Hello, FMCA members. During the August 14, 2024, meeting in Redmond, Oregon, the FMCA Governing Board made several key decisions that we wanted share with the membership.
Among them was the decision to adopt a DBA (doing business as) name for Family Motor Coach Association (FMCA). This new name is Family RV Association. The recommendation came from the Identity Committee, which studied the concept of rebranding alongside a professional marketing firm and presented its findings to the Executive Board and then the Governing Board. This name will better reflect our mission of welcoming and supporting those who enjoy various types of RVs. We will be developing a new logo to accompany the new marketing name and are working on a timeline for the rollout of the new brand.
The new name keeps the word “family,” something that has been at the heart of the association since its founding in1963 and has been part of the “Your RVing Family” tagline we’ve used for several years. For association members, “family” goes beyond the conventional sense of the word and extends to the entire community of RVers. Many members develop close bonds with their fellow members — another type of “family” — turning strangers into lifelong friends and travel companions. The new name also incorporates “RV” to clarify the organization’s focus as an RV travel and lifestyle community.
Members who no longer own an RV can become associate members and retain benefits and discounts, including participation in events with their friends who have become part of their RV family. A recent addition to membership options is the Pathfinder category, designed to educate and support people who are “RV Curious” — those who don’t currently own an RV but are in the research phase and want to learn more about RVs and the RV lifestyle. The goal also is to introduce them to Family RV Association in hopes that they will become full members once they make their RV purchase.
We are excited to begin a new adventure as Family RV Association. FMCA — now Family RV Association — has been helping RVers form incredible connections with fellow RV travelers for more than 60 years. Having a name that better describes the RV community makes perfect sense.
The FMCA Governing Board also voted to continue to provide the medical evacuation and travel assistance program benefit to members as part of their annual dues, something no other RV association provides. This program affords medical transportation to all members in the event of an accident or medical emergency when more than 75 miles from home, with dozens of covered benefits. These include expenses for transport to the hospital and to another facility if needed, and for returning them, their RV, and their pets home after a medical emergency if a doctor advises that they not drive the RV home. The travel assistance part of the program also includes emergency cash for mechanical breakdowns and reimbursement for emergency room or urgent care visits.
Similar programs can cost many hundreds of dollars for a membership, and the Family RV Association program is more comprehensive in its benefits and offers reduced costs to the association due to the group rating.
The medical evacuation and travel assistance program represents only one of many valuable benefits you receive with your Family RV Association membership. In keeping with the association’s longstanding mission to educate RV owners, members also receive a subscription to Family RVing magazine, a bimonthly publication available in print and digital formats, and archived online where members have full access to past issues. Among the other popular benefits are tire discount programs; group rates on a roadside assistance program, RV and auto insurance, and health insurance; discounted rates for RV tours and caravans; and discounts on mobile internet access plans. Several hundred chapters further the family concept with activities and rallies, and the association also brings RV owners together on a larger scale at its international conventions. For more information, visit FamilyRVAssociation.com.
FMCA Executive Board
