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! They 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. They 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, Amanda and Matt checked into the Mulberry Inn in the beautiful historic district for a good nights rest. Early the next morning they packed their bags again in preparation for the Spot Tour, which took them to a series of campgrounds between Savannah and and areas just north of Myrtle Beach. During the tour, they 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 them to Savannah where they promptly got down to business at the conference center. Once Amanda and Matt got the ferry schedule down, they took several seminars on project management, campground ownership, emergency prevention and preparation, and more! They 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! They 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.

On Friday morning, the dream team began their long trip back to River Riders. 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. They made it home safely with several new ideas to bring back to Harpers Ferry Campground for the summer of 2012.


www.arvc.org