LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The huge heart of the RV industry was on display during the RVBusiness Top 50 Dealer Awards on Wednesday night at the Paris Las Vegas.
As Camperland of Oklahoma in Tulsa was named the winner of the Arthur J. Decio Humanitarian Award, sponsored by Wells Fargo, there was hardly a dry eye in the packed ballroom after Vice President of Fixed Operations Thomas Shepherd shared his daughter’s story and how the dealership was able to give back to her special needs school.
The Little Lighthouse School, according to Shepherd, meets kids where they’re at to make them better students.
During her time at the school, Shepherd’s daughter, who has special needs, thrived and changed for the better.
“I remember sitting in the little auditorium and she had her cute little cap and gown on and she walked across the stage and I said, ‘I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to repay this place for impact they made on our family through her,’” he said.
Part of that opportunity came recently when the school was looking for options for a mobile classroom.
“I don’t know how many meetings we had or how many hours it took or how many revisions we made, but it was a lot,” he said. “The cool thing is, it launched in June and they’ve already touched over 200 students. The difference that school made in her – every other kid deserves it as well. If we can help bring that, I wouldn’t change any of it for the world.”
Maxwell Award
The Gaylord A. Maxwell Innovation Award, sponsored by Airxcel inc., was presented to Ron Hoover RV & Marine in Rockport, Texas, for a campaign called Bring Back Camping.
The dealership partnered with 11 of its manufacturers to make sure there were new lines of trailers that met the needs of families.
Too much effort, they felt, was being spent on coming up with new luxury and electronic add-ons that appealed to a limited audience but drove up the sticker price to make RV camping out of the affordability range for many families.
The bonding opportunities of camping were giving way to glamping.
“This has kind of lit a fire under us to be better,” said President Chris Hoover. “This award means the world to us because it recognizes a team mission that my entire team here took on. We launched this initiative not as a campaign, but as a calling. We noticed there seemed to be fewer families – fewer kids roasting marshmallows, fewer parents watching their kids learn to ride a bike at the campground.
“We asked what we could do to make camping meaningful, affordable and accessible to every family,” he continued. “We had to have manufacturer partners who were willing to work with us to do this. Our customers helped us remember why we do what we do. RVing changes lives and connects generations and now we’ve reached hundreds more families that we would have if we hadn’t done this.”
Goldenberg Award
The Sherman Goldenberg Award for Excellence in Digital Marketing, sponsored by Brown & Brown, was presented to Voyager RV Centre of Winfield, British Columbia.
Rather than just promote Ember all-weather campers, Voyager decided to take the next step in marketing and actually test out the claims to lend authority to their marketing. To do so, Voyager set up camp at a frozen lake in double-digit sub-zero temperatures.
Customers responded with significant engagement and feedback, showing how a campaign out of the ordinary can draw attention.
“Thanks to our marketing team and our entire team at Voyager,” Vice President Jason Friesen said. “Probably one of the best things is any time we ask them to try something new and creative, they just do it and give it a try even though it might fail. I’m sure we’re not any more innovative than anyone else in this room. We’re just trying to do what’s right to stay relevant as one of the little guys – a single-location family owned dealership.”
Blue Ribbon
Blue Ribbon Awards were presented to Walnut Ridge Family RV Sales of New Castle, Ind.; RCD RV Supercenter of Pataskala, Ohio; Hilltop Camper & RV of Fridley, Minn.; Gib’s RV Superstore of Coos Bay, Ore.; and Colton RV & Marine of North Tonawanda, N.Y.
Overall, the RVBusiness Top 50 Dealer Awards were presented to:
- Alpin Haus RV – Amsterdam, N.Y.
- Bama RV – Dothan, Ala.
- Bent’s RV – Boutte, La.
- Bucars RV Centre – Balzac, Alberta
- Byerly RV – Eureka, Mo.
- Camperland of Oklahoma – Tulsa, Okla. (Decio Humanitarian Award)
- Campers Inn RV – Jacksonville, Fla.
- Clear Creek RVs – Abilene, Texas
- Colton RV & Marine – North Tonawanda, N.Y. (Blue Ribbon Winner)
- Crestview RV Center – Austin, Texas
- Curtis Trailers – Portland, Ore.
- Four Seasons – Virden, Manitoba
- General RV Center – Wixom, Mich.
- Gib’s RV Superstore – Coos Bay, Ore. (Blue Ribbon Winner)
- Greeneway RV Sales & Service – Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.
- Hartville RV Center – Hartville, Ohio
- Hemlock Hill RV Sales & Service – Southington, Conn.
- Hilltop Camper & RV – Fridley, Minn. (Blue Ribbon Winner)
- Jubilee RV Centre – Kamloops, British Columbia
- Keith’s Trailer Sales – Orton, Ontario
- Kunes RV – Delavan, Wis.
- Leisure Time Sales – Quispamsis, New Brunswick
- Long View RV – Windsor Locks, Conn.
- Midwest RV Center – St. Louis, Mo.
- Moix RV Supercenter – Conway, Ark.
- Mountaineer RV & Outdoor Center – Jane Lew, W.V.
- Owasco RV Centre – Bowmanville, Ontario
- Parkview RV Center – Smyrna, Del.
- PleasureLand RV Center – St. Cloud, Minn.
- Premier RV – Blue Grass, Iowa
- Primeaux RV Superstores – Lafayette, La.
- Princess Craft RV – Round Rock, Texas
- Rangeland RV & Trailer Sales – Rocky View County, Alberta
- RCD RV Supercenter – Pataskala, Ohio (Blue Ribbon Winner)
- Rich & Sons RV Headquarters – Grand Island, Neb.
- Rick’s RV Center – Joliet, Ill.
- Ron Hoover RV & Marine – Rockport, Texas (Maxwell Innovation Award)
- Sicard RV – Smithville, Ontario
- Skaggs Family RV – Elizabethtown, Ky.
- Southern RV – McDonough, Ga.
- Steinbring Motorcoach – Garfield, Minn.
- United RV Center – Fort Worth, Texas
- Unlimited RV – Independence, Mo.
- Veurink’s RV Center – Grand Rapids, Mich.
- Vogt RV World – Haltom City, Texas
- Voyager RV Centre – Winfield, British Columbia (Goldenberg Digital Excellence Award)
- Walnut Ridge Family RV Sales – New Castle, Ind. (Blue Ribbon Winner)
- Wilkins RV – Bath, N.Y.
- Woodland Airstream – Grand Rapids, Mich.
- Woody’s RV World – Red Deer, Alberta
The 14th Top 50 program is facilitated by G&G Media Group LLC, the Elkhart, Ind.-based publisher of RVBusiness and Woodall’s Campground Magazine, and managed by Top 50 Administrator BJ Thompson and Coordinator Barb Riley.
This year’s Top 50 sponsors include Airxcel Inc., Brown & Brown Inc., Century Chemical Corp., Cummins Inc., Genesis Products Inc., Northpoint Commercial Finance, NTP-STAG, Protective Asset Protection, Thetford Corp. and Wells Fargo Inventory Finance.
