The following is a letter from Susan Carpenter, president of the board of directors of the RV Women’s Alliance.
What a year it has been. For a year of such uncertainty and change, I have been absolutely blown away by our fearless group that has made such tremendous progress this year. We began the year focused on increasing membership and value for our members, primarily through in-person events. As we all know, the pandemic quickly swashed all those plans. But that didn’t stop us.
We quickly pivoted to online events, launching the successful Coffee, Lunch, and Learns that provided weekly professional development opportunities to all members. Meanwhile, our leadership team took the feedback from our first full year and developed an updated strategic plan focused on uniting, inspiring, recruiting, and developing a more diverse workforce by supporting women with education, resources, and opportunities.
Then things got real. What began with just a spark of an idea to have an all-female RV renovation quickly turned into our signature project thanks to the work of many, many members, and the support of dozens of sponsors. We officially kicked off the Drab to Fab project in October and since then over 100 members have participated in the build or contributed to the project. We have made significant progress on the project and the RV is barely recognizable thanks to all the amazing upgrades. But even more important than the upgrades to the RV are the connections and lessons members have gained as a result of the project.
The support from companies in our industry has been remarkable this year. And our sponsorship team has been working overtime to get the RV Women’s Alliance in front of a ton of new sponsors, resulting in nearly $150,000 in sponsorships. Funds that go a long way in allowing us to expand our reach and offer more benefits to our members.
Speaking of members, our membership has more than doubled this year from less than 500 to more than 1,000 members. I continue to be inspired with every new member added to our organization. It is incredible to know that our organization is filling a need for so many people in the RV industry.
As we look towards 2021, we have a lot to be excited about. In addition to the reveal and raffle of the amazing Drab to Fab RV, we will also host the very first RV Women’s Alliance-Girl Camper Jamboree next October. This first of its kind event will bring together industry women of the RV Women’s Alliance and the consumer women of Girl Camper to shape the future of our industry.
We will also be launching a “Why Work Here” campaign aimed at bringing more women into the RV workforce and helping RV companies find the right candidates to join their teams.
To think we do this all with a group of volunteers.
It is your passion and commitment that has allowed us to do so much in such a short period. And we are just getting started.
I hope you are all able to take some time this holiday season to relax and enjoy time with your family and friends.
Sincerely,
Susan Carpenter
