b'ple who are so kind and hard-working, seeing how campgrounds have with-she said. stood recessions. Many new people areNCA was originally called the Council also coming into the campground busi-of Northeast Campground Associations ness from other industries, includingandwassubsequentlyrenamedthe technology, law, engineering and otherNortheast Region of National Camp- professions, and they are using their ex-ground Owners Association (NCOA) in pertise to help campground operators1981, NCOA being the precursor of the and the industry itself become more so-National Association of RV Parks and phisticated.Campgrounds (ARVC). NCA was given Somethingshaventchanged,its current and final name in 1985. namely the focus on providing memo-But while NCA went through several ries to last a lifetime.name changes in its early years, its mis- All of the good things have stayedsion has always been to serve the key thesame,shesaid, namely,givingeducational, marketing and trade show good experiences to our guests.needs of state campground associations Zbierski, for her part, has taken on ad- NCAs annual spring conference typically draws in nearly 200 attendees and a few dozen exhibitors. in the Northeast, said Zbierski.ditional roles in the campground indus-NCA currently has 974 campground try. Two years ago, she became chairman impacted by natural disasters. ship still fostered between NCA andmembers from nine state associations, of the ARVC Foundation, which offers My dad is happy about my volun- ARVC today.includingNewHampshire, Vermont, scholarshipstoattendeducational teer work with the foundation, Zbier- Editors Note: Key People is a recur-Maine,Massachusetts,Connecticut, events and professional development ski said. He served a three-year term ring feature that spotlights people inNew York,NewJersey,Pennsylvania, opportunities, as well as financial assis- on the ARVC board and is very proud the RV park and campground sectorsandMaryland,alongwithassociate tance to park operators who have been of the positive and supportive relation- who play significant roles. WCMmembersfromRhodeIslandandDelaware. Most of my members are150-site campgrounds, Zbierski said.NCA provides worthwhile economiesof scale because its not always profitablefor campground associations from smallstates to try to organize tradeshows andother activities on their own.Our mission is to promote campingthroughnetworkingandeducation,Zbierskisaid,adding, Itsimportantthat all of us stick together.NCAseffortsincludedistributing4,000 printed campground directoriesfrom each of its state affiliates at the an-nual Florida RV SuperShow(known bymany as the Tampa Show) and purchas-ing cooperative ads in Good Housekeep-ing magazine, which generated morethan 4,000 leads last year alone.Cyndy Zbierski (L) spent her childhood camp-ing and working at her familys campground.NCAusedtoproducearegionalprinted campground directory but quitdoing so after eight years because theassociation did not want to be in directcompetition for advertising dollars withthe individual state associations.But while NCA promotes differentstatesthroughitswebsiteatCamp-NCA.com, Zbierski said print directoriescontinue to be in strong demand. NCApromotes its state association affiliatesby distributing 10,000 rack cards, whichprovide contact information for each ofits campground association members.NCA also keeps busy organizing itsannual spring conference, which fea-tures educational seminars, networkingopportunities and tradeshows. Its North-east Conference on Camping is sched-uled for March 19-21 at the Doubletreeby Hilton in Danvers. Mass., while its fallevent, the annual Great Escape, will beheld in September at Westward ShoresCottages & RV Resortin Ossipee, N.H.Lookingbackoverthepastfivedecades, Zbierski said the campgroundindustry has changed in many ways.She noted that more corporations areentering the campground business afterWOODALLSCM.com April 2020-23'