National African American RV Association Bringing Rally To Hutchinson

Thursday, June 15, 2017

The National African American RVers’ Association, Inc. wishes to inform you of the 25th Anniversary of the Annual National Camp Rally at the Kansas State Fairgrounds in Hutchinson, Kansas, July 16-23, 2017. The National African American RVers’ Association, Inc., is also known by the acronym, NAARVA. The members of NAARVA’s Central Region are hosting this year’s National Camp Rally and they are excited about bringing the Rally to your fine state. The hosts are extending a warm welcome to members of your community to join Rally attendees and to visit the Fairgrounds and join in on the fun and take advantage of great buys on the vendor floor, which includes local and national vendors and RV dealers.

NAARVA is a family-oriented, nonprofit, camping organization, with membership open to persons of any race, creed, color, sex, religion, or national origin. NAARVA is the largest African American Recreational Vehicle Association known in America. It was founded in 1993 in Cincinnati, OH, with fifty- two families, and formally established as a national organization in Belleville, MI with 82 registered RVs, in 1994. Since that time our membership has grown to more than 1000 registered recreational vehicles and nearly 2,000 members. We now hail from forty two states in the continental United States and Alaska, as well as Hawaii. NAARVA is divided into four Regions, which provide an opportunity for campers in close proximity to each other to meet at their respective Annual Spring Camp rallies. Regional Rallies can be held during the months of April, May or early June. The Regions also serve as hosts, on a rotational basis, for the Annual NAARVA National Camp Rally, held in July.

Every National Rally provides the opportunity to award scholarship money to six graduating seniors who are the children, grandchildren or great grandchildren of NAARVA members. These scholarship programs allow us to honor those students who successfully compete in the essay contests.

NAARVA members are owners of recreational vehicles that range from trailers and 5th wheels, to conversion buses, and include motor homes built by nearly every manufacturer in the RV industry. Numerous sales of new vehicles take place at both Regional and National Rallies.

Our most recent National Rallies were held at Eustis, Florida in 2016 and Mesa, Arizona in 2015. We project that because the National Rally is being held in Hutchinson, a centrally located destination for many of our members, close to four hundred members will be registered for this event.

The Grand Opening Ceremony, preceded by the annual NAARVA Parade, will be held on Wednesday, July 19th at 7:00 p.m. Our rallies include, but are not limited to the following: activities for the nearly seventy to eighty youth who attend; an annual Golf Tournament; an Auction; Sightseeing trips; tours to educational and cultural venues off site; a Red Hat Tea Luncheon for the ladies and a concurrent event for the men, Men and Dogs; live entertainment; Seminars for RV owners and other topics that enhance consumer awareness; Special Fun-Fund Raisers; a Bean Bag Baseball Tournament; a variety of card game tournaments; and a highlight of the week is - the display of the latest model RVs (recreational vehicles) that are available for touring, and for buying. Vendors, with a variety of wares for sale, round out the opportunities provided our members and visitors.

As part of the organization’s dedication to “helping to save our planet”, NAARVA’s Ecology team will conduct a “tree planting ceremony” at the Fairgrounds and members engage in recycling activities during the week of the rally.

Saturday, which is the closing day of the rally, begins with worship service with the message brought by the NAAARVA Chaplain and a memorial service is dedicated to celebrate the lives of recently deceased members. The proceeds from these services are donated to a non-profit organization in the area, which has been identified by the hosts. The annual banquet is scheduled for Saturday eveningwith a special program honoring the founding members of NAARVA.

Thank you for allowing me to share this information with you and we look forward to seeing you and members of the community during our week in Hutchinson. Additional information about the organization can be found on NAARVA.com.

Contact Information:
Carolyn J. Buford
cjbuford@sbcglobal.net
(816) 728-3351

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