To Our Redwood Owners Group:
I’ve been serving on the ROG Board since 2017, and President since 2019.
Tracy and I have been married since 1981. Originally from Southern California, we spent 35 years in Fort Smith, Arkansas until we retired in 2016 and began our fulltime RV lifestyle/adventure in our 2015 Redwood 38RL. We have a son/daughter-in-law and three grandchildren in Texas and a son in Northwest Arkansas, and we usually spend our winters near Orlando, Florida.
Unfortunately, we are not able to join the Redwood family this year at the National Rally due to work commitments in Bar Harbor, Maine, but we are certainly with you in spirit.
Mission
The Redwood Owners Group (ROG) is a non-profit organization designed specifically to provide Redwood RV enthusiasts with knowledge, expertise and ideas to enhance the ownership experience for all current, former, prospective and potential owners of Redwood Luxury Vehicles manufactured by Crossroads RV/Redwood of Topeka, Indiana.
2022-2023 ROG Board of Directors
The Board of Directors are Redwood owners who volunteer to serve the Redwood Owners Group in the capacity of a director. All board positions are two-year terms and are eligible for re-election. Those who serve as your 2022-23 Board members are:
Paul Bridges, President (2022-2024)
Dennis Harmening, Vice President (2021-2023)
Eileen Lurker, Secretary (2022-2024)
Jeff Robinson, Treasurer (2021-2023)
Liane Klobe, current Rally Manager (2021-2023)
Libby Webb, Director (2021-2023)
John Andersen, Director (2021-2023)
Jeff Webber, Director (2021-2023)
Larry Gibson, Director (2022-2024)
Ken Wilcox, Director (2022-2024)
Lisa Price, past Rally Manager (2022-2023)
I’m deeply grateful for these directors who serve the members of the Redwood Owners Group. All of these are volunteer positions filled by people who are Redwood owners with a desire to help other owners.
We grieve with Dennis Harmening in the loss of his beloved wife, Debbie who ended her courageous battle with cancer on October 15, 2022.
Because of personal circumstances, it was necessary for Lisa Price to resign as the Rally Manager. Lisa has served on the ROG Board since 2016 and has functioned as our Rally Manager since 2017. ROG would not be the group it has become without Lisa Price, and we as owners are indebted to Lisa and her faithful service. We are so grateful to Lisa and George for the countless hours devoted to make our Rallies an outstanding experience, and we are just as grateful for Liane Klobe who was willing to step up and take the responsibility as Rally Manager.
Membership
As of May 2023, the voting membership of ROG consisted of 282 members: 14 Lifetime, 39 Charter, and 229 Regular Members. In addition, there are 4 Industry Members.
In comparison, in May 2022 we had 286 voting members. While we continue to gain new members, some of the decline has occurred as long-time members are selling their rigs and retiring or downsizing in this lifestyle. ROG continues to have a healthy membership number and we look to increase that through our social media presence, being the only company-sanctioned owners group for the Redwood RV.
We also wish to acknowledge with great appreciation ROG members Tony and Sharon Lane. Tony participated in the early discussions about forming an owner’s group and was one of the founding members of the ROG. Tony and Sharon have decided it is time to downsize and are in the process of selling their Redwood, but have been invaluable friends and a resource to our Owners Group.
2022 Accomplishments
- Roundtables. ROG hosted 11 Redwood Roundtables between August 2022 and May 23. These monthly Zoom meetings are a time when owners can learn from experts as well as other owners. Our thanks to Jeff Webber for organizing the Roundtable sessions on the second Thursday of each month at 8:00 Eastern time. Sign-ups are posted on the ROG Facebook page and website. This past year, Roundtable topics were:
- August – TSD Logistics Fuel Card
- September – HVAC Modifications
- October – Winter Skirting/In-Command
- November – Travel Preparation Tips
- December – Holding Tank Maintenance
- January – Residency Questions/In-Command Update
- February – Lippert Tech Support (Landing Gear and Slides)
- March – Lithium Batteries
- April – 2023 Rally Update
- May – Internet Options
- June – 2023 Rally Update
- Owner Liaison/Assistance. ROG has provided owner assistance when other forms of resolution have not been effective.
- Communication. We are striving to remind Redwood owners that the ROG is the only sanctioned group that has direct contact and input to the Redwood Management Team. This is being accomplished through social media and the placement of an ROG decal on all new Redwood coaches at the factory.
- Website and Facebook. Taking into account all the comments received last year at the AGM, a subcommittee formed to evaluate our Facebook group membership policy and presented our findings to the board.
- The board decided to clarify the rules of joining the FB group, add additional administrators, and monitor the discussion level to help ensure it remains a forum of civil discussion.
- We discontinued our “Web Registration” option for non-members, as we felt that our website provides a good sample for those browsing for Redwood information and we don’t have any obligation to provide non-members the wealth of resources available to members.
- Our Facebook page now has over 2,000 followers – and though most are not ROG members, they are scrutinized for having a legitimate need to participate on our page.
- The Facebook page continues to provide timely, valuable resources and an entry point for prospective ROG membership.
- The board strongly encourages ROG members to utilize ROG resources. There are other forums, Facebook pages, and websites that have Redwood information, but some of these other sites are working directly AGAINST the purposes of the Redwood Owners Group. We believe that ROG has great value in its mission and execution of the National Rally, and encourage all our members to support the efforts of ROG.
- As a reminder, the only official ROG site and forum is www.RedwoodRVowners.com, and the official Facebook Page is REDWOOD RV OWNERS GROUP.
- Logo. The board approved a revision to the ROG logo which now reflects the contemporary Redwood branding.
Annual General Meeting
The AGM will be held Thursday, July 20, at 11:30 pm EST, in person, at the National Rally. It will last less than an hour and we will conduct the official business of ROG. All of the business items will be conducted by online ballot, so the results will be announced and there will be an open time for discussion, suggestions, and questions.
Other than the Board of Director elections, there are no bylaw changes or other questions up for vote this year.
Looking Forward
There are several initiatives the ROG Board will work on in the next year:
- Owner Liaison. ROG will continue to provide owner assistance/intervention when possible to help in the satisfactory outcome of issues with the product or dealerships. We will continue to provide input on product improvement through ownership experience.
- Monthly Communication. We will continue hold monthly Redwood Roundtables via Zoom on topics relevant to Redwood owners.
- Website Review, Maintenance. The board will continue to review the Facebook Page, website and forum for ease-of-use and simplicity.
- Regional gatherings – we will support the initiative of owners to form regional gatherings.
- Developing a Redwood Owner App. We still want to investigate this possibility as a resource for technical support in order to enhance the owner experience.
- Planning and executing the 2024 Redwood National Rally.
As always, we welcome suggestions and input from our owners. We only exist to support each other – Owners Helping Owners.
Respectfully submitted,
Paul Bridges
President, Redwood Owners Group