activities
to keep everyone busy and happy. For instance Saturday she had a Pet Parade
.Sunday was an Easter Bunnie hat parade.
There’s entertainment every day and various caters serving meals. Many still
go out to McDonalds an d other local restaurants. When they get back they
put their receipts in a bag and add this up at the end of the rally. Usually
this figure is about $200,000. A figure the city and chamber can brag about.
State Director McAfee and her husband Dwayne are among the few members that
still work full time. They work until Wednesday and then take off from
Dallas for the weekend. Beside the big rallies like this one they make
individual chapter rallies around the state. Then they get in their motor
home and go to other Sam bores around the U S. She has 52 volunteers helping
her put on the rallies. The fair staff have learned how to keep them happy
by supplying their needs. The storms in Dallas kept some from coming.
Their six page program is loaded with activities. Besides entertainment they
have seminars on fixing up your units. Washing and waxing and fixing your
hair are two more of them.
Despite the cost of diesel fuel at $4.10 a gallon an RV is still a good
investment, especially if you want to get away for a weekend or even a week.
The big rigs get 8 miles to the gallon. The economy has hurt the sale of
RVs. They used to have three dealers show their latest models, but not any
more. The biggest dealers near Waco went out of business.
Back in the good old days Waco was the site of perhaps the largest rally in
the Southwest. The fair found places for 1250 RVs. We took a picture from
the air and it is still in one of their many fun filled scrapbooks.
Samborees have been held in Texas for 49 years.
Nine club members brought their rigs 900 miles from El Paso. They didn’t
know what a great buy the fair provides them so their booked in a private
park. They must have been first timers.

: Some of the 180 RV units of all sizes here for the Good Sams spring rally.

: Horseless Carriage

: Fun in WacoJennifer Hoeinberg of Houston was one of almost 400 here for the Good Sams Spring Samboree. Her two pets Sugar and Jax participated in the Pet ParadeSaturday at the fair grounds. The one with the bunny ears won first place. (Bill Foster photo)