The Denver-based National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds (ARVC) has announced an effort to bring all state associations together in harmony and strengthen industry unity through a new partnership model that it said breaks down nearly all barriers for state association participation.
“ARVC is focused on industry unity for the betterment of all. If the pandemic taught us anything, it was that we can accomplish so much more for our industry when we are unified for our members,” says ARVC President and CEO Paul Bambei. “Throughout 2020 and 2021, we found, and we proved, that when we work together for the common good of the industry, positive things happen. This wave will continue and this new partnership model is the catalyst that will make greater industry unity possible.”
In the past, the largest barrier for state associations looking to join forces with National ARVC was the point of entry – ARVC required a minimum of 50 percent of a state’s members to also join ARVC in order to be considered a partnering state. Under this new model, that barrier is removed, and state associations will now be able to partner with the national association with as little as one percent of membership.
“Our goal in doing this is to make it easy for state associations to become partners at any level so together we can make a difference for our members at both the state and national levels,” says Bambei. “We can accomplish this in so many ways – the biggest of which is government advocacy.”
By year’s end, the ARVC public affairs team will have reviewed more than 15,000 pieces of legislation that could affect our industry nationally and at the state level. Unifying on these issues ultimately strengthens our ability as industry associations to fight for our members, said Jeff Sims, ARVC’s senior director of state relations and program advocacy.
“When we work together on issues at the state and national level, good things happen for everyone in our industry,” says Sims, “but that effort is made easier when we can all show up to the same table in front of legislators with a unified voice.”
Recent examples of legislative success born out of partnership between National ARVC and state associations can be seen in Missouri and Indiana. In Missouri, National ARVC partnered with the Missouri Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds (MOARC) in the successful introduction and passage of House Bill 369, an Inherent Risk Bill, which was signed into law in July by Governor Mike Parson. This new law specifically offers owners, operators and employees of campgrounds and RV parks protection from frivolous lawsuits when an injury or death occurs as a result of an inherent risk of camping.
In Indiana, the Indiana Manufactured Housing Association-Recreational Vehicle Industry Council (IMHA-RVIC) partnered with National ARVC and enlisted the help of Jeff Sims to craft language for what is now the new Indiana Campground Law. Dubbed the “Guest Ejection Law,” this groundbreaking law, signed by Governor Eric Holcomb in April, allows the removal of unruly campers from privately owned campgrounds in certain instances. The law specifies that an individual who remains on or returns to a campground after having been asked to leave the campground commits criminal trespass.
In these instances, positive outcomes were possible because of the unified voice created through partnership.
For more information on this new partnership model, contact Jeff Sims at jeff.sims@arvc.org or by calling 303-681-0401 x110.