RVBusiness, September/October 2019
TOPof theNews Forest River FROG Rally Draws 1000 plus Members The 7th Annual International Forest River Owners Groups FROG International Rally wrapped up an exceptional run Aug 17 at the Elkhart County 4 H Fairgrounds in Goshen Ind The weeklong event attracted more than 500 units representing 36 Forest River brands with well over 1000 owners in attendance according to FROG Director Bob Byrne It was a little bit down from prior years said Byrne But I really think weve hit a sweet spot in the attendance this year From the service techs able to help everyone to the food service at our big dinners this was an exceptional rally The membership of the FROG club one the largest RV owners groups in the industry at this point stands at over 100000 member families according to Byrne while this years rally drew people from as far away as California and Saskatchewan The FROG International Rally is the largest but groups 20 RVBusiness S E P T E M B E R O C T O B E R 2 0 1 9 FROG Director Bob Byrne with members at a recent rally meet regionally in 24 gatherings around the country each year he said Many of these are rallies combined with travel tours Curiously FROGs demographics have evolved over the past year maintains Byrne who with his wife Cindy manages FROG for Elkhart Ind based offices of Forest River Inc a Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary We had a great turnout from first timers Almost 40 of the attendance was again firsttimers We love having the regulars come back each year but when we have this kind of excitement and attendance from new people it makes for a very special event He added that many of the first timers also volunteered to help out at the event with parking registration and golf cart shuttle services Its really all about all our volunteers said Byrne We have a lot of people that know what theyre doing Cindy and I try to stay out of their way and allow them to do the great job they do Without all these people giving their time FROG would never be this successful On the product side Byrne reported that there was high interest in Forest Rivers motorized product line We have a lot of interest in some of the new diesel pushers he shared The Berkshire line in particular is getting a lot of attention this year Then of course our Class B segment continues to be very strong both in attendance and in sales We also saw a lot of interest in toy haulers this year he added And people are also drawn to what I call the smaller experience camping represented by the No Boundaries R Pod E Pro owners Its a crowd that trends a little younger and with smaller families Our traditional campers havent gone away The midsized travel trailer and fifth wheels are still showing a strong presence The Flagstaffs Rockwoods and Cherokees are still in demand RVB
You must have JavaScript enabled to view digital editions.
