Guide to Hosting a Rally

HOSTING A RALLY - A.K.A. BEING A RALLY-MASTER

As Rally-Master/Rally Host, it is your option as to what activities and meals are scheduled. Make the schedule as simple as you want.  Extras are limited to your desires, energy, time, experience, and imagination.  The rally host keeps receipts for all income and expenses and will suffer no out-of-pocket expense, because expenses are offset by attendee rally fees and by pre-approved authorized expenses paid from the chapter’s treasury.  Rally hosts are unpaid volunteers and do not receive compensation for their effort….just many, many thanks from the grateful membership.  Refer to the “Standing Rules” page of the tiffintravelers.info web site for definition of preapproved subsidies.  Refer to the “Rally Archives” link at the web site for examples of previous events.  Swipe and adapt as you please. There are only a few must-dos.

Must-dos:

Volunteer to host a rally at a time-and-place of your choosing.  The chapter's Rally Scheduler might perform the time-and-place selection and associated steps prior to on-site Host(s) being identified.   Great locations are often nearby the member's home, so don't rule out your locale as an interesting spot to gather members!

• Tiffin Travelers would like to rally several times a year (ideally more than twice per year), with each rally lasting 3-5 nights.

• Mostly, chapter members are from east-of-the-Mississippi, so rallies usually are in that vast area.  But, we will rally anywhere of interest to the members.

• The club officers (or current ‘rally committee’ if one is named) can help resolve potential conflicts with other scheduled events such as FRVA or Allegro Club rallies.

Check out camping facilities and negotiate with the campground manager re: dates, number of coaches, and requirements.  Below steps up to the point of "How Much" might be performed by the chapter's Rally Scheduler prior to the on-site Rally Host(s) being identified.  The volunteer Rally Host(s) would take over the event planning and execution in the "How Much" step.  

• Campground should provide full hook-ups, including 50-amp service; but hook-ups are optional and not a rally requirement.

• Campground must accommodate  a few “big rigs”, as many of our coaches are 40-45 feet long.

• Campground must accommodate 26-32 ft. Class C coaches, as our membership includes these types.

• Campground should (but not required) provide some covered shelter or inside area for a group meeting-place.

• Based on campground, rally host may limit the number of coaches participating, but seek a facility that will allow a minimum of 10 rally coaches.  25 or more is often preferable dependent upon prime locations and the time of year, but there is no requirement to host these larger assemblies. 

• Campgrounds will usually allow each coach to make reservations directly with them and handle all camping fees.  This method is recommended to avoid serious strain on the host.

• Avoid any contractual financial obligations to the park or vendors unless you are positive the obligation can be met by rally payments from attendees.   Contract situations are extremely rare and should be reviewed by chapter leadership and preapproved.

• Set a deadline for members to reserve, usually one or more months in advance of the rally date, again dependent upon the time of year and the location’s popularity.  Most of our chapter rallies book to capacity far in advance of the rally date and park management wants the reservations locked down early to allow them ample time to rent-out the sites not being used by the chapter. 

Communicate rally information to Tiffin Travelers members:

Provide the following information to chapter leadership via email to tiffintravelers@gmail.com.  The chapter’s communication designee will format a publication for email to the members and for posting to the club web site.  If a Rally Scheduler has been used up to this point, chapter leadership will seek volunteer Rally Host(s) to take over in the "How Much" phase.  As the activity schedule develops, provide info to the chapter leadership for updating of the web site and members as needed.  If you desire, chapter leadership will also assist with preparation of agenda documents, activity driving directions, and rally handouts.

Ø  WHO - your name and contact information

Ø  WHERE - name of campground and contact information (address, phone, website, etc.)

Ø  WHEN - rally dates, reservation deadline dates

Ø  HOW - you want them to make reservations-- Just with the campground? Or, also notifying you by email or phone?  Or, notifying you instead of the campground?  Advise registrants to reserve early if the number of available sites is limited and expected to fill quickly.

Ø  HOW MUCH – Nightly site rate and anticipated rally fee, if any. Rally fee, if any, may not be known early on, and can be published later. (Rally fees can be minimized by asking attendees to provide their own plates, cups, napkins and utensils for each food-related activity.  Door prizes and gift bags, if any (not required), should be donated items and never charged to attendees in the rally fee.  Rally fees might include costs of reservation expense, food, beverage, incidental expenses or activities/tours which will be provided to or available to all attendees.)

Ø  SUBSIDY AVAILABLE FROM TREASURY - $5 per person in a member coach (max $10 per coach) is preapproved toward reduction of rally expenses.  Receipts for expenses are required.  And, if a chapter rally is attended by 25 or more member coaches, each member coach shares a portion of $400 preapproved toward a catered meal.  Receipts for expenses are required.  These subsidies are for members only, guests pay a higher amount for the rally fee and dinner (Calculate the rally and dinner costs first, divide each total by the total number persons attending to arrive at the pre-discounted price to be paid by non-members.  Then, subtract the non-member costs per person from the original totals, to arrive at the remaining balance to be subsidized and shared equally by the members.)  To qualify for any and all chapter subsidies a rally must be advertised in advance on the chapter web site, thus allowing all chapter members sufficient notice and opportunity to attend the event.

Ø  WHAT - rally 'theme' if any; agenda or schedule of events (Agendas are usually not ready for publication until a few weeks before the rally, so don’t sweat the agenda early on.)

Ø  CHARITABLE CAUSES – Hosts select a charity in the rally area to receive a $200 donation from the chapter.  A Standing Rule defines the approved types of charities to choose from.  The $200 check is issued by the chapter treasurer and mailed with a cover letter cc’d to the host.

Ø  WHY HAVE RALLIES - to have fun, of course!  And to share experiences and fellowship and to explore new experiences.

Welcome participants to the rally and provide information on activities.

Plan as much or as little as you choose, but...

• There should be times and places set aside for socializing.

• There should be a time & place set aside for a Tiffin Travelers Chapter Meeting, if the rally is in conjunction with the one required annual business meeting.

• There should be “down” time for attendees to fill as they wish between scheduled events.

Nice-to-have:

• One or more evening meals--potluck, catered or at a restaurant.  Maybe also a breakfast. 

• Afternoon social hours

• Brochures and maps of local places to visit, activities, events, etc. 

• Information on local resources such as grocery store, vets, emergency medical, etc. (Chapter leadership may assist with gathering this information and preparing/publishing this document.)

• List of members registered to attend, to be distributed in welcome packet.  (If needed, chapter leadership may assist with preparing and publishing this document.)

Resources:

Current and/or past officers and rally masters can advise you.  A few past Rally Masters, who are still members, are listed below. Also, the club web site maintains “Rally Archives” of prior rally agendas which may be of help in your planning.

Frances and Tom Fonner   Bill and Pat Murton              

Ron and Marge Mazzone     Carol and Lou Mandik

Clay and Frances Croom  

Previous Rally Sites:

Rutledge RV Park, Fletcher/Asheville, NC

Bear Creek RV Park, Asheville, NC

Plemmons RV World, Rural Hall/Winston Salem, NC

Bella Terra Resort, Foley/Gulf Shores, AL

Stagecoach RV Park, St. Augustine, FL

Best Holiday Travel Park, Chattanooga, TN

Lazydays RV Resort, Seffner/Tampa, FL

Coastal Georgia RV Resort, Brunswick, GA

Oak Plantation, St. James Island/Charleston, SC

Enon Beach Campground, Springfield/Dayton, OH

Hickory Hill Family Camping, Bath, NY

Rolling Rally from Casselton, ND to Elkhart, IN

Rolling Rally from Asheville, NC to Branson, MO

Nashville Shores RV Resort, Hermitage/Nashville, TN

Recreation Plantation, Lady Lake/The Villages, FL

Cherry Hill RV Park, College Park, MD/Washington, DC

Americamps RV Resort, Ashland/Richmond, VA

Whispering Hills RV Resort, Georgetown, KY

Compass RV Park, St. Augustine, FL

Florida Grande Motor Coach Resort, Webster, FL

American Heritage RV Resort, Williamsburg, VA

OBX Campground, Kill Devil Hills, NC

Twin Oaks RV Resort, Elko, GA

Cajun Palms RV Resort, Henderson, LA

Suggestions for Future Sites:

Pine Mountain Resort, GA (Calloway Gardens, FDR State Park, Roosevelt’s Little White House); New Orleans RV Resort and Marina; River Ridge Retreat, Guntersville, AL; Savannah Lakes RV Resort, Hardeeville, SC; or wherever your wanderlust happens to come across during your travels. 

last revised 031325