The Florida RV Trade Association (FRVTA) will host its 43rd annual State Convention on Sept. 7-10.
Slated at the Marriott Harbor Beach Resort in Ft. Lauderdale, the theme for this year’s convention is “Ride the RV Pipeline to Success!” The theme goes with the tropical setting of the hotel and the need to stay ahead of competition in these tough times, the association said.
In addition to information, the FRVTA Convention allows for fun activities like deep sea fishing and a visit to Top Golf. The “Shake Your Coconuts” dinner party on Friday night will feature Hawaiian shirts and dresses and a dinner buffet. The “Big Kuhuna” game show luncheon featuring games, prizes, cash and loads of surprises.
Featured speakers and their topics for this year’s convention include:
- Harold Oehler – Oehler Mediation
The Trial of the Century
The FRVTA, and emcee Oehler, will take this year’s convention attendees into the courtroom during the trial of a consumer’s lawsuit against an RV dealer and manufacturer. The audience to this “Trial of the Century” will serve as jurors and decide the case. This mock trial will train RV dealers on industry best practices that will allow dealers to prevent customer complaints from turning into lawsuits, recover their customers and encourage the manufacturer to pay for the dealer’s defense and protect the dealer from judgment.
- Phil Ingrassia – RV Dealers Association president
RV Industry Update and Fixed Operations Training Opportunities
RV Dealers Association (RVDA) President Phil Ingrassia will provide a quick overview of the status of the RV market based on monthly dealer surveys. He will also cover the association’s strategic priorities, including legislation, industry efforts to reduce Repair Event Cycle Time (RECT) and fixed operations training opportunities for service, parts and warranty management professionals available through the Mike Molino RV Learning Center.
- Michael Ochs – RV Industry Association director of government affairs
Ochs will talk about some recent RV industry trends and economic indicators, including a better relationship with the campground industry, and will highlight some recent research and Go RVing demographic information.
- Curtis Hemmeler – RV Technical Institute executive director
Hemmeler will be giving an update on the RV Technical Institute including the recent launch of Level 3 in the RV Technician Career Path. He has been with the RVIA for more than four years, serving as the executive director of the RV Technical Institute, the gold standard of RV Service Technician training in North America.
More breakout sessions are slated throughout the convention covering a wide variety of relevant topics.