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Written by Mike Ward
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Sunday, 01 May 2011 00:00 |
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As a nation, we’ve been fighting wars so long on lands so far away that it’s easy to forget that this isn’t peacetime. Here and abroad, we have 1.5 million men and women on active duty—all of them volunteers who put themselves in harm’s way to protect our freedom.
In this month’s issue, Columnist Sharlene Minshall writes about RVers who are engaged in a project that helps wounded men and women returning from war. It’s an admirable effort, and so is another project that is the brainchild of Charlie Curry owner of Toutle River RV Resort in Castle Rock, Washington.
When Curry opened his RV park along Interstate 5 a couple of years ago, he decided to let military families stay there without charge. It was a way to thank them for their service to the country.
Last August, he decided to take the program, called Tents for Troops, nationwide. It was a tough sell with park owners at first. “They were afraid they would be swamped with troops,” Curry said.
But under the Tents for Troops program, an RV park need only make two of its campsites available to active duty personnel and the stays can be limited to two nights. Parks can elect to offer longer stays to military families or to make more sites available if they wish. There’s no requirement to provide sites when a campground is full, and parks can exclude holiday weekends or special events.
Curry persuaded a few friends who owned RV parks to adopt the program and then signed up more than 20 parks at an industry trade show, and now the effort is snowballing.
At last count, RV parks in 30 states had signed up, and some of them are among the highest-rated parks you can find. Curry has established a goal of enlisting 2,500 parks in five years. He and volunteers are trying to line up sponsors for a nationwide tour this October to recruit more parks.
Curry is particularly looking for parks that have waterfront locations and lots of things for children to do because it is mostly young military families that are taking advantage of the free camping offer.
Curry said most military bases have RVs that military personnel can rent. Although the program is called “Tents for Troops,” Curry said none of the military families that have come to his Toutle River RV Resort have brought a tent. All have had travel trailers or motorhomes.
Some park owners are also making yurts and cabins available under the program. And there’s even a park in California that will allow military families to stay for free in a cabin that normally rents for $279 a night.
In addition to signing up park owners, Curry is trying to spread the word to military personnel that free camping is available. But so far, he said, he hasn’t been able to persuade military bases to promote the program.
The U.S. Army Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Command operates campgrounds at military bases and recreation areas and promotes a $50-a-year camping club that offers a 50 percent discount at private campgrounds.
What differentiates Tents for Troops from the discount program and from military campgrounds is that camping is absolutely free.
Still, Curry said, saving money isn’t what pleases service families most when they stay at a Tents for Troops park. It’s the fact that their service to the country is being recognized and valued.
“They want to know that they are appreciated,” Curry said.
RV park owners and military families can find out more about Tents for Troops at its website, tentsfortroops.org. n
Write to Mike Ward, editor at RV Life magazine, 18717 76th Avenue West, Suite B, Lynnwood, WA 98037 or e-mail editor@rvlife.com. Find First Glance online at rvlife.com.
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