Matt and Amanda go to the ARVC Conference

Matt and Amanda drove down to Savannah Georgia November 27th through December 2nd to join in on the ARVC annual conference and expo! We were excited to gain as much knowledge as possible in order to make improvements to our river side campground, Harpers Ferry Campground, for the upcoming season. We were specifically looking for information on developing electric and sewer for our RV sites, improving amenities, site assignment and check in, as well as campground landscaping. The conference put us in touch with a number of professionals who own campgrounds throughout the US, Canada, and even China!


After a long drive, we checked into the Mulberry Inn in the beautiful historic district for a good nights rest. Early the next morning we packed out bags again in preparation for the Spot Tour, which took us to a series of campgrounds between Savannah and just north of Myrtle Beach. We saw a recently purchased campground, a state run facility, 2 mega campgrounds, and a recently constructed campground with an abundance of amenities. They even had hot tubs at their RV sites!


A long bus ride returned us to Savannah where we promptly got down to business at the conference center. Once we got the ferry schedule down, we took several seminars on project management, campground ownership, emergency prevention and preparation, and more! We also looked at rustic cabins, yurts, family bikes, WiFi internet, and merchandise for the retail shop.

The classes were very informative, but lets not forget that the food was amazing! We enjoyed a guest speaker for lunch on Wednesday and an exciting auction on Thursday. Amanda appreciated the vegetarian options, and Matt attended a Low Country Boil with some of our new friends from Wisconsin.

We headed back to West Virginia Friday morning. Amanda owed Matt some driving time, so she took the wheel while he defined the details for a new vacation rental River Riders is working on. We made it home safely with several new ideas to bring back to Harpers Ferry Campground for the summer of 2012.


www.arvc.org