The Carolinas Association of RV Parks & Campgrounds (CARVC) hosted several educational sessions and a keynote address on Monday (Feb. 2) to kick off its annual Conference & Expo in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Ken Corbin, an author of eight books on sales growth, personal and business management, led off the event by diving into management and communication skills that park owners need to develop to become better leaders.
He highlighted the short attention spans of most campers, noting that the average attention span is now eight seconds, according to research.
Corbin also explained that the visual aspects of communication are the most important.
Christine Taylor, a partner at Goldberg Segalla, hosted a session that focused on popular legal issues park owners/operators face, including employee topics, workers’ compensation, injuries, ejections, and more.
She highlighted to attendees that there have been more employee-related lawsuits than ever before, and that the bar is low for employees to start legal action against an employer.
Taylor also spoke on current work camper trends and how the industry has more work to do to remain compliant with current federal and state laws.
The last morning session was hosted by Craig Bourque, president and CEO of Carolina Drug & Alcohol Testing Services, and focused on substance abuse issues. You can read more on that session by clicking here.
Bobby Sorden, CMO of App My Community, hosted a unique trivia event during lunch.
After lunch, CARVC opened its trade show, with more than 50 vendors taking part.
Dee Witting, CARVC’s executive director, told Woodall’s Campground Magazine (WCM) that she was impressed by the effort many people put in to ensure they could still come to the conference despite the snowy weather on Saturday.
“It’s just uplifting to see the industry pull together and get here under very difficult conditions,” she said.
Witting noted that the conference had over 50 first-time attendees registered. Along with that, the association is doing very well, with over 140 members and growing.
“We have some non-member parks here at the conference, so we are hoping they will become members,” she explained.
Today is the last full day of the conference, wth several more educational sessions and an evening reception. CARVC will also host its annual business meeting, and on Wednesday, another CARVC Board Meeting.
