By Frank Caccavo Sr.

Our March Rally brought us to the Florida State Rally at the Fairgrounds in Orlando Florida. The State Winnebago Chapter sponsored this rally. Bernie & Emil Gaudet organized our own chapter. We had a large group of 17 coaches in attendance. We were joined by Neil & Jackie Kelley from Ormond Beach Florida who later joined our chapter.

All of us arrived on Wednesday March 15,2006. We all met at a large parking lot near the fairgrounds so that we all could enter the rally together and therefore park together.

We all came early because our assignment was to decorate the stage and later that week the tables in the convention hall. After setting up we all went to the convention hall to begin our duties. Most of the men began decorating the stage, which entailed setting up a large backdrop. We then attached a large sun and clouds. The theme this year was Wild Life of Florida. In keeping with that theme Fran Askew’s daughter made a number of beautiful birds out of felt. These were Eagles, seagulls and many others, which we attached to the backdrop. The backdrop looked beautiful, so much so that the State chapter asked if they could keep it for next year. In the meantime most of the women took to putting covers on the tables. These tables were later to be decorated by our chapter on Saturday.

That afternoon, after our work was done, we all met for our attitude adjustment. When you park at a large rally such as this, space is at a premium. The room between coaches was small and with around 30 people showing up it was tight. In fact Frank Sementilli nicknamed the gathering “ the sardine factory”. The name stuck for the rest of the rally. Because the group was so large we decided to break down into smaller groups for dinner. We all seemed to go to different restaurants.

Thursday morning the state chapter held opening ceremonies followed by a catered lunch. That afternoon many of us attended vendor hall to check out who showed up. Many of us also checked out the four dealers who were present trying to sell their coaches. Ironically one of our members Bob & Gail Cook decided to trade their coach in for a new Horizon. Welcome to the world of indebtedness.

All afternoon there were seminars put on different people covering a variety of topics. Later that afternoon we met at the “ Sardine Factory” to talk about the day. Later that evening we enjoyed a catered dinner and entertainment provide by Bill Castner with a look back at the ‘50’s.

Friday morning , after a continental breakfast, more of the same-- vendors, seminars and dealers. That afternoon there was an ice cream social for anyone wanted to attend. Dinner was sponsored by one of the dealers followed by Fred Moore singer and storyteller.

Saturday again saw a catered breakfast followed by seminars, vendors and dealers. That afternoon a wine and cheese party was held after which we met at the ‘Sardine Factory’ to discuss our job of decorating the tables in the convention hall. We all met and began distributing all the material we had collected on the tables. Marva Dreher oversaw all this work since she had been instrumental in organizing this job. The tables looked great with all kinds of wildlife of Florida ( not real ).

Dinner was served and afterward the president of the State chapter introduced the hit of the rally. The toilet bowl races. There were two races one for the championship and the other between the representatives from Winnebago. These races brought the house down. Later he did the roll call of states, which showed we had people from all over the country in attendance. The president thanked all those who worked hard to make this rally successful. This was followed by the installation of new officers of the state chapter. That evening’s entertainment was a German humorist and his wife.

Sunday morning brought a continental breakfast for all where we all said our goodbyes and wished all a safe trip home.