“Come for the Experience and Stay for the Fun” is the slogan for the 45th Annual Northeast Conference on Camping & Trade Show to be held March 19-21 at the Sheraton Monarch Place Hotel in Springfield, Mass.
The conference will attract many of the 1,200-member Northeast Campground Association (NCA) member campgrounds that hail from 11 Northeastern states: Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont.
“For three days everyone is welcome to benefit from educational seminars specifically designed for campground owners and operators,” noted Cyndy Zbierski, a conference coordinator and daughter of NCA executives David and Pat Tetrault. Campground owners also will have the opportunity to use NCA’s cooperative buying strength within two days of a trade show promoting a variety of service and product providers, she added.
For the first time since the conference moved to Springfield several years ago, the MassMutual Center will not be used for conference activities. “We are very excited about using a new venue all under one roof. After listening to vendors and campground attendees, this is what is important to them,” Zbierski told Woodall’s Campground Management. This will be the second NCA conference she has coordinated.
“We will have the entire third floor of the Springfield Sheraton set up as exhibit space. It will really work well.”
The facility accommodates up to 103 exhibit booths. The 17 CPO-approved seminars will be staged in adjoining rooms.
She said exhibit space is filling well and vendors, including some first-time exhibitors, are registering daily.
“We’ve worked very hard to have different speakers and important seminars to help educate campgrounds owners on up-and-coming topics. We’re making sure to address all our audiences. Speakers will be prepared to answer questions from owners of campgrounds of all sizes, from small campgrounds to large resort parks. We have to be careful that we speak to the entire audience, because there is a wide variety of needs.”
New or updated seminar topics include new federal regulations governing swimming pools, provided by Mike Giannamore, Aqua Pool & Patio, East Windsor, Conn., and new ADA compliance regulations, presented by Robert Mucci, Wolpert Insurance, Braintree, Mass.
Profaizer to Speak at Conference
Special speakers will include Linda Profaizer, president and CEO of the National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds (ARVC), who will speak on “The Campground Industry Today” on the opening day of the conference, and representatives from the U.S. Forest Service who will provide the latest news on pest infestations in the Northeast.
Zbierski said the Kids Kare program has been beefed up in anticipation of more families attending this year’s conference.
An awards luncheon will be held at noon Friday, following by the opening of the trade show, open from 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Trade show hours on Saturday are 8:30 a.m. to 12:30p.m.
Two states, Massachusetts and Connecticut, will hold membership meetings and the Museum of Family Camping will hold a board meeting during the NCA conference, she noted. The museum is housed at Bear Brook State Park near Richmond, N.H.
Evergreen USA has provided a 56-inch Dixie Chopper X Caliber commercial mower valued at $11,500 that will be awarded to one NCA member campground that buys a full registration for the conference.
For details about the conference, go to www.campingnca.org.
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