Family Motor Coach Association recently assigned its 500,000th membership. Stacey and Shari Froemming of Omaha, Neb., are F500000. The “F” stands for “family” or “full” membership.
“I’ve got to say, it’s pretty cool,” said Stacey Froemming. “That’s a huge milestone.”
The Froemmings became RVers in the spring of 2016 when they bought a Unity motorhome from Leisure Travel Vans. They are active in the Leisure Travelers Club, and some of its members encouraged them to join FMCA. Shari put it off for a bit, but as it turned out, her timing was perfect.
FMCA was founded in July 1963, and assigning membership numbers started immediately for record-keeping purposes, but it also helped with promotion of the association. Each member family is assigned a numbered oval-shaped emblem to display on their RV to let others know of their affiliation. The numbers are assigned for life and not reused. If someone leaves the RV lifestyle temporarily but later rejoins FMCA, they are assigned the same membership number. So, over the years FMCA has touched 500,000 RVing families.
The association also assigns legacy numbers. Families are able to share the same membership number, with the addition of a suffix to indicate the familial relationship — for instance, “S” for son, “D” for daughter, or “G” for grandchild.
The numbers also indicate how long someone has been a member, and lower membership numbers are a source of pride among members.
FMCA currently has more than 80,000 active RV families in its ranks, representing more than 150,000 individuals.
