Darryl Searer was vacationing down in Florida when he got a call back in January 2012 that the RV/MH Hall of Fame was in danger of closing.
This story by Ed Semmler originally appeared, and can be read in its entirety, in the South Bend Tribune.
The Hall of Fame, which opened just before the Great Recession, had about $5.5 million in debt and it was finding it nearly impossible to keep up with its bills. Searer, who previously served as treasurer and a board member, briefly thought about simply collecting the plaque that honors his accomplishments as founder of Elkhart-based Ultra-Fab Products, which provides a variety of aftermarket products for the RVing community.
“They were very close to turning the keys over to creditors, and just moving the collection over to an empty grocery store,” said Searer.
But after spending considerable time talking to friends in the industry and mulling it over, Searer decided to do something about it.
Luckily, Ultra-Fab was in the capable hands of his brother, and Searer didn’t want to see the highly visible 85,000-square-foot complex on the south side of the Indiana Toll Road, just east of County Road 17, get closed down.
On March 18, 2012, Searer decided to come out of retirement, agreeing to take over as president and chief operating officer of the facility, which honors pioneers of the RV and manufactured housing industries and displays some 60 historic RVs dating from 1913.
And he decided to do it for free. Today, the facility is less than a couple of months away from making its final payment to be debt free.
Plans are in place to build a 60,000-square-foot event center that would be connected to the east side of the Hall of Fame as well as a 20,000-square-foot pavilion and outdoor rally area with room for several hundred RVs.
The total price tag for the expansion could reach about $8 million, but board members have indicated they will not take on debt to accomplish the work, instead depending on revenue, fundraising efforts and donations.
