-
In this issue:
Chairmans Report 2
Presidents Report 2
CONY App 3
Exposition Highlights
5
Updated Board of Directors List
9
Legislative Report 12
Our VISION:
Campground Owners of New York (CONY) will be the model
campground association by providing
professionalism and diversity in our programs, education,
services, advocacy and support for continued growth
and collaboration within the outdoor hospitality industry.
Our MISSION:
Campground Owners of New York (CONY) is an association dedicated
to the promotion, growth,
improvement and development of privately owned
campgrounds in New York State.
nycampgrounds.com campcony.com
Volume 34, Issue 5 Nov / Dec 2011
See more Exposition highlights and photos starting on page #
Mike Papp, owner of West Canada Creek Campsites in Poland, New
York, was elected by the membership to the chair-manship of the
CONY board of direc-tors, during the associations annual meet-ing
held November 5, 2011, at the Con-ference & Event Center,
Niagara Falls, New York.
The annual meeting took place during CONYs 48th Annual
Exposition for the Outdoor Hospitality Industry, held No-vember 3
to 5, 2011.
Mike takes over the gavel from Scott Sherwood, owner of Spruce
Row Camp-ground & RV Park in Ithaca, New York, who stepped down
after four years in the position. Scott will now serve on the CONY
Board of Directors as Immediate Past Chairman.
In praising the outgoing chairman, Mike remarked, I want to
thank Scott for be-ing a great leader and a hard working member of
our industry. His leadership brought about many changes including
our new logo, our Long Range Plan and a renewed vibe at CONY.
Mike has served on the CONY Board of Directors since 2007, first
as the Region 6 representative, and most recently as 3rd Vice
Chairman. He led the Governance Committee which worked on issues
and projects related to membership, by-laws, nominations, and
policies and procedures.
He also chaired the Long Range Commit-tee, which recently spent
18 months pro-ducing a comprehensive strategic plan for CONY that
now guides the associations many functions. As Board Chairman, hell
lead the Executive Committee, which in-cludes oversight of
personnel, and ways and means.
According to Mike, It is an honor to be entrusted by my fellow
campground own-ers as the Chairperson of CONY. I look forward to
working with everyone to con-tinue the great things that Scott, Don
and the Board of Directors have started over the past four years as
well as working hard to continue growing CONY both in memberships
as well as membership benefits, and to keep increasing the value of
the Association our members.
(Exposition highlights continued on page 5)
Mike Papp elected as CONY chairman
Mike Papp, left, and Scott Sherwood, right, passing the gavel
from one chairman to the next.
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EXTRA
Chairmans Report
My fellow CONY members:
I know many of you but there are quite a few that I have yet to
meet so I would like to tell you a bit about myself. My wife Sandy
and I own West Canada Creek Campsite in Po-land, NY 11 miles north
of
Utica. We purchased the park in 2005 and have just completed our
7th season and I love it more every year. I have worked in the
Hospitality Business my entire life starting in the restaurant
business for 17 years. Sandy and I took a couple of years off to
workcamp and see if this crazy Campground busi-ness was something
we wanted to become involved with well I loved it working outdoors,
working with people, fixing things, making things and yes, even
cleaning out the clogged sewer drain that some uninformed camper
plugged up with something they
shouldnt have put down there was just plain fun. So, we invested
our small fund in property in the Outer Banks and lived there for
five years where I worked for a Vacation Rental Company as the Vice
President of Marketing and General Manager. This is where my two
wonderful boys Hunter and Jarrett joined our family. After selling
our home in the Outer Banks, we ended up in Central New York. Many
have questioned my sanity, including my wife but I love the area,
the five seasons (did you forget Mud Sea-son?) and the people the
very friendly people of New York.
Scott I want to thank you for being a great leader and a hard
working member of our industry. Your leadership brought about many
changes including our new logo, our Long Range Plan and a renewed
vibe at CONY.
(Chairmans Report continued on page 15)
Mike Papp
From the Desk of the President and CEO
As we approach 2012 and I look in the rearview mirror on 2011 it
definitely was an eventful year. The camping season seemed to
almost be 3 and 4 seasons rolled into one.
As Memorial Day approached we had well above average
rainfalls making camping in some areas much wetter than normal,
to say the least. The months of June, July and the first part of
August saw summer-like conditions in many places and above-average
occu-pancy levels helping level off what was lost in the rain
soaked May and Memorial Day weekends. Then at the middle of August
the economy finally seemed to affect the camping industry as the
stock market wor-ries and consumer confidence seemed to be very
low. Hurricane Irene and other large storms severely dam-aged
several member parks and the devastation was unbelievable. The
parks that I visited and multiple pictures and news releases that I
saw were just be-
yond belief. The storms were so severe that even large parts of
the New York State Thruway were closed to traffic due to flooding.
The one thing to be thankful for is that at the campgrounds no
severe in-juries were reported. I think most would agree that 2011
camping season has been a challenge. I am ex-cited for the prospect
of what the 2012 camping sea-son might provide and am looking
forward to its arri-val already.
Looking back at the 48th Annual Exposition (as we now call the
convention) I would like to extend a big thank you to the entire
exposition committee. With-out your hard work the expo would not
have gone as smoothly and successfully. I want to recognize a
cou-ple of individuals for their major contributions; Rose-mary
Curtis did a remarkable jobeven filling in to do a seminar when we
had a late cancellation from a speaker. I also want to thank Wayne
Schleder for run-ning our exposition hall. Over the past several
years
(President and CEO Report continued on page 11)
Donald G. Bennett, Jr.
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3
EXTRA
Unveiling the new CONY App for Smart Phones:
At the Exposition for the Outdoor Hospitality Indus-try, CONY
President and CEO Don Bennett, Jr. and AppFury co-founder Eric
Hinman unveiled the pre-liminary concepts for the new CONY
Application (also known as app) for smart phones and other mobile
devices.
Smart phone users will be able to download the newAND
FREEapplication (app) for the NY Campground and RV Park Guide. This
Guide brings the CONY campground members to the fin-ger tips of
mobile device users so they can find re-search, contact and make
reservations with camp-grounds just through the ease of their
phone, or while theyre on the move and in their travels.
So, what is a mobile app? According to the descrip-tion on
Webopedia.com, a mobile application (or mo-bile app, in its more
popular shorthand), is a term used to describe internet
applica-tions that can run on smart-phones and other mobile
devices. Mobile applications usually help users by con-necting them
to internet services more commonly accessed on desktop or
notebook computers, or help them by making it eas-ier to use the
internet on their portable devices.
CONY campgrounds, as formatted for the NY Campground and RV Park
Guide, will be accessible by users that download the app from their
app stores for the following devices: iPhone, iPod, iPad,
Black-berry, and Android. The app will be free to download.
One neat feature of the app is the inclusion of dis-tances to
the campground, from the location of the mobile device. So a user
traveling through the state and seeking nearby campgrounds will
have a distance to park displayed next to the park name in the
direc-tory.
Also, users can easily click on telephone numbers to talk
directly to the park, or click on links to go di-rectly to the
parks webpage and reservation page, and book directly through their
phone.
CONY is working with AppFury out of Syracuse, NY. Co-Founders
Eric Hinman (yes, that Eric Hin-man of Oswego Valley Mutual and
Hinman & Asso-ciates) and Steve VonDeak organized AppFury in
the Fall of 09 with the first item of business being the
conceptualization and development of their own hy-per-local
location-based line of iPhone apps marketed under their inmypocket
brand name. AppFury re-leased SOHOinmypocket just a few months
later to great acclaim and was featured by Apple as New and
Noteworthy.
In less than a year, AppFury emerged as a premier app developer
and positioned itself as the go-to shop in Up-state NY. This
position and title was solidified with CenterState CEO, central NYs
largest business development organization, selecting AppFury to
build its flagship mobile prod-uct, Creative Core Con-nect.
The CONY app will be set to go online at app stores around the
first of the year, and at that time you can download it for
yourself. Be sure to share the apps availability with your
campers!
Opportunities will be available for advertising and listing
upgrades on the app. Stay tuned for details.
The CONY app button as it will appear in the various app
stores.
Screenshot of a sample camp-ground listing as seen on the
CampNYGuide app for mobile devices.
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EXTRA
Quality Sunrooms, Awnings & EnclosuresQuality Sunrooms,
Awnings & EnclosuresQuality Sunrooms, Awnings &
Enclosures
H. Peter Burkert Silver-Top Manufacturing Co., Inc. Senior Vice
President PO Box 225, White Marsh, MD 21162-0225 Toll Free: (800)
638-6960 Local: (410) 335-5500 www.silver-top.com Fax: (410)
335-664
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EXTRA
Exposition Highlights
Donald G. Bennett, Jr., President and CEO of CONY, said, I am
looking forward to working with Mike and the entire CONY board to
continue fulfill-ing the mission of CONY and to help realize our
vi-sion of being the leader in the outdoor hospitality
industry.
Mike and his wife Sandy, parents to sons Hunter and Jarrett,
just completed their seventh season operating West Canada Creek
Campsites, an 85-site park along the banks of the West Canada
Creek, in the town of Poland, Oneida County, New York. Mike has
over 30 years experience in the service and hospitality indus-try,
including 17 years in the restaurant industry, which culminated in
his position as a multi-unit su-pervisor overseeing 10 restaurants.
After deciding to become part of the outdoor hospitality industry,
he and Sandy spent two years as full-time RVers and served as
Workampers, investigating the business. After a few more years
working in the vacation rental business on Hatteras Island where he
rose to the position of Vice President of Marketing and General
Manager of Surf or Sound Realty, they sold their home in 2004 and
purchased their campground.
Mike ran for chairman pledging to ensure that the value members
get is increased through better mem-bership programs, conferences,
and zone meetings, and that the board of directors does a better
job of communicating with the membership. He was sworn in November
5th, during the awards banquet held at the Exposition, and chaired
his first board meeting on November 6th.
Randy Lehman Inducted into CONY Hall of Fame during Exposition
Awards Banquet
Randy Lehman, owner of Hickory Hill Family Camp-ing Resort, was
joined by campground staff and his daughter Maria, as he became the
14th person in-ducted into CONYs Hall of Fame during the 48th
Annual CONY Exposition for the Outdoor Hospital-ity Industry.
Exposition chairwoman Rosemary CurtisHickory
Hills Operations Manageralong with CONY Presi-dent and CEO Don
Bennett, Jr., kicked off the in-duction by reading several letters
of commendation and congratulations from fellow HOF members,
campers, legislators and Governor Andrew Cuomo. Letter readers also
included Hall of Fame members Barb Lighthall and Mark Anderson.
During the in-duction, a slide show highlighting of Randys
accom-plishments played onscreen. The ceremony con-cluded with the
presentation of a plaque and a heart-felt speech by Randy.
Hall of Fame members are nominated based on crite-ria including:
at least 8 years of CONY membership, CONY Board service, operation
of a quality camp-ground, contributions to CONY/camping industry,
involvement in NYS tourism, community involve-ment, and other
service (paid or voluntary) in CONY. Nominations are considered by
the CONY board.
Marketing Awards Presented to Three CONY Campgrounds at
Exposition
Congratulations to the members with the winning submissions for
CONYs annual Marketing Awards, announced at the Exposition Awards
Banquet on Saturday, November 5th.
(Continued from page 1)
(Highlights Continued on page 6)
CONY Hall of Fame members, left to Right: Gil Paddock, Randy
Lehman, Barb Lighthall, Ed Lighthall, Mark Anderson.
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EXTRA
Exposition highlights
The 2011 CONY Marketing Award Winners are:
Best Website: Lake George RV Park, Lake George.
Best Simple Brochure: Jones Pond Campground, Angelica
Best Mailer Piece: Chautauqua Lake KOA, Dewittville
To submit your marketing piece for the 2012 CONY Marketing
Awards, look for the form in your 2012 CONY member binder coming
next Spring.
Educational Seminars (and a little Zumba each morning) kept
attendees informed and energized
The CONY staff working the front desk at the Expo-sition were
privy to a lot of anecdotal comments by attendees in between
seminar sessions, and the gen-eral feedback was really positive
overall.
The wide-ranging topics included: First Aid Certifica-tion,
Employment Practices, Adventure Systems Res-ervation System, Man
Cave Topics, Hot Amenities/
Themes/Activities, Accounting for Campgrounds, ADA, E-Blast
Marketing, Partnering and Packaging, Secrets to Keeping Customers
Happy, and a heart-pumping Zumba fitness dance class each morning,
led by Laurie Bulluck of Rainbow Shores Campsites. Certified Park
Operator credits were earned by atten-dees for their presence at
these seminars.
Many thanks and much appreciation goes out to our excellent
presenters, including: Karen Adams, Philadelphia Insurance
Companies Patrick Curtis, Bath Veterans Administration Medical
Cen-ter Rosemary Curtis, CPO, Hickory Hill Family Camping Re-sort
Bren Jobe, Corporate Communications, Inc. Francis Fritz Loomis,
Loomis Chainsaw Artworks Ed Marden, Camp Bell Campground Matthew
Mitchell, Corporate Communications, Inc. Ruby Newell-Legner,
RubySpeaks, Inc. (also our keynote luncheon speaker) Gil Paddock,
Deer River Campsite Bill Perry, Chautauqua Lake KOA Gary Reinard,
Copake KOA Clyde Taylor, Taylor Communications Todd Vaarwerk, WNY
Independent Living, Inc.
(Continued from page 5)
(Continued on page 7)
Left to right: New CONY Chairman Mike Papp, Exposition
Chairperson Rosemary Curtis, Anita & Bill Perry with
grandson
Elijah, CONY President and CEO Don Bennett, Jr., and Past CONY
Chairman Scott Sherwood. The Perry family of
Chautauqua Lake KOA accept their award for Best Mailer Piece
during the 48th Annual Exposition.
Ed Marden, CONY Treasurer and owner of Camp Bell Campground,
leads a seminar on Accounting for Campgrounds.
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EXTRA
Exhibitors brought many exciting products and services to the
Exposition
In keeping with the Exposition theme of CONY-opoly, a play on
the Monopoly board game, exhibi-tors were positioned around the
conference hall in the form of a giant Monopoly board. Conference
at-tendees had fun visiting with exhibitors and collecting
Community Chest and Chance cards, and mak-ing connections with
business operators that could help their campgrounds thrive.
Holders of Community Chest cards could claim a key to try and
open a locked prize chest. The winners, Chuck and Suzanne Gouin of
Willows on the Lake Campground, claimed a new Kindle reader.
Holders of the Chance cards were part of a drawing of gifts and
services from the Niagara Region, won by Bill and Anita Perry of
Chautauqua Lake KOA.
The Exposition was a great success, due to the par-ticipation of
our exhibitors and sponsors, including: Platinum Sponsors:
Evergreen USA Jones & Doldo Agency, LLC
Gold Sponsors: Kampgrounds of America, Inc. (KOA) Trailer Life
Wilcor International Woodalls
Silver Sponsors: Go 4 It Graphics Hinman & Associates LLC
Jamestown Advanced Products Corp.
Bronze Sponsors: AppFury Danielle Windus Cook Properties LLC
Dunton Commercial Properties JMF Publishing Kings Supply McNeil
Adven-Sure Shades Under the Sun Talent House Advertising W.S.
Emerson
Also: Adventure Systems LLC Andersons Brochure Distri-bution
Aurora Snax, Inc. Berg USA Ber-National Controls Breckenridge Park
Trailers Cavco Industries, Inc. Dura-Bilt Products, Inc. Gerber
Manufacturing Greater Lakes EZ Dock Loomis Chainsaw Art Works
Mission Management Systems Mod-U-Dock Nexu Innovations, Inc. Prime
Karts Silver-Top Mfg., Co. Strait Web Solutions Suburban Propane
Tees Plus Telemode Todd Harris Company
Additional Exposition Highlights:
The CONY Auction raised $16,196.00 Details about CONYs new
mobile application,
or app were unveiled by Eric Hinman of AppFury, the company
creating the app. (More details about the app available on page 3
of this newslet-ter.)
(Continued from page 6)
Exposition highlights
Wayne Schleder of Meadow-Vale Campsites chats with Roxi Baxley
of Strait Web Solutions. A big THANK
YOU to Wayne, who coordi-nates the exhibition hall and helps the
exhibitors with all
their on-site needs.
Attendees enjoy lunch and a keynote address on customer service
by Ruby Newell-Legner.
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EXTRA
First Time Expo Attendees React
Children enjoyed the CONY Kids Club, adults appreciated the
learning opportunities
Dear Don,
My family and I were first time attendees at the CONY expo in
Niagara Falls this November. The CONY kids club exceeded my
expectations. My chil-dren are 11 and 8 and when I first mentioned
bring-ing them to Niagara Falls for a trade show (sorry, expo), I
was met with resistance. This did not sound like a good time to my
children. Even after showing them the kids schedule and all the fun
things they would be doing, they were both still skeptical. On the
very first day, they were warmly welcomed and their fears of being
treated like new-comers or outsid-ers were gone. They instantly
made new friends and had many stories to tell me at the end of each
day. We also had no problem settling them down for bed at night. I
think they were asleep before their heads hit the pillow. The
ladies running the kids club did a fantastic job. When my youngest
returned to school on Monday and went to writing class, his teacher
told me he sat down and wrote a four page story about his time with
CONY. If you knew my son, you would understand what an
accomplishment that is.
During the exposition and trade show, I was equally impressed. I
have been to trade shows in the past and was expecting something
similar, but the camara-derie I saw between campground owners
surprised me. Everyone was very open and friendly, sharing ideas
and experiences. This didnt seem like a group of people in the same
business and essentially com-peting with one another. The seminars
I attended were informative and fun and I left Niagara Falls
ex-cited and ready to get started on next season. The Hot
Amenities, Themes & Activities seminar gave me so many great
ideas and insights that I have been working on our 2012 activity
schedule since we got home. The seminar on the Adventure Systems
eased some of my fears and I am ready to tackle that this coming
year as well. I loved visiting with all the ven-dors to see what
they had to offer and Ruby Newell-Legner was fantastic, both in her
seminar and as the Keynote Speaker on Friday. I cant imagine
the
amount of work Rosemary must have put into this expo, but it
showed, right down to the smallest of details. I am looking forward
to working, learning and growing with CONY and I dont think I will
have any trouble convincing the children to join me at next years
conference.
Vickie Ingalls Lake Bluff Campground
(Vickie and her husband Mike attended the Exposition with Lake
Bluff Campground Owners Gregg and Kelly Nicholls).
Thank you to Raul Ferreira for taking photographs during the
Exposition!
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EXTRA
Zone Meetings: Plan to Attend! Wed tell you to mark your
calendars, but we already did! CONY members will receive a nice
calendar with this newsletter, with important/interesting dates
marked out, including the Zone Meetings, Shows (where CONY has a
booth), and the Exposition. So, dont forget and please plan to
attend one of the following Zone Meetings coming near your this
spring! 2012 CONY Zone Meetings: March 27 Lake George, NY March 28
Kingston, NY March 29 Syracuse, NY March 30 Batavia, NY Details for
registering (both campgrounds and exhibi-tors) and specific
locations will come soon after the first of the year.
CONY Board of Directors: Updated configuration With voting
within each region, and with the election held at the CONY annual
membership meeting, there are some *new faces on the 2012 board of
directors, as well as some *old faces holding new positions.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE:
Chairman: *Mike Papp, West Canada Creek Campsites (replacing
Scott Sherwood)
1st Vice Chair: Bill Perry, Chautauqua Lake KOA
2nd Vice Chair: Laurie Bulluck, Rainbow Shores Campsite
3rd Vice Chair: *Gregg Nicholls, Lake Bluff Campground
(replacing Mike Papp, now Chairperson)
Treasurer: Ed Marden, Camp Bell Campground
Secretary: Rachel Kaiser, Medina/Wildwood Lake KOA
Past President: *Scott Sherwood, CPO, Spruce Row Campground
& RV Park (replacing Janine Paddock, Deer River Campsite)
REGIONAL DIRECTORS
Region 1: Matt Anderson, Camp Chautauqua
Region 2: Robert Kaiser, Medina/Wildwood Lake KOA
Region 3: Rosemary Curtis, CPO, Hickory Hills Family Camping
Resort
Region 4: *Carl Carlson, Cheerful Valley Campground (replacing
Gregg Nicholls, now 3rd Vice Chairperson)
Region 5: Truman Hartshorn, Lebanon Reservoir Campground
Region 6: Richard Heath, Ta-Ga-Soke Campground
Region 7: *Tammie Standford, Bedford Creek Marina &
Campground (replacing David Powelczyk, Back Bay Camp-ground, now
Region 7 alternate)
Region 8: Gilbert Paddock, Deer River Campsite
Region 9: Pat Green, Ledgeview Village RV Park
Region 10: Kimberly Foro, Whispering Pines Campsites & RV
Park
Region 11: Doug Brown, Nickerson Park
Region 12: Joe Leto, Brook n Wood Family Campground
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EXTRA
Be awarenot afraidof new ADA guidelines
As you should all be aware, there are new Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA) guidelines coming into effect for 2012, but
you need not be afraid. Though a lot of our member camp-grounds are
getting a lot of "scare" mail from vendors (including our
campground), here is what you need to know.
Those of you who didn't have a chance to sit in on the "ADA
& your park" seminar of our recent expo in Niagara Falls with
Todd Vaarwerk, (Todd is the director of advocacy and public policy
for Western N.Y. Independent Living Inc.), the new guide-lines are
applicable only when making significant changes in your park. For
example, if you are adding more sites, yes you have to make a
percentage of them ADA accessible. If you are adding cabins, yes
you need to have an ADA accessible cabin (1 for every 25
cab-ins).
The newly revised ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act)
September 2010 (effective date March 14, 2012) as they related to
certain recreation elements (swimming
pools and play areas) in existing facilities that were not
addressed in the 1991 standards are not grandfathered per the new
regulations. As it relates to Swimming and Lifts, Ramps, the new
ADA regulations requires that you remove architectural barriers in
exist-ing facilities when it is readily achievable to do so.
Readily Achievable means easily accomplished without much
difficulty or expense. This will depend on your own situation and
business. Also please remember that even though the NYS Department
of Health will not be enforcing the ADA rules or regulations they
do need to be consulted if you are moving ahead and installing a
lift, ramp or make any modification to your swimming pool.
There are advantages to making ADA changes, as there is over
$5000.00 in tax credits available towards im-provements on your
federal tax return. Please consult your tax adviser for further
details. Remember if you are changing it, what ever it is, it may
need to be made ADA compliant. The simple way we are doing it at
our campground, is when changing the concrete in front of our rec
hall, we will be installing ramped concrete 1-inch rise per lineal
foot of run (tax credit). We are in-stalling new locksets on our
rec hall, and will install an ADA lever handle (tax credit). Though
we hope to enlarge our store, it gets more involved with aisle
width, counter height etc. We are hiring an architect for that.
Todd Vaarwerk said he will be available to assist CONY in the
future.
Additionally, contact Bill Botton, US Access Board, (800)
872-2253. He can speak to you about your spe-cific situation His
agencys website also provides helpful webinars:
www.access-board.gov.
The Department of Justice can be consulted, too. www.ada.gov or
(800) 514-0301.
The US Access Board is the rule-making body, and the Dept. of
Justice approves the rules and is also the en-forcement arm.
So remember be awarenot afraidof the new ADA guidelines.
Thanks,
Gregg Nicholls/Lake Bluff Campground
Gregg Nicholls, CONY 3rd Vice Chairman, Lake
Bluff Campground
ProvidingQualityProtectionforyourCampgrounds
8008367860www.calbranch.com
JanePeersJenelleAdemovic
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EXTRA
From the Desk of the President and CEO
Wayne has really done a fantastic job of keeping everyone happy
and always going above and beyond what is asked of him.
Special thanks to Scott Sherwood our outgoing chairman for
honor-ing me with the Chairmans Award. I generally dont do well
with public recognition and when I caught wind of the award (keep
in mind that one of my tasks is get-ting the awards) he said that I
did-nt have a choice and there was no way I was talking him out of
it. I am truly honored, thank you Scott.
I really have enjoyed working with Scott over the past 4 years.
As he stated in his award message, we have become good friends.
That really is true. One of his sayings that has stuck with me is
that you have to surround yourself with good people and one of my
favor-ite sayings is that it takes one to know one. He has done a
remark-able job as CONY has undergone the many transformations that
have taken place and I commend him for the way he has led CONY.
I am looking forward to working with Mike Papp as our new
chair-man and the rest of the board of directors. If you didnt know
al-ready, this very dedicated group of people work tirelessly
without pay to help guide our organization to see that it supports
our mission and vision statements. They also work to be able to
provide pro-grams and services that members find of value as well
as looking out
for our businesses through lobby-ing and many other activities.
Each director and officer is a camp-ground operator and works in
the front line of our industry daily. Please know that the board of
di-rectors and officers are there to assist you just as the office
is. If ever we can be of service or you have a suggestion for
improvement please let us know.
Websters defines an Association as:
An organization of businesses with a common purpose and having a
formal structure.
An organization that supports companies and employers of a
particular type of industry and protects their rights:
The act of associating or state of being associated.
Friendship; companionship
Thank you for making the choice to be a part of the CONY family.
The definition above really repre-sents what is being accomplished
and what CONY is working to-ward accomplishing to be a reality.
As always we have a great deal that we are currently working on,
and we are looking forward to seeing you and keeping you informed
through various communication methods. I would highly encourage
your participation at one of our upcoming Zone Meetings. We will
have much to discuss as we look forward to kicking off the 2012
camping season. Specific meeting information will be coming to
you
soon but please save the dates of the zone meetings March 27-
30th.
I would be remiss if I didnt thank Suzanne and Traci for all of
their hard work. There are many long nights put in by all 3 of us
working on various projects and programs whether it be the zone
meetings, annual meeting and exposition, our printed directory,
show program, legislative efforts, and the myriad of other projects
and member vis-its that are conducted by our staff throughout each
year.
So as my rearview mirror becomes foggy with the cold
temperatures outside I am really thankful for the people that touch
my life and I am honored to be able to serve you as the CONY
President/CEO. I look forward to helping CONY carry out its mission
statement: CONY An association dedicated to the promotion, growth,
improvement and development of privately owned campgrounds in New
York State.
I wish you all a very happy holiday season and a prosperous new
year in 2012!
Respectfully, Donald G. Bennett, Jr. President and CEO
(Continued from page 2)
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EXTRA
Report submitted by Peter B. OConnell
Attorney at Law for the CONY Annual Membership Meeting
November 2011
During the past legislative session, I followed 33 bills of
interest to CONY members. The following is a brief description of
several bills that are of particular interest to CONY members:
PROGRAM LEGISLATION
EVICTION BILL: S.4024 by Senator Little/A.5561 by M of A
Englebright: Seeks to treat a per-son who fails to pay fees,
creates a disturbance or violates a rule of a campground as a
trespasser who may be summarily re-moved from a campground by the
campground owner or a law enforcement officer. Also estab-lishes
procedures under the Lien Law to dispose of property that is left
on a campground by a person who is evicted or fails to remove
property upon vacat-ing a campground. Passed in the Senate, died in
the Assem-bly Judiciary Committee.
Counsel to the Assembly Judiciary Committee expressed
reservations concerning the self-help aspects of the eviction
process. Next year, I will be splitting the bill into two bills in
an effort to achieve passage of the Lien Law provisions con-tained
in the bill.
CHAPTERS OF 2011
CHAPTER 135; S.5591 by Sena-tor Little/A.8303 by M of A Sweeney:
Defines community housing for the purposes of the Adirondack Park
Act to mean four dwelling units not exceeding 1500 square feet of
floor space each lo-cated on one contiguous parcel within a
moderate or low intensity use land area.
VETOES OF 2011
VETO 37; S.5591 by Senator Lit-tle/A.7667-A by M of A Russell:
Sought to authorize campgrounds with 15 or fewer sites without
dumping stations to provide a list of dumping stations within a
radius of 30 miles. CONY wrote in oppo-sition to this bill and has
offered to assist the sponsors in achieving a regulatory solution
to the problem.
OTHER LEGISLATION
M E M B E R S H I P C A M P -GROUNDS: S.2554 by Senator
Maziarz/A. 940 by M of A Phef-fer: Allows purchasers of member-ship
campground contracts to can-cel such contracts if: (1) there is a
material breach by campground owner to provide essential services;
(2) the purchaser relocates to a per-manent residence more than 500
miles from the campground; (3) the purchaser or his or her spouse
is admitted to a health care facility; (4) the purchaser or his or
her spouse is bedridden or physically unable to utilize the
campground;
or (5) a signatory to the contract is the subject of domestic
violence or abuse by another signatory. Passed in the Assembly and
died on the floor of the Senate.
APA BILLS; S.345 by Senator Little/A.151 by M of A Sayward;
Seeks to redefine campground within the Adirondack Park to
pro-hibit the APA from requiring a recreational vehicle to be
removed after a certain period of time. Passed in the Senate and
died in Assembly En Con Committee S.342 by Senator Little/ A.148 by
M of A Sayward: Seeks to pro-hibit the APA from enacting a rule
that is inconsistent with a Depart-ment of Health rule. Died on the
floor of the Senate and in Assem-bly En Con Committee.
FREE OR REDUCED FEE CAMPING: There were a total of four bills
that sought to provide free camping to either seniors or veterans.
S.297 by Senator Diaz/A.277 by M of A Dinowitz; S.2343 by Senator
Serrano/A.496 by M of A Gibson; A.6013 by M of A Burling; S.253 by
Senator Maziarz. None of them were re-ported from committee.
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To find or follow bills in the Senate, go to:
h t t p : / / w w w . n y s e n a t e . g o v /legislation
To find or follow bills in the Assembly, go to:
http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg
Legislative Report
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13
EXTRA
MEMBER BENEFIT UPDATE:
Corporate Discounted Rate on Vehicle Rentals
Thinking of renting a car, truck or cargo van? CONY has a
corporate discount rate on vehicle rentals through
Enterprise-Rent-a-Car, for use by CONY members and their
campers.
Find discounted rates by visiting www.enterprise.com or calling
1-800-Rent-A-Car. Corporate Code Number for discount is 29D3786,
and the access code/pin is CAM.
***
MEMBER BENEFIT UPDATE:
Credit Card Program
CONY members can take advan-tage of low rates on processing of
credit cards, through a program administered by CONY associate
member Payment Alliance Interna-tional.
Consider shopping around if youve been wondering if youre
getting the best deal. For a free line
-by-line savings analysis, contact Nathan Danus, Associate
Relation-ships Manager, at 866-371-2273
***
CONY is always working to provide value for your membership,
including a wide range of member programs, dis-counts and
benefitswell be sending you an update soon with a comprehensive
list of your current benefits and services. But, were always adding
more, so keep up to date on www.campcony.com.
CONY also has a great group of associ-ate members looking to
serve you. Be sure to consult your Handy Reference Guide of
Associate Members included with your n e w s l e t t e r , o r a g
a i n , v i s i t www.campcony.com.
***
New York Campgrounds Make the A Grade on
GuestRated.com
Two New York based camp-grounds were among a list of 44 parks
across the country that made the A grade in GuestRated.coms 4th
Annual Consumer Satisfaction Survey.
More than 30,000 consumers sub-mitted online reviews of parks
across the United States through GuestRated.com, a company that
conducts the online surveys, based out of Murrieta, CA.
According to the GuestRated.com press announcement, the two New
York parks among the 44 parks
with A ratings are:
Lake George RV Park, Lake George, NY. This park is a four-time A
grade winner.
West Canada Creek Campsites, Poland, NY. This park is a
three-time A grade winner.
Consumers are invited to submit their own reviews of private
camp-grounds and RV resorts they have recently visited by logging
onto www.GoCampingAmerica.com and clicking the Review a Park tab.
Survey results will eventually be posted on the website at
GoCampingAmerica.com.
For more information about the online survey program, contact
Bob MacKinnon at (877) 707-7080.
Member News Welcome New Member
Groman ShoresStan Groman Sandy Creek (1000 Islands)
See our associate members at www.campcony.com
Access Member Info on CampCony.com
Have you signed up for your login and password for CONYs
business-to-
business website at www.campcony.com?
GO NOW and set yourself up to access Members Only
information
including the materials in the CONY library, and the
message forum.
Questions? Contact the CONY office at (800) 497-2669 or
[email protected].
Business Tip
Have a limited number of movies that your campground will be
showingindoor or outdoorand want to find an affordable copy-
right licensing solution?
Visit www.swank.com for more details and information.
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14
EXTRA
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15
EXTRA
Industry News
NCA Northeast Conference 2012
The 2012 Northeast Conference on Camping, held by the Northeast
Campground Association, is scheduled for Mar 22 to Mar 24, 2012, at
the Sturbridge Hotel & Conf. Center, in Sturbridge, MA.
More details available online at http://campnca.org/conference.
Bookmark that page to check back when full registration details
be-come available.
More information about NCA is available on their corporate
web-site at www.campnca.org.
NEWS
Chairmans Report
Janine you will be missed on the Board but I look forward to
seeing you at meetings and other events Sandy and I still remember
fondly our first meetings and the welcome you gave us each time
like we were long lost friends.
Having just spent four great days in Niagara Falls at the 48th
Annual CONY Exposition learning new things, making new friends,
renew-ing older friendships, and as always working on the business
of CONY, I am excited for the up-coming year. Our new CONY App that
is under development is set to be released early next year and is
just one more thing to keep CONY on the cutting edge of the
industry. A great BIG thank you to Rosemary, Don, Suzanne and Traci
for all the hard work they and the committee put into making 2011 a
great Exposition. These folks put in many, many extra hours to be
sure that things go smoothly and that we are able to have a great
time and learn many new things! Our awards banquet was a great
evening and hearing all
the interesting and humorous sto-ries about Randy Lehman as he
was inducted into the CONY Hall of Fame while sitting next to his
wonderful daughter Maria was fun.
And just because the Exposition is over, dont think that the
folks in the office get to rest, not just yet, they still have a
Directory to get compiled, edited and printed and, having worked on
that process while in the Vacation Rental In-dustry I know that
there are many 20 hour days and very long nights trying to get it
all together. Did you know that YOU can help? The best way the each
of us can help the office to get the Directory done and reduce the
number of very long days is to get your ads in on time. There are
countless ads that come in at the last minute and these really
cause stress to the process because they have to be edited, fit
into a page which means something else may have to be moved which
may cause another change.so please remember to purchase an
advertisement it is a great investment in your business and get the
art work in to the CONY office as quickly as possi-
ble and certainly before the dead-line.
Your Board of Directors continues to work hard all winter as
other owners start the long winter hiber-nation. The Marketing
Committee headed by Laurie Bulluck is work-ing hard on a new
program for next year that will inspire your sense of community and
charity and help to promote our business in a positive light. The
Governance Committee headed by Bill Perry has a number of things
they want to keep moving on, including new member benefits and
possibly re-organizing the Regional bounda-ries. The Public Affairs
Committee headed by Gregg Nichols will con-tinue to monitor the ADA
regula-tions as well as keeping us in-formed of any other Codes or
Law changes that may come down the pipe.
Again, I want to thank you for al-lowing me to serve as your
CONY Chair and I look forward to work-ing with this great
organization as we continue to lead the Outdoor Hospitality
Industry.
Remember Its all Good! Mike
(Continued from page 2)
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The 2012 CONY Campground & RV Park Guide is currently being
printed and will be ready for the RV show season that kicks off in
Cleveland, OH on January 4th.
CONY members voted on three cover concepts at the Exposition in
November,
and the winning version features High Falls in the Chateaugay
River in Franklin County. The photo was provided by the Adirondack
Regional Tourism Council.
As always, this 100-page guide features an informative directory
of CONY parks, divided out by the New York State vaca-tion regions,
as well as colorful advertise-ments from parks, tourism promotion
agencies, attractions, RV dealers and others supporting CONY with
their advertising dollars.
A new feature this year, that we think will help people plan
their trips even easier, is a system of grids over the maps, with
coordi-nates that should help better identify loca-tions of
campgrounds.
Directories will be available at the Zone Meetings this spring,
and order forms will be available with registration. To order cases
(45 per case) ahead of time, contact the CONY office at
585-586-4360 or [email protected].
CONY Directory on the press and ready for shows season
1 Grove Street, Suite 200 Pittsford, New York 14534
Every effort is made to print accurate information. CONY, along
with contractors and advertisers will assume no liability for
errors or omissions. We will
gladly reprint any corrections.
The CONY Newsletter is published by the CONY office, providing
its members with industry related information. For information,
article suggestions or advertising inquiries, call: 800-497-2669 or
585-586-4360. Or e-mail us at: [email protected]
Campground Owners of New York,
1 Grove Street, Suite 200, Pittsford, New York 14534
nycampgrounds.com (consumer website) campcony.com (corporate
website)