It’s impossible to summarize a year in a few short paragraphs so pour a cup of coffee and read on (and if you don’t have time, then at least read the closing paragraph)!
We hope you’re reading our emails, our Facebook posts, and our blog posts on this site. Still, it’s New Year’s Eve so one can’t help but glance back for a momentary review.
Our year began with a new format to our Camp Colorado Guide, and that launched us into an all new level of distribution. Even with the huge increase in supply, we basically ran out of bulk distribution supply in early April. We’re very pleased with the positive response from campers and from distribution sources.
We ended the year by tweaking our 2019 edition of the Camp Colorado Guide and printing many thousands more. It’s already in the hands of distributors for:
- RV shows far and wide, including January’s 9-day Quartzsite RV Show in Arizona,
- Requests from around the country (and beyond) for the National Park Journal Rocky Mountain magazine.
It will soon be in the welcome centers, visitor centers, RV dealerships, and many Colorado locations, and we’re preparing to fill the lengthy list of individual orders that have been coming from our website. The distribution list is extensive and the distribution process is a daily part of our office life through March (and continues through the year in less intensity).
And in between, we:
- Held a successful fundraiser with t-shirts our members could resell in their stores. The project was made even more successful by the huge financial contribution further made to the fund by Colorado Caliber. Those funds assisted with the enormously expense yet profoundly beneficial project of visiting many Colorado campgrounds all around the state.
- Added regular blogging to our calendar of duties. These blogs encourage camping in Colorado (read them by clicking here). We’ll resume our blogging in January.
- Had a wildly crazy-busy social media program for CampColorado, which added to traffic to our CampColorado.com website and garnered tremendous consideration for camping in Colorado. Influencing vacations is our goal.
- Was awarded a $25,000 grant from the state for further promotion of the CampColorado product line starting in late 2018 and running for three quarters into 2019.
- Continued our solid relationship with the CO State Parks & Wildlife office and the Colorado Tourism Office.
- Enhanced our CampColorado.com website in many ways (e.g., added more search features for campers to help narrow their search results, strengthen SEO, added ability to scroll through the pictures in the campground listings, added a privacy policy to comply with GDPR).
- Determined that with the state’s new administration and our now more solid foundation, it’s time to increase our efforts in public affairs.
- Were leaned upon as a resource for local regulatory issues (click to learn more), and with operations, maintenance, and management issues. We are truly happy to be that resource. The more our members feel the comfort in being able to reach out, the more impact CCLOA can make in our industry.
We also received a generous donation from Arrowhead Point Campground & Cabins (Buena Vista’s Cathy & Joe Harbick). They raised these funds by asking their guests to donate to our cause. Thank you so much, Cathy & Joe. The funds are greatly appreciated!
On the sad side, we’re losing a few members. Some parks shut down permanently. Some faced tough fiscal outcomes. The hardest for me to swallow was that one dropped because not enough of their guests found the park through our CampColorado programs to justify his dues payment. As a former park owner, that truly tore my soul because I know that most of my benefits had much more to do with the other seven focal areas than the one focal area of promoting camping (click here to learn more about all of the areas in our focus). Being an active member produces the most return on your dues investment. I also know that other campground owners brought to my attention that their website analytics weren’t as strong from CampColorado.com as in the past. Further evaluation on this revealed that the listings were wildly popular per our analytics, causing those park owners and I to realize our new website’s listings are now so robust that a guest doesn’t need to click on the campground’s website to learn more … they have what they need from our site. In the past we had so little information to share on our website that they needed to go to your website to learn more. Not so now! So we’re working harder for you yet you’re used to giving us credit only based on your website’s analytics.
This office knows that so many of our members really do use many of our benefits. Remember, not all benefits are needed by everyone but every single benefit is in place because it’s been proven beneficial by some.
What’s in store for 2019?
- More publicity about camping in Colorado
- More public affairs efforts
- A special social media workshop on March 5 at Colorado Springs KOA (still being planned)
- An exciting conference on March 6 & 7 at Colorado Springs KOA (still being planned)
- A possible name change (this will be taken to the members at the March business meeting at Colorado Springs KOA)
- More of all that we’ve been doing! That list of benefits continues.
Tomorrow, on New Year’s Day, we also have the pleasure of launching the memberships for our newest members. I know you join me in welcoming:
- Cool Sunshine RV Park in Alamosa, owned and recently built by Wade & Amy Price.
- Peak View Park in Woodland Park, owned by Pete Labarre.
That’s the best part of every single New Year’s Day! It brings me great pleasure to launch new memberships and to begin serving and helping more campground owners!
My New Year’s Hope is that we’ll get to a point where we can afford to hire additional staff. We’re doing so much with so little! And there is much more we can be doing! But none of this comes inexpensively, so our financial resources must grow to attain that goal, so:
- If you aren’t using some of our pay-to-play options, see if any of them would benefit your park or your staff, be sure to sign up! (The PDF was sent a few days ago and can be sent again upon request.)
- If you know of a campground that isn’t a member, invite them to join us! Have them go to www.ccloa.org or call or email me. I’ll fill them on the benefits and dues.
- If you see value greater than your dues, feel free to donate to our general fund or to our Founders Assistance Fund (we’re waiting on the ARVC Foundation to finalize our Agreement before we explain that process here on our website but the fund was established in 2017 and is already accepting donations, so contact me if this appeals to you).
In Closing: Colorado campground owners are STRONG and they’re very independent, and they’re smart and capable! Please know, though, that Colorado campground owners are STRONGER TOGETHER! That’s what our founders knew 49 years ago when those Colorado campground owners joined forced to create us. As we march into 2019, let’s all be prepared to launch CCLOA forward for another 50 years of industry leadership!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Colorado Campground & Lodging Owners Association (CCLOA) 