A Bit of History
The Northern Lights Chapter FMCA was a decade old at the dawn of the 21st century. The organization traces its roots to the summer of 1991 when Don McMillan and Bob Korb were having coffee in a Traverse City restaurant. Both were members of the Traverse City Cherry Capital Amateur Radio Club and active on the Traverse City Internet through the Northwestern Michigan College Freeport link. They talked about various things before Bob looked out the window and saw Don's Jeep with a tow bar in the upright or vertical position parked just outside. Their conversation on amateur radio and computers quickly changed to motor homes, RV-ing, places they'd visited, etc. The Fact that both were members of FMCA soon surfaced and one commented that there were a number of coaches with the FMCA "goose egg" in the Traverse City area and that neither knew of an FMCA chapter in the northern part of Michigan.
Telephone conversations with FMCA headquarters in Cincinnati confirmed that this was indeed the case: There was no chapter in the region, though the "Michigan Knights Chapter," centered in the downstate and Greater Detroit area had a few members in the northern part of the lower peninsula. Bob and Don discussed the idea of starting a chapter with a few friends and, when it seemed like a good idea, contacted Charlie Atkinson, the Great Lakes Area Vice President, to find out about starting a chapter in Northern Michigan. He encouraged Bob and Don to form a group and sent them a chapter formation packet.
When Bob & Don talked about forming a chapter with other people they knew, most thought that there might be enough interest. Encouraged by their enthusiasm, Don and Bob went to work.
The owners of Honcho Rest RV Resort in Elk Rapids were FMCA commercial members (C4428) and were receptive to having a chapter formation meeting at their campground in the spring of 1992. The next step was to contact potential members. Don McMillan obtained the zip codes for post offices located north of a line running roughly from Grand Rapids to Flint and forwarded those zip codes to FMCA. FMCA then sent a memo to its non-chapter members letting them know that a new chapter was being formed in Northern Michigan.
That mailing told potential members that there would be a campout with the purpose of discussing the formation of an FMCA chapter in Northern Michigan. That meeting was held at Honcho Rest RV Resort in early May 1992. Conversations with those in attendance at the campout indicated they would support the formation of a chapter. The first business meeting was held at a restaurant near the campground with 18 family members agreeing to start a chapter. FMCA guidelines require that a new chapter be chartered with 20 initial family members. Those interested agreed that there would be no trouble attracting more members, so they began by reviewing the model chapter bylaws provided by FMCA. Abiding by the model chapter bylaws, the group elected its first officers-President, Bob Korb; Vice President, Jack Fettig; Treasurer, Don McMillan; Secretary, Helen McMillan; National Director, Bob Wilder; and newsletter editor, Joyce Harmon.
A list of approximately fifteen chapter names was presented to the group, the name "Northern Lights," being adopted. FMCA requires that chapters define their area of interest or scope, so since the new Northern Lights Chapter included FMCA members from the Upper Peninsula and Sault Ste Marie, Ontario, the original scope was defined as 'Northern Michigan including the Upper Peninsula and Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.' The chapter was officially chartered on May 9, 1992 and chapter members attended G.L.A.S.S.(Great Lakes Area Spring Spree) at Berrien Springs later that month. FMCA announced that the new chapter, Northern Lights, had been formed and extended an invitation for other non-chapter members to join. Some organizational meetings were held in Ludington during the summer and the first major Northern Lights rally was held at a campground on the Saint Mary's River in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. The highlight was a rail adventure into the Canadian wilderness on the Agawa Canyon Tour Train. The rally also included a business meeting at which it was decided that the group needed a distinctive badge design. Mary Lou Korb agreed to work on one.
Thus a discussion between two coffee drinkers in Traverse City led to an exploratory gathering in Elk Rapids, publicity at Berrien Springs, and finally the formal establishment of the Northern Lights chapter and its first significant rally in Sault Ste. Marie- all in just over one year. Now, twenty nine years and tens of thousands of miles later, Northern Lights has grown to approximately 55 member units who gather regularly to enjoy each other's company, explore new places, and discuss life on the road in campgrounds and parks all over Michigan and North America.
Update: As of September 10th, 2025 we welcome all Family Recreational Vehicle Association members.
Postscript: Shortly after the establishment of the "Northern Lights," it was learned that another group had sought the same name, but were told about our group and that they needed to select another name. Since the members of that group came from Saskatchewan and Manitoba, they took the name "Canadian Northern Lights" and were chartered on September 9, 1992.
Telephone conversations with FMCA headquarters in Cincinnati confirmed that this was indeed the case: There was no chapter in the region, though the "Michigan Knights Chapter," centered in the downstate and Greater Detroit area had a few members in the northern part of the lower peninsula. Bob and Don discussed the idea of starting a chapter with a few friends and, when it seemed like a good idea, contacted Charlie Atkinson, the Great Lakes Area Vice President, to find out about starting a chapter in Northern Michigan. He encouraged Bob and Don to form a group and sent them a chapter formation packet.
When Bob & Don talked about forming a chapter with other people they knew, most thought that there might be enough interest. Encouraged by their enthusiasm, Don and Bob went to work.
The owners of Honcho Rest RV Resort in Elk Rapids were FMCA commercial members (C4428) and were receptive to having a chapter formation meeting at their campground in the spring of 1992. The next step was to contact potential members. Don McMillan obtained the zip codes for post offices located north of a line running roughly from Grand Rapids to Flint and forwarded those zip codes to FMCA. FMCA then sent a memo to its non-chapter members letting them know that a new chapter was being formed in Northern Michigan.
That mailing told potential members that there would be a campout with the purpose of discussing the formation of an FMCA chapter in Northern Michigan. That meeting was held at Honcho Rest RV Resort in early May 1992. Conversations with those in attendance at the campout indicated they would support the formation of a chapter. The first business meeting was held at a restaurant near the campground with 18 family members agreeing to start a chapter. FMCA guidelines require that a new chapter be chartered with 20 initial family members. Those interested agreed that there would be no trouble attracting more members, so they began by reviewing the model chapter bylaws provided by FMCA. Abiding by the model chapter bylaws, the group elected its first officers-President, Bob Korb; Vice President, Jack Fettig; Treasurer, Don McMillan; Secretary, Helen McMillan; National Director, Bob Wilder; and newsletter editor, Joyce Harmon.
A list of approximately fifteen chapter names was presented to the group, the name "Northern Lights," being adopted. FMCA requires that chapters define their area of interest or scope, so since the new Northern Lights Chapter included FMCA members from the Upper Peninsula and Sault Ste Marie, Ontario, the original scope was defined as 'Northern Michigan including the Upper Peninsula and Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.' The chapter was officially chartered on May 9, 1992 and chapter members attended G.L.A.S.S.(Great Lakes Area Spring Spree) at Berrien Springs later that month. FMCA announced that the new chapter, Northern Lights, had been formed and extended an invitation for other non-chapter members to join. Some organizational meetings were held in Ludington during the summer and the first major Northern Lights rally was held at a campground on the Saint Mary's River in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. The highlight was a rail adventure into the Canadian wilderness on the Agawa Canyon Tour Train. The rally also included a business meeting at which it was decided that the group needed a distinctive badge design. Mary Lou Korb agreed to work on one.
Thus a discussion between two coffee drinkers in Traverse City led to an exploratory gathering in Elk Rapids, publicity at Berrien Springs, and finally the formal establishment of the Northern Lights chapter and its first significant rally in Sault Ste. Marie- all in just over one year. Now, twenty nine years and tens of thousands of miles later, Northern Lights has grown to approximately 55 member units who gather regularly to enjoy each other's company, explore new places, and discuss life on the road in campgrounds and parks all over Michigan and North America.
Update: As of September 10th, 2025 we welcome all Family Recreational Vehicle Association members.
Postscript: Shortly after the establishment of the "Northern Lights," it was learned that another group had sought the same name, but were told about our group and that they needed to select another name. Since the members of that group came from Saskatchewan and Manitoba, they took the name "Canadian Northern Lights" and were chartered on September 9, 1992.
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