| March - April 2009 |
| DOGWOOD SAMS The Farmers Opry In Chumuckla welcomed 14 member rigs and two guest rigs to our February campout. This was a big show weekend for the Opry and quite a few members enjoyed the dinner and performance by Ronnie McDowell Saturday. We also enjoyed the bonfire in front of the clubhouse until the rain ended that activity. Not to worry, everyone just moved indoors to play games. Fourteen rigs attended the Florida Winter Samboree in Dunnellon in February. It was great to have so many folks there participating in all the activities. We had prime parking near the river with a great view and a big open space in the middle of our “village” where we gathered for our group supper Thursday evening. We sold our books and made about $45 for the chapter treasury. The remaining books, six boxes, were given to the Getaway Sams; they thanked us for our donation which will go to the VA hospital in Lake City. Wilderness RV Park near Robertsdale, AL, was a new location for our group and proved to be a good one. We were located in a section all to ourselves beside a small lake. The wooded park and grassy areas made it all the more attractive and comfortable. Bill and Kay Schoenherr treated the group to delicious bar-b-que sandwiches, baked beans and cole slaw Friday. Everything was so good most folks went back for seconds. At dinner Dan Hammer provided a cake for Zerelda’s birthday. There were 17 rigs in attendance. Our chapter will participate in the skit competition at the Dothan Samboree in April. The April meeting was held during the Alabama Spring Samboree in Dothan, AL. We had 16 rigs attending. Our yard sale in March earned our chapter $646.80 for our charity fund. We visited a nearby syrup mill for a tour and history lesson on syrup-making. It was a most interesting – and tasty – visit. We participated in the walking program to earn ‘foot’ patches, participated in Red Hat activities learning cake decorating techniques, entered the table decorating competition, performed karaoke in the evening entertainment, entered the dog show (winning 1st & 2nd in the costume division), got 1st place in Skip-bo, 1st in bocce ball, 1st in golf cart rodeo, 1st & 2nd in Men’s bean bag toss, 1st & 2nd in Women’s bean bag toss, 1st in Easter bonnet competition, 1st in a skit modeling unique Easter bonnets, a 1st and four 2nds in Beanbag baseball, 2nd in Mexican dominoes, 1st in knitting, 1st in quilting, 1st & 2nd in crochet, 2nd in wood carving, 1st & 3rd in photography, 1st in sewing. President Bill Krantz accepted the plaque for Florida for most out-of-state rigs attending the Samboree. We also manned hospitality tables, helped decorate the ‘café’ area, drove the tram, helped judge the dog show, judged chapter scrapbooks. FLORIDA EAGLE SAMS Our weekend at “Wild Frontier” in Ocala literally started off with a bang. For those of you who were not there and have not heard Friday afternoon a small plane crashed into two RV’s in the campground. It caused an explosion and fried two RV’s. The good news is that the occupants of both RV’s were out of town for the day. Unfortunately, the pilot did not survive. It was reported that he was in his 80's and a very experienced pilot. Babb’s rig was right next to the RV that was hit first. Through the efforts of several chapter members, the rig was unhooked and Lloyd was able to get it moved – even with the slides still out. We are sure that if he had not gotten it moved when he did, it would have been consumed as well. Needless to say, the plans for the weekend were out the window. Several of the members could not get to their rigs to fix dinner for the potluck so everyone sort of did their own thing for dinner. Many ended up at the same restaurant while others went to different places. No one was in the mood for cards or games so everyone pretty much went to their rigs to relax. We planned our potluck for Saturday. We had 13 rigs present plus some guests. Our April campout was at Olde Mill Stream, Umatilla with nine rigs. We played croquet and horseshoes. We ate at the Umatilla Tavern. GATEWAY SAMS This month we camped out at Suwannee Valley Campground at White Springs with Ellis and Elanor Mullis as hosts. This campground has many new features but still has reduced water pressure after all the upgrades in facilities. A number of RVs had arrived a day ahead and had eaten out Thursday evening. As the rest of us arrived they were lounging in the abundant shade. That evening we drove into town for a supper at Fat Belly’s Bar-N-Grill. ASDs Sherrie and Ken Risberg joined us at this campout. We decided to go back to Fat Belly’s for breakfast the next day. That evening we ate the steak or chicken meal served by the campground. GETAWAY SAMS February campout was at the “Withlacoochee” Samboree at Dunnellon. We served donuts and coffee Wednesday morning and helped out at the “Mr. Sam Bones” table. It seemed the State was a little late in giving us our assignments; but as usual, the gang jumped in and took care of what was needed. The weather was a bit chilly at night but nice in the daytime and continued to get better as the week progressed. We netted $307 in our 50/50 drawing for the VA Hospital in Lake City. We also collected a truck load of hard and paperback books for the hospital thanks to the generosity of some of the other Chapters. Friday we dined at the Front Porch restaurant in Dunnellon; it is nothing to write home about but it was good filling down home type food. All in all, it was a good Samboree and had it been a little warmer at night for the entertainment, it would have been much better. March caampout was at Casey Jones in Lake City. We didn’t do much beyond getting our rigs set up except enjoy a very laid back tea time at the Bundy’s rig. Thursday enough more rigs came that we now had enough rigs in attendance to be able to use the Rec Hall and let the card players begin. Friday all of the ‘arts and crafts’ supplies were laid out and we started making Easter cards to be delivered to the VA Hospital here in Lake City. Carol Ring had 60 cards donated by the ‘seniors’ at her church and we made 84 cards at our little session. Some went out to eat at the Old Time Buffet. GOLDEN TRIANGLE SAMS We had 13 rigs in Dunnellon including our ASDs Rich and Sharon Vander Bok. We had a great time sharing meals and happy hours besides all of our work and participation in the Samboree activities. Note: Bob and Reba Ward did a great job with their first time as State Directors. Tuesday and Wednesday we served lemonade and cookies; we served sandwiches Friday and Saturday and made over $900 for our charities. Lake Oklawaha RV Park was the setting for our March campout; and what beautiful weather we were treated to! After all the cold, blustery days of the past two months, the warm days and sunshine were a real treat! We had a total of 15 rigs including our first time guests. We also had a drive- in for Saturday’s meeting and games. Thursday a group of early birds ventured to Salt Springs for dinner at Bass Champions restaurant. Friday we practiced some outdoor games, enjoyed our usual happy hour. Saturday after lunch we gathered for a rousing game of beanbag baseball and then paired up for Holey Board, Bocce and Ladderball. That evening we shared a delicious ham dinner following happy hour and then games in the clubhouse or a campfire at the Marks’ rig that evening. Our April campout was held at Grand Lakes RV Resort, north of Ocala. We had a wonderful turnout – 14 member rigs and one guest rig. Thursday a group of earlybirds went to a seafood restaurant for dinner. Friday we celebrated Happy Hour then gathered in the clubhouse for games. Saturday Carol Griffin led a group in line dancing lessons; after lunch iit was a rousing game of beanbag baseball and holey board. We were joined by our State Directors, Bob and Reba Ward. That evening, after our potluck, we played a “20 questions: type vacation spots game. JAX RAMBLING SAMS Tom (always early for any required work) and Sumiko (always doing everything with flair and in abundance) Davis were our hosts at Eagles Roost RV Campground at GA I-75 exit 5 for our February campout. The campground was able to park all rigs near the meeting room. Many couples arrived as earlybirds. Our new Assistant State Directors Ken and Sherrie Risberg attended this campout. We enjoyed a hotdog supper. The small meeting room is set up to be a catered meal kitchen; they also have a large meeting room. Elbert and Mildred White were our hosts for the March campout at Casey Jones RV Park. The meeting room was not available for us; but, since the weather was cool, we met in a tent provided by Tom Davis. The tent was large enough for all of us to fit inside with our lawn chairs around the walls and tables for the food. We celebrated the 69th birthday of our president, Bill Amos. OCALA CENTRAL SAMS Wind and rain were in store for the early birds and delayed arrival of others on Tuesday. By the afternoon things were looking better and we had beautiful weather on Wednesday and Thursday. We had hoped to have more but only six rigs actually made it to Wekiva Falls. This park is large and the management is doing a lot of work to make it a first class destination. There will be full hookups for everyone. Games were available but we were content to just talk and visit. We enjoyed a very pleasant hour or more on a guided tour of the river. We followed this with a game of beanbag baseball. We went to Denny’s for our evening meal. PASCO LOAFERS Twenty nine members were present at our December campout. Report on activities at the Orlando Samboree were given. Twenty nine members plus two guests were present at our January campout. Reba Ward and Jill Campbell conducted the installation of officers. Twenty eight members plus several guests were present at our February meeting. SALTY SAMS Another weekend has passed us. We spent a nice weekend in March at Lake Okeechobee Camp Grounds, in the city of Lake Wales. The weather was perfect, nice nights, no humidity to speak of and the days were ideal. The only drawback was we did not have a good turn out. We had only four rigs. But we kept busy at this park. They had the cowboy ranch to visit, which is always interesting and the lakes and piers for fishing and boat launching. SASSY SAMS Our March campout was held at Ocala Sun RV Resort just south of Ocala off I-75. We had a very good turnout of 19 member rigs and 3 guest rigs (2 of which became new members at this month’s meeting). Our co-hosts for the weekend were the Clark’s and the Lange’s who held a Chili Cook- off on Saturday night. We had all the fixings to go with it: shredded cheese, chopped onions, sour cream, nacho chips and two different kinds of corn bread. Everyone got a chance to sample and vote on the chili made by the 14 entrants. (Those who didn’t care to make chili made beef stew instead.) Prizes were awarded to the top 3 chilis, one of which was made one of our newest members. Our hosts started off the evening by acting out a joke about an unsuspecting, novice chili cook-off judge. Then with the help of four other Chapter members, they topped off the evening with an original skit. All-in-all, it was another fun evening with the Sassy Sams. Earlier that day two of our members, Linda Clark and Betty Schwenke, showed off some of chemo caps they knitted to donate to the Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins for women undergoing chemotherapy. April found us at Blueberry Hill Campground in Bushnell. We had a whirlwind of activities going all weekend. We had another great turnout month with an attendance of 23 member rigs and 1 guest rig who later became our newest members. Our craft ladies helped us in making chair covers for use at the Samborees while others worked on sewing the plastic canvas sleeves/pockets to be included in the “goodie” bags given to registrants at the fall Samboree. We played lawn games and indoor card games – introducing several members to the finesse of playing Skip-Bo. The heated swimming pool also got plenty of use by our members as the weather that weekend was perfect! Our hosts, the Bernhardts and Gulletts, prepared a delicious spaghetti dinner (with everyone contributing something to put into the pot of sauce!). SOUTH FLORIDA SAMS Everyone enjoyed a great time at Wekiva Fall Campground, Sorrento, in March. Earlybirds arrived on Thursday and our meeting was held Saturday afternoon with Happy Hour following it. Thursday night we played cards and games in the tent on the grounds. Friday we dined out at the Red Lobster. Saturday afternoon some enjoyed a boat ride down the Wekiva River in the campground.; that evening we again played cards and games in the tent. We had nine rigs plus three guest rigs in attendance. We all enjoyed a wonderful time at the April Samboree at the Okeechobee KOA. We participated in games including beanbag baseball (which some of us won), bingo, flea market (with lots of great stuff), many door prizes and raffle prizes, great vendors to buy from, coffee & donuts each morning. We had some great evening entertainment with Homer Noodleman, great skits by Palm Coast Traveling Sams, and, in the final night, Crystal Gage (a talented entertainer who was really enjoyable). We held our chapter meeting Saturday. One evening we all dined out at the Brahman Bull restaurant and Saturday we had a potluck dinner. We volunteered to do door security and also worked the door prize booth. The weather was good to all of us. All in all, it was a great samboree. ST. JOHNS PAL-A-TAKA GOOD SAMS Our March campout was held at Wekiva Falls Resort in Sorrento with nine member rigs plus two honorary members and special guests State Director Bob & Reba Ward and ASDs Ken & Sherrie Risberg. It was really nice of them to take the time to spend with us. We really enjoyed having them. Wekiva Resort is very nice; the swimming area was great. There were several Good Sam chapters camping along with us. They had a large tent set up for us all to use. We played bingo Friday night. Of course, we enjoyed great food all weekend. The campout was held at Grand Lake. In attendance were eight member rigs plus guests and one member for the meeting. Saturday we had ham with all the side dishes which was wonderful. We played cards, listened to oldies (CD’s), played ping pong & pool, took rides on the golf cart & had a great time together. It was also nice just sitting around talking and catching up. Some of our members are planning on staying at Wekiva after our campout and attending the Samboree. It should be a lot of fun so PLEASE try to attend both the campout and Samboree. It will be great having more time together. SUNSET RAMBLERS We canceled the March campout due to conflicts with members' schedules The April campout was held at the Florida State Samboree in Okeechobee with four rigs attending. The weather was great, breezy, warm and clear blue skies. SUWANNEE RIVER GOOD SAMS Our April campout was at Ocala North RV with four rigs. Tuesday we had an old fashion breakfast for supper; it was different and we all enjoyed the change. We enjoyed playing H & F over a two day period. It was exciting for all of us. Thursday was another beautiful day so we sat outside in the morning and enjoyed the nice breeze. At our meeting we discussed ideas for getting more money in the budget to cover all our expenses. We have many in our group who are unwell and unable to make the campouts; please keep them in your prayers. TALLAHASSEE GOOD SAMS We incorporated our April campout into the Alabama Spring Samboree in Dothan, AL. They hold their opening ceremonies Thursday morning so we elected to arrive on Wednesday in order to participate. We had seven rigs attending. As usual, we had a grand time at the Samboree. Florida was well represented with th 50+ rigs attending. The Florida chapters were also prominent in taking awards for various games. Marie and Capuchinno aced the best tricks competition, Johnnie and her teammate (from Dogwood Sams) took 2nd in the Bean Bag Toss. Several members participated in various games. Ralph and CK took notes on the bean bag toss equipment and hope to make a couple for us. It is a fun game and moves much faster then beanbag baseball. The entertainment provided by the Squire Parsons Group and the Singing Deacons was outstanding. TRAIL BLAZING SAMS Our March Campout held at Masonic Park and Youth Camp in Wimauma, Fl., in attendance was 18 rigs 3 drive- ins and one guest. Our scheduled host, Fabian Leveille was unable to be with us due to sickness, fortunately his assistants Bill and Joan Conway took over and did a really fantastic job. Easter Eggs, candy and flowers were very appropriate since Easter was just around the corner. In addition to the fun and games we usually do, this month we had our 3rd TBS Gator Gulch Golf Tournament. A field of 24 participated with the winning team coming in 8 under par. Not bad for a nine hole golf tournament. Our host/hostess provided us with some excellent meals and arranged for some crazy games that everyone took part in. Saturday afternoon we were very pleased to have a visit by our Treasurer Colin Greseth who is recuperating from a major stroke. He and his wife Joanne spent the afternoon with us. Our next get together will be in Okeechobee at the Spring Samboree in April. We will have 18 rigs in attendance. OUR HEROS Trail Blazing Sam members Rob Murray ( State Wagon Master) and Bill Godfrey while fishing on a local lake rescued two men whose boat had over turned and were desperately clinging onto the hull. With a wind chill factor of 35 and the water temperature in the high 40’s, it was just a matter of time before their strength left them. Letter received from the two men they rescued from Lake Manatee, Florida. 1/21/09 Dear Rob and Bill Randy and I again want to thank you both for all you did, Tuesday, at Lake Manatee. Just like us, we’re sure you planned on catching a few speck and having a great time with each other. Instead God put you in our lives, in our time of peril. That was no coincidence or happenstance. You men were his angels on that day and Randy and I thanking him continually for his provision. God bless each of you and your families. Your act of kindness encourages us onto be more like Jesus and to follow the works of the Good Samaritan. In his love, Tom L. and Randy L. |