In this issue:

Chairman’s Report 2

President/CEO’s Report

2

Evaluate Your Camping Season

5

More Conference Information

7

EAB Quarantine 11

Occupancy Survey Results-at-a-Glance

12

Our VISION:

Campground Owners of New York (CONY) will be the model campground association by providing

professionalism and diversity in our programs, education,

services, advocacy and support for continued growth

and collaboration within the outdoor hospitality industry.

Our MISSION:

Campground Owners of New York (CONY) is an association dedicated to the promotion, growth,

improvement and development of privately owned

campgrounds in New York State.

nycampgrounds.com campcony.com

Volume 33, Issue 4 Sept / Oct 2010

47th Annual CONY Conference & Trade Show

Western-themed conference is sure to be fun and informative!

Pack your biggest cowboy hat and shiniest spurs, and “Saddle Up For Syracuse” and the 47th Annual CONY Conference & Trade Show, November 4-7, 2010.

It’s going to be a Fandango.*

The conference committee has planned some seminars that are Fine as Cream Gravy,* so Get a Wiggle On* and make sure you have your conference registration sent in, especially if you want a seat in the special five-hour seminars on CPR Recertification and Attract-ing Transient Campers set for Thursday, No-vember 4th.

Thursday afternoon and evening, enjoy some time to catch up with your CONY friends and family, with dinner options on your own.

All you Fellers and Purty Ladies be sure to plan on wearing your western wear on Thursday and Friday, and then your contemporary party clothes for the Saturday night banquet.

Some of the topics our presenters will be jawin’* about include: Social Media for Begin-ners; Customer Service; How to Improve Your Cash Flow; Campground Engineering, and How to Get Free Stuff for your Campground.

We’ll have a lot of fun during the Conference with a posse and sheriff Scott Sherwood “arresting” conference attendees for various outlaw activities; they’ll be thrown in the hoosegow* and sent before Judge Don Ben-nett, Jr. for “bail” (CONY coins to redeem for prizes are part of the fun and games).

Our vendors are also getting into the old west spirit and planning some outlaw fun for trade show time.

The Conference committee is looking for new and unique items for the CONY auction—always a big money maker and A LOT of fun. Please let the CONY office know if you have an item to donate, or cash to donate for the com-mittee to purchase auction items for bid.

New this year, registrants will book only their lodging rooms directly with the hotel. Confer-ence registration and meal packages will be ordered directly through the CONY office.

*Fandango—A big party with dancing and fun. *Fine as Cream Gravy—very good, top notch.

* Get a Wiggle on—Hurry. *Jawn’ - talking. *Hoosegow: Jail

….See more on page 7

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Chairman’s Report

Greetings CONY members,

Well here it is, Fall already, the leaves are turning, the nights are cool and crisp, and the Fall rains have been very prevalent. It is hard to believe another wonder-ful camping summer here in New York has passed us by. Seems like only yesterday we were all a bustle preparing for the Memorial

Day Holiday. “Time sure flies when you are having fun”, how true that is. From what I have been seeing and hearing there was MUCH fun had by campers in our CONY camp-grounds. All regions have been reporting a strong summer, no doubt bolstered by a terrific weather pattern which was long overdue.

I would like to commend all members in the part they played in the “Don’t move the firewood” program in New York State. Having talked to people from NYS DEC as well as Ag and Markets it is very apparent that CONY has done a fantastic job of getting the message out to its members and the members following through. The only thing we can

do at this point is continue to enforce the regulations and hope to slow down the spread of these invasive species. Not to mention it has been a nice little revenue stream with the increase in sales of our local wood!

While the CONY staff and Board of Directors have been busy with this years business it is never to early to start preparing for the next year. We have been very busy doing just that. We are prepared to unveil some very exciting new programs at the convention in November. The board met via conference call and in person Board meetings several times over the summer and we are anxious with anticipa-tion with what we have to present to the membership. Hopefully I have your curiosity and I will see you all at the Convention in Liverpool November 4-7.

As we approach the onset of the next CONY convention I would like to take this time to ask the membership to seek out a Board member and the office staff members as you are strolling the halls and seminar rooms and give them a thank you for all they do for this organization. CONY has made huge gains in the recent years and that has not been without tremendous effort on the part of Don and his Office

(Chairman’s Report continued on page 12)

Scott Sherwood

From the Desk of the President and CEO

By all accounts the 2010 camp-ing season has flown by. Busi-ness in New York for the most part has been very good this season. Some areas did experi-ence a slower than expected season but hope springs eternal that the 2011 campaign will be better than 2010 for all of us. One area that I think most park

operators would like to see an increase is midweek busi-ness. The upcoming CONY 47th annual conference and trade show has a seminar that addresses just that. Clyde Taylor of Taylor communications will be presenting a 5 hour seminar on generating more transient traffic to your park. The seminar is sponsored by KOA and should prove to pro-vide some very useful information. We have some other great seminars planned from Engineering, Social Media, The effects of Capital Expenditures at your campground, Customer Service and CPR certification/recertification. A great trade show is planned with many vendors with tried

and true products as well as new products designed for our industry. The Holiday Inn and Conference Center Syracuse/Liverpool is a great setting and Central New York is close to everyone. You will not want to miss the camaraderie that CONY conferences provide as well as the education and ability to unwind from such a busy season. For more infor-mation watch your mailboxes as well as e-mail boxes. If you should have any questions give the CONY office a call.

The CONY office has been very busy this year working on several projects. We are very proud of our new membership binders that provide a way to consolidate all materials members receive from the CONY office, enabling them to make the most of their membership and all that it has to offer. I also would like to thank those that participated in the monthly Occupancy Surveys. This consolidated informa-tion has been very helpful to many members in making business decisions at their parks. If you haven’t been par-ticipating in the surveys I would ask that you consider filling them out in the future.

(President and CEO Report continued on page 11)

Donald G. Bennett, Jr.

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Salvatore Bonetti, CRPS® Financial Advisor 100 Middle Street, East Tower Portland, Maine 04101 800-326-5763 Salvatore.Bonetti@MSSB.com

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Quality Sunrooms, Awnings & EnclosuresQuality Sunrooms, Awnings & EnclosuresQuality Sunrooms, Awnings & Enclosures

H. Peter Burkert Silver-Top Manufacturing Co., Inc. Senior Vice President PO Box 225, White Marsh, MD 21162-0225 Toll Free: (800) 638-6960 Local: (410) 335-5500

www.silver-top.com Fax: (410) 335-664

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Evaluate Your 2010 Camping Season ASAP...

...10 targeted questions to review and answer while the information is ‘Top of Mind’

By Clyde S. Taylor, Taylor Communications

Taking the time to evaluate how suc-cessful your camping season has been

in 2010 will help you formulate intelligent business deci-sions and plans for the 2011 season. But don’t wait to evaluate your business until January or February. Do it as soon as possible, while you can still clearly recall all of the successful, marginal and not-so-successful aspects of your camping season.

This article contains ten business-focused questions (some multipart) for you to review and answer. Your answers will help you organize your thoughts and data into important categories of information. Once you have “captured” the information, continue to review and expand your answers during the upcoming months – with an ultimate goal of using the information to assist you and your management “team” in developing your formal business plans for the 2011 season.

Let me be perfectly clear. These questions were developed to help you “jump start” your business review process with a focus on some of your key areas of business. There are many more questions you need to ask yourself and a sig-nificant amount of data you need to review, but this is a starting point; especially if you don’t have a formal busi-ness review process. These questions can serve as a cata-lyst to get you started.

Please answer the following questions for the 2010 season with as much specific information as possible.

Q #1: If applicable, what was your overall percentage of sea-sonal campers versus non-seasonal/transient campers?

Comment: Why is this information important? It’s important so you can “track” your progress in maintaining the bal-ance your organization wants to achieve between these two camping audiences. For example, your business may be primarily seasonal, but you know you must maintain a certain number of campsites for non-seasonal campers – or customers wanting to stay at your campground/RV Park to see if they like it. These “trial purchase” customers are the “life blood” of your business. They are a primary source for getting new seasonal campers to replace the ones you lose during any given year. On the other hand, your busi-ness may be primarily non-seasonal but you have a few seasonal sites available. In this case, you want to know if the demand for your seasonal camping sites is growing or staying about the same. If it’s changing, either way, you will need to look at your business model and make some deci-

sions about your campsite ratios in the future. You should use the information gathered from this question to see how it impacts your incremental retail sales (from your camp store, restaurant, etc.). Many industry “experts” claim that seasonal campers spend less money in onsite stores and restaurants than other campers. Did your retail sales change (up or down) from last year’s figures compared to your overall mix of camper customer types?

Q #2: What was your occupancy rate (percentage of camp-sites “sold” versus number of sites available)? Answer this multi-part question for the following time periods:

Key weeks / weekends

June average

July average

August average

Total for summer season Comment: It’s important to “do the math” on this one. What better way to “track” the success of your camping season than to calculate your occupancy rates. If you can do it, provide data in your “report” that includes the weather conditions for the time periods, the promotions and activities you ran during the time periods, and the in-cremental sales you generated in your retail business(es) during the time periods. Collectively, this review will give you a very good “snapshot” of how well you did, how suc-cessful your programs/promotions/activities were in driv-ing business, and what you might want to consider chang-ing next year.

Q #3: Was your marketing communications “message” successful in reaching new customers this year?

Comment: If your answer is yes, what did you do to make it successful? Did you advertise in different media? Did you make changes to your marketing offers? Did you update your website? What comments did you receive from your customers that let you know they saw/heard and retained your advertising message?

However, if your marketing “message” didn’t have a notice-able impact on your business, you need to ask yourself, “why?” You need to objectively evaluate your marketing message and offers as well as how you delivered your “value message” to the consumer. One of the “first stops” in this process is to take a serious look at the effectiveness of your website.

Q #4a: What were the major/key complaints you received from your loyal / seasonal campers?

Q #4b: What were the major compliments you received from your loyal/seasonal campers?

(Continued on page 6)

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Evaluate Your 2010 Camping Season ASAP...continued

Comment: Wow…what great customer service “intelligence” you can get from the answers you collect from this two-part question! Use the compliments to rein-force what you are currently doing well. And if possible, get permission from some of your campers to use these com-ments as quotes–or testimonials. These statements can be used on your website and/or in your printed materials (with your customers’ written permission). Use the negative/constructive comments to make needed improvements.

Q #5a: What were the major/key complaints you received from your non-seasonal/transient campers?

Q #5b: What were the major compliments you received from your non-seasonal/transient campers?

Comment: As previously mentioned, this information pro-vides you with great customer service information. Use the compliments to reinforce what you are currently doing well. And, if possible, get permission from some of your campers to use these comments as quotes–or testimonials. Use the negative/constructive comments to make needed improve-ments.

Q #6a: What promotions worked for you? (You define suc-cess).

Q #6b: What promotions didn’t work for you? (You define less than satisfactory results).

Comment: Evaluate the success of your promotions to at-tract new customers, to keep existing customers and/or to generate additional revenue for your campground/RV Park. Also, review your costs to do each promotion compared to the revenue generated from the efforts. What were your bottom line expense-to-sales ratios?

Q #7a: What activities and/or events were successful? (You define success).

Q #7b: What activities and/or events will you probably not repeat in 2011? And why?

Comment: Evaluate the success of your activities and/or events to attract new customers, to keep existing custom-ers and/or to generate additional revenue for your camp-ground / RV Park. Also, review your costs to do each activ-ity and/or event compared to the revenue generated from the efforts. What were your bottom line expense-to-sales ratios? Also, calculate your estimate of the “added value” your activities/events generated for your customers. Even though it may not be financially quantifiable, it’s an impor-tant factor!

Q #8: What were your sales from your camp store, restaurant and/or other retail operations?

Did you meet sales and profit margin targets?

If not, why not?

What sold well and what didn’t?

What changes should you make next season? Comment: Evaluate your overall sales, profit margins, in-ventory turns, etc. for your retail store, restaurant and/or other retail operations. How can you increase sales and profitable revenue next year? How can you increase your average transaction value (the “ring of the register”) per customer? And, how can you leverage your retail business ventures to provide even more value to your customers’ camping experience at your campground / RV Park next year?

Q #9: Did you have the appropriate level of staffing (paid and volunteers) to meet the needs of your customers?

Comment: Staffing needs are difficult to measure, but the consequences of having too many or not enough are sig-nificant. How were your staffing levels during this camping season? Do you have employees who need to be “let go” because of performance issues? Do you need to evaluate your training programs to improve customer service next season? Do you need to recruit more volunteers to supple-ment your staffing needs? (Volunteers are the staffing “gems” of any well managed campground / RV Park).

Q #10a: Where are you today (this season) compared to where you want to be next season?

Q #10b: And now, here is the toughest question to answer: How are you going to get where you need and want to be in the future?

Comment: Answering this question requires that you spend some time completing a gap analysis for your business. This will be the “focus” of my next CONY newsletter article.

Hopefully, your answers to these 10 questions will enable you to identify “areas of strength” and “needed areas for improvement” for your company. Evaluate your answers, then ask yourself, “Based on my overall assessment, how are we doing?” And, “Where do we need to focus our re-sources / energies to make improvements?”

Good luck as you evaluate of your company’s current camping season. I hope this process helps you define the direction you want to take your business in 2011.

© Clyde Taylor / Taylor Communications, 2010.

About the author: Clyde Taylor is president of Taylor Communications. He works with associations and companies in the outdoor hospitality industry as well as corporations and non-profits in other industries. His company provides business-building and improvement services to its clients by focusing on key areas of marketing, corporate communications, market research, training / staff development, and strategic planning. Contact Clyde at 585.223.3360 or at CSTthree@aol.com for additional information and/or to work with your company.

(Continued from page 5)

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More CONY Conference & Trade Show News *The information provided here is deemed correct at time of printing. Details subject to change. Additional notices and updates will be provided via e-mail and regular mail.

HOST HOTEL: Holiday Inn Syracuse / Liverpool www.holidayinn.com/hotels/us/en/liverpool/syrlp/hoteldetail

There is a discounted rate of $99 per night for conference participants. Reservations may be made by calling the hotel at 315-457-1122. Make your reservation by October 12th to guarantee access to this discounted rate.* The group code is "CONY".

MEAL PACKAGES: New registration format

Starting this year, conference attendees (including ven-dors) will purchase their meal packages through the CONY office instead of through the host hotel. If you filled out the registration part (at Zone Meeting, for instance), but not the meal information, please complete the meal part and return to the CONY office as soon as possible (see insert).

AGENDA*

Wednesday, November 3, 2010 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM CONY Board Meeting

Thursday, November 4, 2010

9:00 AM – 2:00 PM Seminar: CPR Recertification ($) Facilitated by Tom Wolfe, Niagara Woodland Campground and Rosemary Curtis, Hickory Hill Family Camping Resort 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM Seminar: Transient Campers…How to At-tract, Keep and Maximize their importance to your overall suc-cess. ($) Facilitated by Clyde Taylor, President – Taylor Communi-cations Catch up with your CONY friends and family. Dinner on your own (restaurant information to be provided at conference). 8:30 PM Conference Opening Remarks & Cracker Barrel

Hospitality suite opens following Opening Remarks and Cracker Barrel

Friday, November 5, 2010

7:30 AM – 8:30 AM Full Breakfast Buffet 8:30 AM- 10:00 AM Seminars – Choose from: “How to improve the value and cash flow of your business without capital expenditures” Facilitated by Ed Vandermolen, VDM Consulting Group KOA – Customer Service Facilitated by Chris Fairlee, KOA

Engineering for Campgrounds Facilitated by DJ Smith, TDK Engineering 10:15 AM – 11:45 AM Seminars – Choose from: “How to improve the value and cash flow of your business with capital expenditures” Facilitated by Ed Vandermolen, VDM Consulting Group Social Media – Facebook 101 Facilitated by Roxi Baxley, Strait web solutions “How to get free stuff for your campground” Facilitated by Clyde Taylor, President Taylor Communications 11:45 AM – 1:45 PM Luncheon w/ awards & vendor introductions Keynote Speaker: Jim Rogers, CEO, Kampgrounds of America, Inc. 1:45 PM – 5:45 PM Trade Show 4:45 PM – 5:45 PM New York Wine Tasting 6:00 PM Dinner 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM Annual Auction with Auctioneer Dave Thornton of Destinations of NYS Hospitality suite opens following auction

Saturday, November 6, 2010 8:00 AM – 11:30 AM Trade Show Continental Breakfast will be served in trade show room from 8 AM – 9 AM 11:00 AM Vendor/Campground drawing for $1,000 Rules to be explained at drawing Lunch on your own 1:45 AM – 3:45PM Annual Business Meeting 3:45 PM – 4:45 PM Cracker Barrel 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM President’s Reception Family portraits will be available ($) By Talent House Advertising 7:00 PM Annual Awards Banquet Hospitality suite opens immediately following banquet

Sunday, November 7, 2010 8:30 AM Board Meeting

Don’ t forge t your western wear for

Thursday and Fr iday!

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Industry News

NEWS

“It’s In The Cards” at the ARVC InSites Convention & Outdoor Hospitality Expo at the Rio All-Suites Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada December 1—3,

2010.

The ARVC Annual Convention features Certified Park Operator (CPO) ap-proved seminars covering educational tracks, presented by nationally recog-nized speakers and leaders in the in-dustry. Cracker barrel discussions, networking events, and social activi-ties with over 600 park operators and owners - including international opera-tors - make the ARVC Annual Conven-tion the premiere event in the camping industry.

Held concurrently with the Convention, the Outdoor Hospitality Expo features over 150 exhibitors displaying the lat-est products and services to assist you in your park operation. The Expo fea-tures a Park Trailer Pavilion, with the support of the Recreational Park Trailer Industry Association.

Detailed information, including regis-tration, is online at http://arvc.org/insites.aspx

Campgrounds and RV parks report relatively stable occupancies and reve-

nue through Labor Day Weekend

Larkspur, Colo., Sept. 13, 2010 – Year-to-date occupancies and revenues at campgrounds, RV parks and resorts through Labor Day weekend were gen-erally consistent with last year’s fig-ures, according to campground indus-try officials.

“Private park operators are generally pleased with their performance this year,” said Linda Profaizer, president and CEO of the National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds, the Lark-spur, Colo.-based trade association for the private campground industry.

She added that parks that have in-vested in rental accommodations, such as park model cabins and cot-tages, have done particularly well.

The biggest exception, however, were parks along the Gulf Coast, many of which lost considerable summer busi-ness as a result of the BP oil spill and related media coverage.

Billings, Mont.-based Kampgrounds of America Inc. (KOA), the nation’s largest campground chain with roughly 475 parks, said its year-to-date occupan-cies through Labor Day weekend were down 0.7 percent, while revenues rose 2.7 percent, according to Mike Gast, KOA’s vice president of communica-tions.

The slight occupancy decline was largely due to weaker business levels last winter, while summer occupancies actually outpaced last summer’s fig-ures by 2.5 percent, Gast said. He added that revenues for the com-pany’s park model cabins and cot-tages, which KOA markets as “Kamping Lodges,” were up 27 per-cent over last year’s figures, which

reflects both rising consumer demand for rental accommodations in camp-grounds as well as a larger rental in-ventory.

Indeed, KOA and other campground chains have increasingly invested in park model cabins and other rental accommodations in recent years.

Milford, Ohio-based Leisure Systems Inc. (LSI), which franchises Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park Camp-Resorts, saw its year-to-date occupancies through Au-gust increase by 4 percent, while reve-nues grew by 3 percent, said company Vice President Dean Crawford. De-mand for cabins and park models, however, grew by 13 percent, also re-flecting increased demand and an in-creased inventory of units, he said.

Meanwhile, Equity LifeStyle Properties, a Chicago-based Real Estate Invest-ment Trust (REIT) whose holdings in-clude RV parks and resorts, said occu-pancies and revenues for its core RV properties were up 2.3 percent and 3.1 percent, respectively, through July, according to Ellen Kelleher, ELS’s ex-ecutive vice president of property man-agement.

Kelleher added that while occupancies for transient or traveling RVers fell by 3.3 percent during the period, reve-nues were up 3.3 percent. ELS also reported gains in seasonal and annual customers, up 15.3 percent and 2.1 percent, respectively, while revenues increased by 3.9 percent and 4.9 per-cent. The annual figures include occu-pancies and revenues from consumers who own park models at ELS parks, Kelleher said.

ELS also reported an 8.5 percent de-cline in park model rental occupancies through July, but this was because the company wound up selling many of its units to consumers who wanted to stay

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for extended periods of time at ELS resorts.

Across the country, several park opera-tors and industry officials reported an exceptional summer camping season.

“We are showing an increase of 6 per-cent in business for 2010. This is our actual increase in site nights after sub-tracting for our annual rate increases,” said David L. Berg, who owns Red Ap-ple Campground in Kennebunkport, Me. in addition to serving as chairman of the National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds.

Berg, whose park is affiliated with the Best Parks in America network, attrib-uted much of the increase at his park to an unusually hot and dry summer in Maine. Berg also said many campers are taking more frequent trips, but for shorter periods of time. “I find folks making reservations at the last min-ute, or trying to get in when we often are sold out. Also they are not staying for week-long stays, but rather doing three- and four-day mini vacations and are getting away more often.”

Berg also said he has seen a large influx of tent campers this year, which he attributes to the economy. “I feel this is a win-win situation for all,” Berg said. “Customers get a reasonable priced vacation and we as an industry get new customers, who if they get the

experience they are looking for, they will upgrade in time to a pop up or RV of some sort down the road. This is an example of finding the silver lining in the tough times we are all in economi-cally.”

But tent camping is also influenced by weather patterns.

KOA, for example, saw tent camping decline by 1.3 percent at its parks na-tionwide, Gast said. “Weather nation-wide is probably the primary driver of that,” he said. “Inventory (tent sites) has been relatively stable for years.”

Other parks also saw significant busi-ness gains this year, including Misty River Cabins & RV Resort LLC, a Best Parks in America affiliate in Walland, Tenn., which saw its year-to-date busi-ness grow by 17 percent, according to park owner Jimmy Felton.

Castaways RV Resort and Campground in Berlin, Md. also saw double-digit growth during the summer season, with a 4 percent increase in business year-to-date, according to Kathleen Morris, the park’s general manager. Morris attributed the increased busi-ness in part to the warm dry summer on the East Coast.

Meanwhile, Crossroads RV Park in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, saw a 19 per-cent increase in year-to-date occupan-cies, said park owner Jeff Krug, who

also serves as president of the Iowa Association of RV Parks and Camp-grounds. Krug attributed the increase in part to the relative newness of his three-year-old overnight park, which more and more campers are discover-ing.

In California, Ron and Sheryl Culp of Green Acres RV Park in Redding said their year-to-date business was down 2.7 percent from last year, although their summer business was up 4.3 percent from a year ago.

For additional commentary, statistics and sources on the latest camping trends in campgrounds and RV resorts or for leads on parks in your news cov-erage area that are making unique investments in water related attrac-tions and other amenities, please con-tact Linda Profaizer at the National Association of RV Parks and Camp-grounds at (303) 681-0401 and visit the assoc iat ion’s websi te at www.gocampingamerica.com.

Industry News, continued

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President and CEO report continued

Due to the presence of the destructive Emerald Ash Borer, the New York State Department of Agriculture and Mar-kets has initiated a quarantine in sev-eral counties, as highlighted on the map. Input from significant stake-holders representing environmental groups, forest products manufactures, nursery and landscape businesses, local governments, forest landowners and maple producers, determined the counties quarantined against move-ment or importation of firewood, to help mitigate the spread of the inva-sive species.

Emerald Ash Borer Quarantine Ration-ale: http://www.adgcommunications.com/

nysa/eab/emerald‐ash‐borer‐proposed‐

quarantine‐expansion‐rational.pdf 

Emerald Ash Borer Quarantine

We have been learning about the negative effects of the Emerald Ash Borer and have now began to see some of the effects of infestation. I wanted to thank the CONY members for your hard work in implementing the don’t move the firewood campaign. At a joint press conference with Senator Schumer and the of DEC's Director of Division of Lands and Forests and New York's State Forester Robert K. Davies stated that the CONY campgrounds have been doing a better job of getting the word out about the program than even their own DEC campgrounds. More information about the quaran-tine can be found in this newsletter.

The next insect problem that is very unpleasant has already surfaced—the “Bed Bug.” With the growing trend in campground rental accommodations we need to have steps in place in case

guests bring them to our parks.

We look forward to a legislative update at our conference from our lobbyist Peter O’Connell, Esq. This is an elec-tion year with a record late state budget, so you can bet this has been a tough year to get anything appreciable accomplished. Our tourism depart-ment has seen its funding cut dramati-cally and sources predict that the 2011 budget process will be even more challenging as the economic slowdown we are experiencing is tak-ing much longer than projected to re-cover.

Work continues on our 2011 CONY directory. Our show season kicks off in January so if you haven’t yet made your decision to showcase your camp-ground with a display ad or to partici-pate in our CONY show program please make arrangements soon. We don’t want to leave you out.

I want to thank your board of directors for all of their hard work this past year. Much has been accomplished while we continue to work toward our long range goals that were identified last year. We do have a long way to go to reach our goals but it is fun sometimes to look back to see where we have been and how much progress we have already made. I have enjoyed working with your board of directors and staff and am honored that I can serve CONY and it’s members as your President and CEO and to help carry out the mis-sion of CONY: An association dedi-cated to the promotion, growth, im-provement, and development of pri-vately owned campgrounds in New York State.

Best Regards, Donald G. Bennett, Jr. President and CEO

(Continued from page 2)

See page 16 for related article on efforts by Senator Charles D. Schumer to address this issue.

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CONY Occupancy Survey—Results-at-a-Glance

staff and also every member of the Board of Directors. The Board is made up of all volunteer campground owners or operators who serve because they want to see this industry thrive in New York State. So I too will take the time to thank them all at the convention, and for those members that will be so unfortunate not to make it to the con-vention this year, know this. I am truly honored to serve with this fine group of individuals that make up our Board and the entire office staff. Thank you

all for allowing me to serve as your Chairman and I truly hope you have a wonderful Fall and Winter. I look for-ward to seeing many of you in just a few short weeks.

Warmest Regards,

Scott Sherwood CONY Chairman

(Continued from page 2)

Chairman’s report continued

Do you have an old CONY sign? It may be time for a new one! Sturdy 24” x 18” steel signs—with reflective coating and the new CONY logo imprinted on both sides —are available for purchase from the CONY office for only $55.00 each (includes shipping).

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LYNDONVILLE — Orleans County Cham-ber of Commerce leaders celebrated the successes of several businesses on Saturday, and honored four com-munity members for their long-time service to the county.

The businesses and civic leaders have-n’t let high property taxes or a pro-longed recession shut down their en-trepreneurial and community-minded spirits, said Kevin Lake, the Chamber director.

“It’s great to recognize business that are growing, that are expanding and that are coming to fruition,” he told about 120 people at the White Birch Country Club, site of the 12th annual Chamber awards dinner.

Among the award recipients:

Business of the Year — Medina / Wildwood Lake KOA

Rob and Rachel Kaiser purchased Wildwood Lake in 2004 and have turned it into a major tourism draw with 350 sites for campers, said Wayne Hale, the county’s tourism di-rector.

The Kaisers have overhauled the campgrounds and built a new swim-ming pool and activity hall, added two new playgrounds and a jumping pillow. They’ve built a basketball court, added cabins and lodges, revamped site ar-

eas and upgraded electricity. Last year they became affiliated with KOA, a national brand that draws visitors to the county, Hale said.

The Kaisers thanked the county for welcoming them the past seven years. Mrs. Kaiser praised the business com-munity for being “great friends.

Medina / Wildwood Lake KOA is a member of CONY, and owner Rob Kaiser is a member of the CONY Board of Directors.

Article reprinted with edits, with permission by Tom Rivers, Daily News of Batavia / Batavia Newspapers Corporation.

Medina / Wildwood Lake KOA named ‘Business of the Year’ by chamber

Welcome New Members CONY welcomes the following new campground members:

Campground Members:

Flint Creek Campground Wes, Gary & Beth Burgest

1455 Phelps Road Middlesex, NY 14507

www.flintcreekcampground.com

Twin Creeks Campground Steven Vantangoli

6009 Hubbard Road Addison, NY 14801

www.twincreeksny.com

Associate Members:

Check out the HANDY REFERENCE GUIDE included, for contacts and descriptions of CONY’s

associate members.

SUCCESS STORY: Rachel Kaiser and her husband Rob are joined at the podium by their 12-year-old daughter Layla on Saturday during the 12th Orleans County Chamber of Commerce Awards Dinner. The Kaisers own Wildwood Lake in Medina, which was named the Chamber’s Business of the Year. (Image courtesy Tom Rivers / Daily News of Batavia.

Printed with permission)

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havoc for businesses in a number of industries, including furniture makers, lumber mills and sporting goods manu-facturers,” said Schumer. “Emergency funding from the federal government now will save taxpayers in Ulster County from spending millions in fu-ture clean up costs as a result of the devastation, we need to attack this head on before it spirals out of con-trol.”

The Emerald Ash Borer is a bright green beetle that kills trees by burrow-ing into their bark and destroying the trees’ ability to bring water from the roots to upper branches. Infected trees usually begin to die within two to three years. EAB was found last year in Cat-taraugus County and all 39 infested trees were destroyed. Just recently the insects were found again, in an un-known number of trees in the same location. Schumer said immediate ac-tion must be taken.

Insects like the EAB threaten the health of forests and ash trees every year, which in turn threatens the liveli-hood of communities that depend on the forests. According to the state De-partment of Agriculture, New York has more than 900 million ash trees (targeted by EAB). Since the beetle was first discovered in North America in Michigan in 2002, the Emerald Ash Borer has devastated forests through-out the country and has the potential to decimate New York’s ash tree popu-lation. More than 70 million ash trees in 13 Midwestern states and Pennsyl-vania, as well as many in southern Ontario in Canada have already been destroyed by this deadly pest. EAB came into New York through Cattarau-gus County, has already spread to places throughout New York.

The ecological and economic impact of EAB is a serious concern, especially to

the hardwood industry. EAB defoliation can result in plant stress and possible death. Companies that make products from ash trees harvested in New York, such as baseball bats, will be nega-tively impacted if EAB continues to spread throughout the state. According to the Empire State Forest Products Association, forest-based manufactur-ing employs over 49,000 people in New York, and generates payrolls of over $1.5 billion. In addition, ash trees account for over 10% of total wood manufacturing by volume in New York. Without drastic and immediate inter-vention, industries relying on New York for quality hardwood resources will suffer. In addition, EAB will kill trees and disturb the natural balance of New York’s forests, which provide recrea-tional opportunities to many and foster tourism.

According to the Western New York Partnership for Regional Invasive Spe-cies Management (PRISM), EAB is ex-pected to cost $10.7 billion in treat-ment and removal costs in urban and residential areas in the US over the next 10 years. Without the proper funding, awareness or infrastructure, the EAB will have a devastating impact on the local economy.

In the past, funding to fight EAB has come from the United States Depart-ment of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) which coordinates eradication and suppression efforts for emerging plant pests, including both emergency funding and technical assistance to states. APHIS can provide both funding and technical expertise in combating and treating this infestation. They rou-tinely provide manpower, experts and equipment to localities that are experi-encing invasive species emergencies. This year, the USDA and Forestry Ser-vice has the authority to tap into exist-ing funds to fight EAB.

Schumer said that he, in conjunction with the DEC, will be fighting for fund-ing from three different pro-grams. Schumer was successful last year securing funding, and this year more is needed:

· Community Assistance Funding: The greatest economic impacts from EAB will be felt by communities when EAB infestations reach them. Ash trees that die deteriorate quickly and be-come hazards and liabilities to munici-palities. Funds are immediately needed to help communities prepare for and respond to EAB infestations of their street and community ash trees. Funds are needed for citizen outreach and education, municipal EAB preparedness planning, street tree inventories to determine expo-sure, tree removals (reactive and pro-active), tree replacement, staff training and equipment purchases (chippers, tub grinders, bucket trucks, etc.). The US Forest Service, State & Private For-estry, Urban & Community Forestry Program partners with the State For-ester’s Office to provide technical and financial assistance to communities regarding their trees and green spaces. Schumer will push for approxi-mately $500,000 federal funds that could be routed through this program to directly support NY communities’ response EAB efforts.

· Slow Ash Mortality – SLAM: NY’s EAB response plan consistent with APHIS’ National EAB Program Manual, incor-porates a variety of tools and tech-niques designed to slow the rate of EAB population growth, slow the popu-lation’s spread and slow or delay the associated mortality. This approach buys time for on-going research to de-velop control measures (particularly the promising bio-control research), and, perhaps more importantly, delays the “day of reckoning” for economi-

(Continued from page 16)

(Continued on next page)

Schumer

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Every effort is made to print accurate information. CONY, along with contractors and advertisers will as-sume no liability for errors or omissions. We will gladly

reprint any corrections. Please write or call us.

The CONY Newsletter is published by the CONY office, providing its members with industry related information.

For information, article suggestions or advertising inquiries, call: 800-497-2669 or 585-586-4360.

Or e-mail us at: info@nycampgrounds.com

Campground Owners of New York 1 Grove Street, Suite 200 Pittsford, New York 14534

nycampgrounds.com (consumer website) campcony.com (corporate website)

Providing Quality Protection 

for your Campgrounds 

 

800‐836‐7860 

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Jane Peers 

 

Jenelle Ademovic  

cally-strapped communities when they will be forced to pay for removals of potentially thousands of haz-ardous dead and dying ash trees on their streets and in their public parks and schoolyards.

New York DEC’s private and public lands forestry pro-grams, as well as state and Federal researchers all would benefit from funding to expand SLAM efforts including establishing trap tree clusters, sentinel trees, harvesting and peeling trap and sentinel trees to assess EAB populations, providing management assistance to forest owners with ash resources at risk, conducting outreach and regulatory enforcement and expanding biocontrol research including pilot re-leases in selected New York state locations.

Schumer will push for approximately $250,000 in funding for 2010 SLAM efforts in New York this year and additional funding next year. The funding would be provided through the USFS State & Private For-estry, Forest Health Program and USDA Agricultural Research Service.

· Outreach and enforcement efforts: Outreach, educa-tion and regulatory enforcement are critical needs and components of our NY EAB Response Plan. Community leaders, homeowners, forest land-owners, forest products industry and anyone using or moving firewood (a primary means by which EAB, and other forest pests, continue to be spread across the country) all need information and guidance on how to prevent EAB movement and identify infestations should they occur. As quarantines expand, enhanced enforcement is needed to ensure they are effective in protecting un-infested our ash trees and those of our neighboring states.

Schumer will be supporting the DEC’s request of $500,000, through USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services (APHIS), that could be well used to support a broad-based outreach and educational effort about the dangers of moving firewood. USDA has been reluctant to provide funding this year, since the program is geared towards “new infestations” and New York saw EAB in a single county last year. Schumer will be arguing that because the infes-tation is in a new, non contiguous, part of the state, this should qualify as a new, contiguous infestation.

See page 11 for EAB Quarantine Rationale information.

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Pushes for emergency federal resources to avoid devastating impact on New York forests, ash-lined main streets and tour-ism economy

August 11, 2010—Saugerties, NY—With the recent discovery of the emerald ash borer (EAB) in Ulster and Greene Counties, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer, today, pushed for emer-gency federal resources to fight the spread of the invasive species that is threatening forests and economies across Up-state New York and the Northeast region. The funding would be directed towards fighting the insect and raising awareness about suppression, eradication, and ways to control the spread.

Standing with business owners and local environmental offi-cials Schumer said that the insect posses a major threat to New York’s Ash filled parks, as well as furniture makers, lum-ber mills, sporting goods stores and ash tree lined main streets. He also said that if resources aren’t invested in fight-ing the spread now, it will only become more expensive to ad-dress the problem down the road.

“Invasive species like the Emerald Ash Borer are a blight on our economy and our ecosystem, with the potential to wreck

(Schumer continued on page 14)

Schumer: New York is on the front lines in battle against Ash Borer:

1 Grove Street, Suite 200 Pittsford, New York 14534

Donald G. Bennett, Jr., President and CEO of CONY; Lisa Buskirk, owner of Blue Mountain Campground and Senator Charles E. Schumer, during a press conference on the Emer-ald Ash Borer held at Blue Mountain Campground in Sauger-ties, NY.