Ed and Sandy

What About Ed & Sandy Emerick? VAC President WBCCI# 4425

From the Mid-Winter IBT Meeting: "There was a need to fulfill the (WBCCI) demand for motorized product within Thor. If we could provide that from one of the sister companies to meet that need we're willing to do that. Jim Franklin (IPP) actually approached Wade Thompson Chairman of the parent company (Thor), my boss, a year ago and indicated that there was interest on the club's part and that was followed up this year by Don Shafer and Jerry in Louisville to see what interest level there would be on Thor's part to provide products within the core that could be accepted into the WBCCI."
- Larry Huttle, Thor / Airsream IBT Trustee.

"If we're going to do this we can't make the same mistakes we did last year when we left the IBT and went back and sat and discussed it for two or three months and let the bloggers get ahead of us. If we're going to sell this to the classic people out there and get them to understand the logic and why we're spending all of this time talking about it, we better get going and get on top of it from a leadership standpoint." (applause)
- Phil Pons, Region 2, 2nd VP

But what about Ed & Sandy? "Bambi, Trade Wind, Excella, Overlander, Bubble, and Sovereign are all the Airstream product model names that we have come to trust and love over the years. All of these names represent a quality product from a quality same goes with the Wally Byam Caravan Club International. It represents tradition, quality and the largest SINGLE BRAND RV club in the world. Only Airstream owners can be a part of the WBCCI. These two names and what they represent are the reason we joined this club, and if we weren't interested in the quality there are many other RV manufacturers and clubs that we could have joined.

To be honest the only reason we became involved with RVs is because of this tradition, history and quality of the club and the product. The WBCCI leadership at the midwinter meeting in Perry, GA offered up the idea to allow a Thor motor home product, not an AIRSTREAM manufactured product, to be marked as "Wally Byam Editions" and allowed as Regular Members of the WBCCI.

The IBT proposed amendment will destroy the club as we know it, please don't allow this to happen! Even with the current difficulties faced by our Class A motor home friends why would we be allowing new members to join in non-Airstream manufactured motor homes? The current proposed amendment is seriously flawed, it doesn't solve the problem, it only destroys our club. We must all vote this amendment down as it stands, do not attempt to modify it and do NOT allow them to negotiate a change at the Delegates Meeting. Make the IBT come back with a sensible solution that truly addresses this problem, just marking other RVs as "Wally Byam Editions" isn't the answer!"
- Ed & Sandy Emerick VAC President, WBCCI# 4425