The RV/MH Heritage Foundation board of directors recently announced the names of those who will be inducted into the RV/MH Hall of Fame in August as the Class of 2019.
“Congratulations to the ten new honorees,” Foundation President Darryl Searer. “All of them have had or are having outstanding careers and are richly deserving of this high honor.”
Searer also applauded the work of the nominating committee that had to narrow a list of more than 60 highly deserving candidates down to the final ten selected.
“I was especially impressed with the committee’s work, for the diversity of this year’s class, related to regions as well as the division of the nominee’s industry segments such as community developers’ suppliers, manufacturers, dealers, association executives, etc.,” he said.
The RV Inductees for the Class of 2019 include:
- Randy Biles: The owner of Pikes Peak Traveland, an RV dealership in Colorado Springs, Colo., has dedicated his professional life to his customers as well as the RV industry. In his 34 years in the industry, Biles’ contribution to the RV industry has been beyond measure, and the industry is better for it.
- Jeffrey P. Few: He was first to develop the vacuum table for laminating RV walls. Most RV manufacturers use his process today. He developed the first bolt-on hitch for towable RVs to eliminate untrained welders from hodge-podge installation of hitches exposing the industry to safety concerns. The system is used universally in the auto and RV industry today.
- Bruce Hopkins: No other person has worked as much as RVIA’s Bruce Hopkins to ensure RVs are a safe product for the end user, are built to provide a positive consumer experience (cost-effectively) and can be repaired by a technician with the knowledge needed to get it done correctly. Out of respect for his many years of work for fire safety in RVs, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) presented Bruce with a Lifetime Achievement award.
- David Lance Wilson: Wilson, executive director of the Florida RV Trade Association, has devoted his life to the industry and the State of Florida specifically. One of Lance’s major achievements is management of the annual FRVTA Super Show, arguably the most successful retail/trade RV show in the country.
- Daryl Zook: He founded K-Z, one of the premier towable RV manufacturers in the industry in 1972, fulfilling his desire to start his own company building truck campers. Over his decades of leadership, K-Z has continued to grow, moving beyond truck campers to produce a full line of travel trailers, fifth wheels and toy haulers.
Manufactured housing inductees included:
- Richard “Dick” Ernst, Financial Marketing Associates
- John Carey, Modern Home Sales and Midwest Homes
- Leo Poggione, Craftsman Homes
- D. Raymond Broderick, Superior Homes
- Walter “Wally” Comer, Adventure Homes
The Class of 2019 will be officially inducted into the RV/MH Hall of Fame at the annual induction ceremonies and dinner on Monday, Aug. 5, in Elkhart, Ind.