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SERVING CANADA’S RV INDUSTRY SINCE 1971 VOL 50 NO 1 RVRV Dealer CANADA’S FOREMOST RV INDUSTRY MAGAZINE W www.rvldealernews.com 268 - 44 Crawford Cres., Campbellville, ON L0P 1B0 Publications Mail Agreement #43638025 TM TM TM TM JASON FRIESEN Voyager RV Winfield, BC 2021 CANADIAN 2021 CANADIAN RV DEALER OF THE YEARRV DEALER OF THE YEAR NOMINEESNOMINEES 32nd annual Walt Paseska Memorial Award CHARDELL BRYDON Jerry’s RV Trailer Sales & Service New Minas, NS ANDY THOMSON Can-Am RV Centre London, ON VALTERRA CELEBRATES 40 YEARS! 5 WAYS TO CASH IN ON THE RV BONANZA Canadian Association Updates ORVDA RV Dealer of the Year ORVDA Associate of the Year RVDA of BC Dealer of the Year NEWSNEWS PLUS: New Products New RV Models Industry News RVDN Cover50-1.indd 1RVDN Cover50-1.indd 12021-11-03 2:46 PM2021-11-03 2:46 PM• Creditor Life, Disability & Critical Illness Insurance • Mechanical Breakdown Plans • Appearance Protection Products We provide protection to Canadian families for when “what if?” becomes “what now?”. F inancial G r oup 320 Sioux Rd, Sherwood Park, AB T8A 3X6 Trevor Smolski Director - Business Development 780-819-3271 • tsmolski@firstcanadian.ca Justin Sood Director - Business Development 416-400-4418 • jsood@firstcanadian.ca Phone: 780.467.9575 • Fax: 780.467.4016 • Toll Free: 1-800.561.3242 Untitled-1 1Untitled-1 12021-11-03 3:59 PM2021-11-03 3:59 PM3 Volume 50 Number 1 | RV Lifestyle Dealer News contents 36 34 42 13 COVER STORY: Who will be the 2021 Canadian RV Dealer of the Year… The nominees have been selected for the 32nd annual Walt Paseska Memorial Canadian RV Dealer of the Year Award. Chardell Brydon, Andy Thomson, and Jason Friesen are profiled in this special report. IN THIS ISSUE: 6 Transitions Appointments, promotions, and milestones from the North American RV industry. 8 5 Ways to cash in on the RV bonanza INDUSTRY UPDATES 18 RVDA of Canada Report Eleonore Hamm brings us up to date on the issues of interest to Canadian RV dealers. 19 ORVDA Update 20 ORVDA Dealer of the Year – Andy Thomson, Can-Am RV Centre 21 ORVDA Associate Member of the Year – Rob Edwards, NTP – Stag Canada 22 ACVRQ - RVDA of Quebec Report 24 RVDA of BC Dealer of the Year – Jason Friesen, Voyager RV 26 Go RVing Canada Report 28 CRVA Update 30 CCRVC Update 32 INDUSTRY NEWS Winnebago DSI Awards Grand Design Momentum Leisure Travel Van – 9th consecutive DSI Award Valterra – Celebrating 40 years! 36 New Products 46 Calendar Events of interest to Canadian RV dealers Looking for late-breaking news of interest to the Canadian RV industry? Check out the RV Dealer News website – www.rvldealernews.com Contentspub page.indd 3Contentspub page.indd 32021-11-03 2:27 PM2021-11-03 2:27 PM4 RV Lifestyle Dealer News | Volume 50 Number 1 TM TM TM TM RV Dealer NEWS CANADA’S FOREMOST RV INDUSTRY MAGAZINE PUBLISHERS MESSAGE Celebrating 50 Years… It is hard to imagine that it has been 50 years – a half-century – since we first rolled the press for Camping Canada Magazine and Trailering Trade… now known as RV Lifestyle Magazine and RV Dealer News. From Trailering TRADE, we evolved into Canadian Camping and RV Dealer magazine, which carried the banner for more than 20 years. In the 1980s, we evolved again, to become RV Lifestyle DEALER News, which ultimately became RV Dealer News. From the very beginning, our goal was to support the efforts of the Canadian RV retail sector by providing industry information, merchandising, and marketing arti- cles. When John Torrington came to visit in 1974, with stories from the RVDA con- vention, the discussion focused on the need for a Canadian chapter of the RVDA. Our art director, Fred Wolfe, drew a logo for the “RVDA of Canada”, and John and a handful of Canadian dealers started to mobilize the RV retailers across Canada to form the RVDA of Canada as an official trade association. One of the dealers involved with the birth of the RVDA of Canada was Walt Paseska, of Walt’s Trailer Sales, Headingly, Manitoba. Through his energy and enthusiasm, the RVDA of Manitoba was born, and leaders like Gil Robert from GNR Camping World in Winnipeg travelled the nation encouraging dealers to join the group. This led to the formation of the ACVRQ. While Gil was working on Quebec, Don Sneyd, Fred Benninger, Andy Thomson Sr., and some of the Ontario RV manufacturers worked to create ORVDA. By the mid-1980s, RVDA of Canada had grown in membership and stature. The federally chartered association was established, and the rest, as they say, is history. When Walt Paseska passed away in 1989, George Ens, of Triple E Canada, sug- gested that we should do something to commemorate his memory. The Canadian RV Dealer of the Year Award was conceived, and we were proud to be the found- ing sponsor. The Award reflects an RV dealer’s long-term commitment to the RVDA movement at regional and national levels; his or her dedication to the pro- motion of the RV as a vacation lifestyle; and his or her charitable efforts to benefit the community at large. In this issue, we proudly present the nominees for the 32nd Annual Canadian RV Dealer of the Year Award. I am sure that all of the industry will join me in offering a hearty congratulations to our three nominees and wish them the best of luck in their quest for this year’s Canadian RV Dealer of the Year Award. W Bill Taylor, Publisher VOLUME 50 NUMBER 1 Publisher William E. Taylor Associate Publisher Melanie Taylor-Wallis V.P. Special Projects/Editorial Director Norm Rosen Technical Director Garth Cane Production Coordinator Giselle Bansal ADVERTISING SALES Norm Rosen Melanie Taylor-Wallis Todd Taylor ADMINISTRATION William E. Taylor President Melanie Taylor-Wallis Group Publisher Norman Rosen VP/Special Projects Nancy Mueller Accounting EXECUTIVE OFFICES Toronto: 268 - 44 Crawford Crescent., Campbellville, ON L0P 1B0 Tel: 905-844-8218 Fax: 905-844-5032 Montreal: Tel: 514-856-0788 Fax: 514-856-0790 Vancouver: 1745 Rufus Drive North Vancouver, BC V7J 3L8 Camping Canada’s RV Lifestyle Dealer News is published by Camping Canada Magazine Ltd. Reproduction of any mate- rial appearing in this magazine in any form is forbidden without prior consent of the publisher. Advertising rates available on request. Camping Canada Magazine reserves the right to refuse any and all advertising and disclaims all responsibilities for claims or statements of facts made by its advertisers or independent columnists. PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT #43638025 Undeliverables to: 268 - 44 Crawford Crescent., Campbellville, ON L0P 1B0 MONTREAL, QUEBEC © 2021 CAMPING CANADA MAGAZINE PRINTED IN CANADA aaaa Contentspub page.indd 4Contentspub page.indd 42021-11-03 2:28 PM2021-11-03 2:28 PM6 TRANSITIONS Trump Corp promotes Mark Howlett to Chief Operating Officer as he has consistently been supporting the positive development of sales within the company. With his new promotion, Mark will no longer only assist with sales, but he will oversee and produce all sales, along with all developments of service, operations, and business. Mark’s background in engineering, quality, and supply chain help him per- form his duties confidently. RVLI LLC RVLI LLC welcomes Tiffany Bischoff as the new Marketing Manager. Tiffany is now overseeing all developments of marketing and event management within the company. All trade show events, distributor shows, social media platforms, and communi- cations between dealers and distribu- RV Lifestyle Dealer News | Volume 50 Number 1 TRUMA NORTH AMERICA Truma North America has added Jonathan Haley to the team as Chief Financial Officer at the company head- quarters in Elkhart. Haley’s responsi- bilities will include financial operations, human resources, and IT. Haley comes to Truma with a suc- cessful history of helping companies that are aggressively growing to thrive. When asked why he was interested in joining the Truma team, Haley said, “Truma is rapidly growing with integrity and respect. How Truma chooses their employees and how they do business is just as important as the booming growth they’ve had in the past few years.” “Jonathan’s career speaks for itself. Being involved with multiple companies who rose to success quickly, his guid- ance and experience will be an integral part of our growth story,” said Gerhard Hundsberger, President and CEO of Truma North America. Haley has a keen ability to see the big pic- ture while main- taining attention to detail. Most recently, he was the Co-Founder and Managing Director of a company that received spots multiple times on the Inc. 5000 list. “I am looking forward to contributing to the growth trajectory of Truma,” said Haley. TIFFANY BISCHOFF MARK HOWLETT tors within RVLI will be planned and organized by Tiffany. Tiffany’s prior 16 years of experience as a channel marketing manager comes in handy for all of her new tasks, including assisting with the sales team and vendor man- agement. SUBURBAN Division president Art Klee is celebrating 40 years at Suburban, an Airxcel brand. Jeff Rutherford, Airxcel CEO, made the announce- ment. Klee has spent his entire career at Suburban. In response to his father telling him he wasn’t going to spend the summer hanging out at Newport Beach again, Klee joined Suburban in 1981 to work in sales and distribu- tion. Within four years, he relocated from Anaheim, California to Dayton, Tennessee and moved into sales and marketing roles. With a background in heavy equipment maintenance, he found a niche within product develop- ment and was instrumental in bringing the Suburban SF series low-profile furnace to market, which is still a top- selling product for the company. A natural leader, Klee was promoted to VP of product development in 2009 due to his detailed understanding of manufacturing, product expertise, acuity of industry trends and ability to inspire his team to develop class- leading products. Upon company president Roger Panoz’s retirement at the end of 2010, Klee was named his replacement. JONATHAN HALEY GERHARD HUNDSBERGER ART KLEE Transitions-50-1.indd 6Transitions-50-1.indd 62021-11-03 2:29 PM2021-11-03 2:29 PM7 Volume 50 Number 1 | RV Lifestyle Dealer News GRAND DESIGN Natalie Bussard receives a pro- motion for Marketing Director within Grand Design Recreational Vehicle Co. Natalie will be leading the marketing department by choosing the most effec- tive marketing strategies. As Marketing Director, her goal is to bring growth and exposure to the company, as well as broaden the message within the brand. Natalie’s promotion comes from her 8 years of marketing and public rela- tions experience, prior to joining Grand Design, along with her experience within the company. RV LIFESTYLE/RV DEALER NEWS Nicole Kolodziej joins RV Lifestyle Magazine and RV Dealer News Magazine as Assistant Editor and Writer. Nicole’s new position comes right after Graduating from Sheridan College with a Diploma in Journalism this year. Nicole will be primarily proof- reading and editing pieces that will go in the magazines, as well as assisting in writing pieces for the magazines. Moe Basha is recognized as RV Lifestyle Magazine and RV Dealer News Magazine’s innovative Web Developer and IT Specialist. Moe has earned certifications in multiple computer programs, including Microsoft, AWS, and Oracle. He will be overseeing all web- site designs confidently with his previous experience in Web Developing for other companies prior to his new position. AIRXCEL Airxcel VP of Sales announces Mary Bourassa in as the new Social Media and Communications Manager. She is now overseeing the portfolios for 11 RV brands and communicating with the company’s customers. She is focused on managing and creating positive strategies for B2B and B2C marketing. Mary has a Bachelor’s in Journalism, and also comes from a back- ground of travel and tourism work. NATALIE BUSSARD MOE BASHA MARY BOURASSA NICOLE KOLODZIEJ ATLAS TRAILER COACH Ken Puddifant – Atlas Trailer Coach Calgary Branch Manager to retire Dec. 30, ‘21 Calgary, October 25, 2021 - After 30 years of dedicated service with Atlas, Ken Puddifant is hanging up his skates, getting ready to retire December 30, 2021. Ken has been involved in the RV Industry for more than 47 years. One of the industry’s best known veterans, he started his career with Mitchells Distributing in Winnipeg in 1974, and joined Atlas on January 6, 1991, relocat- ing to the Atlas head office in Calgary in 1994. “Ken is an outstanding, hard-work- ing individual who comes from the “Old School” of work ethic. We have always admired his enthusiasm, commitment to customer service, professionalism, and attention to detail. Ken’s loyalty to Atlas has been a huge asset over the years and has contributed significantly to the success of our company,” says Garry Bewernick, President of Atlas Trailer Coach Products. “Ken will truly be missed by many of you, including all our staff. We are thankful for the relationships Ken has built over all these years and his friendships with dealers and suppliers will continue. Please join us in wishing Ken all the enjoyment and happiness of retirement for years to come.” W KEN PUDDIFANT Transitions-50-1.indd 7Transitions-50-1.indd 72021-11-03 2:30 PM2021-11-03 2:30 PM8 The pandemic has drawn millions of North American families to the safety and serenity of the RV vacation lifestyle… are you staking your claim to your share of the new market? With demand for new and used vehicles at record levels, RV enthusiasts and new prospects are searching for expert advice to select the ideal RV for their needs, equip the vehicle, and head off on the RV roads to adventure. We are currently in the midst of a very exciting period in the history of the RV industry. The harsh effect of the pandemic on traditional modes of travel has created a genuine bonanza for private travel and accommodation alternatives… with the RV vacation market leading the way to safe, com- fortable, and family-friendly touring. As North America winds down from the restrictions, we only have a matter of months to take advantage of the greatest RV marketing opportu- nity EVER – but we cannot be com- placent – if we sit back and expect the customers to come to us, there is a very great possibility that as soon MARKETING 5 WAYS TO CASH IN ON THE RV BONANZA… RV Lifestyle Dealer News | Volume 50 Number 1 as they can go back to flying, cruis- ing, and mingling with huge crowds of people, many of these prospective RV buyers will drive right on by our dealerships, as they return to their previous modes of vacation travel. From my perspective, as a 50-year veteran of the RV industry media, we are on the verge of squan- dering the best opportunity EVER to expand the RV market… THERE ARE THREE FACTORS THAT SHOULD BE “TOP OF MIND” FOR EVERY RV MARKETING PROFESSIONAL: 1. There is a surge in negative feedback on RV quality control that is trending on social media – By Norm Rosen RV MarketingREV.indd 8RV MarketingREV.indd 82021-11-03 2:30 PM2021-11-03 2:30 PM5 WAYS TO CASH IN ON THE RV BONANZA… 9 Volume 50 Number 1 | RV Lifestyle Dealer News StrombergCarlson.com COMING TO CANADACOMING TO CANADA T-ChockT-Chock FOR TANDEM AXLESWITH CHOCK & ANTI-SLIP MATSTABILIZE YOUR BASE Base Pad Base Pad Peak Peak Simplify the leveling Challenge! 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