Conference Director's Report
Barbara (Mozingo) Bowen, NAM President
We were welcomed to the Mountain Lake Marina and Campground by the owner, Mr. Miles Owens. He was a gracious host. It was a very pleasant setting for the difficult tasks we had before us. Mrs. Barbara Mozingo, NAM Vice President and Director identified the difficulties in getting help when a consumer suspects fraud or deceit in the sales and marketing of campground memberships. She also discussed the complexity of the multi-layered corporate structure of some membership organizations designed to keep consumers confused in their efforts to get help related to that kind of misconduct. |
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Mr. Dan Hopper spoke about marketing and bankruptcy schemes.
- In the marketing scheme some owners are not in the campground resort business, but rather in the business of selling memberships. The target customers are most often in the 55-68 age bracket.
- In the bankruptcy scheme the owner buys a company, removes the assets (the dues paying membership base), and then uses bankruptcy to deprive the creditors of money they are rightfully due.
- The same philosophy is used in both schemes: "the parks are not assets, they cost you money. The members are the assets."
Mr. Don Mayes, Chairman of a group of members at Tennessee Lakes (Former TAI Park), has been fighting an uphill battle for ten years to get the state of Tennessee to honor its' non-disturbance clause in the campground membership act. TAI sold memberships and then abandoned the resort. The mortgage holder has tried several times to sell off portions of the resort and each time the property owners have had to hire an attorney to protect their rights. Each of these property owners had their contracts notarized and entered as legal documents in the county courthouse. Don recommended that everyone who purchases a lot at a campground do the same.
During the round-table discussions the consensus of the group was that it is necessary to work together to make changes to benefit and protect the consumers and the legitimate membership campground owners. The problems have been identified officially at a national conference and now it is time to take action to resolve the problems.
Some invited guests could not be there in time for the conference but participated via telephone. We discussed strategy and a plan of action.
This was an exciting conference.
We also made time to visit the Appalachian museum, took a scenic boat ride on Norris Lake, and went on a shopping spree at the most unique store I've ever seen. (Hammers, in Clinton, TN).
We would like to offer our special thank you to Frank and Lois Rhoades from Greenville, Ohio, who traveled to Tennessee to help manage the conference.
RESOLVING THE PROBLEMS
It is our responsibility to find a way to make changes that will prevent others from being hurt the way we were by the marketing and bankruptcy schemes.
We can do this if we work together. NAM has the background information members need to organize and seek help from the government agencies that can make a difference. We have teams in several states and expect to be working with still more.
We remain in contact with Attorneys General, bankruptcy and other federal officials throughout the country. This process is slow and deliberate.
Members helping members is the motto of NAM. Let's make it work!
SCHEDULE MEETINGS
You all know the saying "two heads are better than one"! Well, if two are better than one just think how much better ten would be.
If you can get a group of about ten people together we will come to your meetings and give you information on how changes can be made. NAM is the vehicle to use to make the changes, but we need support, input and influence from others.
Want to have a meeting? Let me know where and when, how many will attend and I will be there with training materials and information to get you going. Florida in January where people from several states will be in a more or less centralized location would be a good starting point.
You
can contact Mrs. Bowen at
1-800-513-9042 pin #2000
Barbara Mozingo, Director and President
and
Dan Hopper, NAM Director