Wow. What a week! All the staff here at the office are exhausted and still recovering, but our hearts are full and we had a blast. I’m pretty sure this was one of the best Rendezvous’ we have had!
Preparations began in April of this year and we came up with a fun idea! Workampopoly! Attendees were given Workampopoly money and pieces to place on their game board. We had a silent auction and one of our attendees is a real auctioneer and she volunteered to host a small auction for a couple of our prizes. It was a blast! In between all of that…attendees were attending seminars, networking, learning how to build a small business, learning about health insurance for RVers, how to use technology on the road, where to send their mail and choosing a domicile, plus so much more!
The week started off with Boot Camp. Steve gave a seminar on how to get started Workamping and to decide if this lifestyle is just for you. It was almost a full day and boy, everyone I spoke to said they learned a lot and have a lot to consider. Attendees were grateful for the info and the majority have already caught the #wanderlust bug!
In between all of that, we had a continental breakfast each morning and a fundraiser lunch to help out a local program at our high school – PETS – Professional Employment Transitional Services. This program helps inclusion students with internships in the community. The luncheons raised over $4000 to help support their program! Thank you everyone! This was just the first day! Wednesday, we had lunch catered by Tacos for Life whose goal is to give a meal for every meal sold. Moix RV from Conway, AR sponsored this event and also brought out some RVs for folks to meander through during their lunch break. Thanks, Moix RV!
The evenings were filled with home shows and more networking. Attendees opened their RVs to each other to show how an RV looks lived in. It’s great to get ideas from others on storage and how each RVer makes it work for them. Thank you to all who participated!
On Thursday, we wrapped up Rendezvous 2018 with a BBQ out at Dam Site Park. We thanked all of our attendees for coming to our quaint town of Heber Springs, AR and we had some pretty good food too! BBQ pork, potato salad, slaw, beans, and some good southern apple or peach cobbler, thank you to our local Arrow’s Cafe. I washed mine down with some sweet tea! #southerngirl We also gave away more prizes like a GoPro camera, table top propane heater, weather radio, and so much more. Other prizes given throughout the week included an inflatable kayak, several insta pots, zero gravity chairs, tank less water heater, Berkley tumblers, water filtration systems, road side emergency kits, and heated water hoses.
How can I not mention the social media booth! As social media manager, of course we had a social media photo booth where everyone had the chance to have their picture taken. Well, I’m a crafty girl and decided to start early in the year on my ideas for the booth. I incorporated the Workampopoly theme by providing photo props to represent the game and social media. The big Facebook frame was a hit! You can see some of those pictures in the video below.
I believe my favorite picture is the one of the flamingo, Penny. She visited us with a sweet couple who were being initiated into an RV club. Their initiation was to take Penny with them on their travels with proof she was there! How awesome is that! Penny, we are glad you joined us! I hope you learned a lot!
Friday was the job fair and more bonus sessions! We helped members spruce up their resumes and printed off several copies for them to hand out at the job fair. One couple already has their 2019 season covered! Way to go!
Just a few Employers that attended the fair were:
- The Island at Pigeon Forge
- Big Red School House & Community Center
- Texan RV Park
- Amazon Camperforce
- Southern Cross
- Crazy Horse Memorial
- KOA
- Jellystone
- RV Disaster Corps
- Good Sams
- AlaskaX
- Silver Dollar City
After the job fair, The Geeks on Tour presented two seminars about Smartphone photography and more.
Saturday, more than 70 people stayed an extra day to attend Mark Kohler’s seminar – 8 Steps to Building and Growing Your Business. Mr. Kohler is an awesome tax guru and has helped so many RVers over the last several years.
All in all, it was a great Rendezvous. We are already looking forward to next year and we hope you can attend even if it’s your first or maybe your 8th! You will always learn something new and make awesome new friends!
I put together a short video of the week and you can see even more photos on our business page on Facebook soon, just look up Workamper News.
Thanks to all the staff and sponsors who put in endless hours of work, you are appreciated!
Thank you to all our attendees – we could not have done it without you!
We will see you all next year!
