Northern Illinois

Unless otherwise noted: Contact Carol Dixon -815-344-1375 or at dwightdixon@yahoo.com for reservations. Alternate contact - Terry Chesnut 815-874-3307

2010 Activities

Florida Travelers’ Rest luncheon - January 26th. Twenty-three members and former members attended.

Fermilab Tour and Luncheon- February 24th Wednesday Sixteen members attended and a good time was had by all.

Spring Luncheon - March 27th 11:30 AM - Old Country Buffet, Springhill Mall, Dundee, IL 21 members attended.

Amana Colonies Joint “Maifest” Rally - April 30 -May 3, Amana Colonies RV Park Amana, Iowa. We had a great outing with 14 trailers from Northern Illinois and 11 from Lincolnland. Three pair of present and past Region officers attended.

Buddy Rally - May 21- 23 - Lee County Fairgrounds Amboy, IL 2010, International & Unit Elections Ten families attended and we had some great weather, food and entertainment.

International at Gillette, WY - June 28th -July 4

Looking at the official Rally aereal picture viewed from the east, most activities were held at the Convention center is to the west (with parking out front), Racetrack/rodeo arena in the middle. Most Members are parked in BoxElder to the East. It is quite a walk from BoxElder campground so most people took their cars or rode the free shuttle to the convention halls. Cam-Plex facility is just East of Gillette, just South of the I -90 expressway. Shopping and dining are 4 miles west on Boxelder. We had 7 trailers from Northern Illinois attend. Total attendance was 714 RV’s.

Gillette website click here

Johnson Sauk Trail State Park Rally July 22 -25th - Kewanee,IL, Bishop Hill (Swedish Colony), We had an nice Camping experience.
Bishop Hill is an Illinois State Historic Site and a National Historic Landmark. The seven memberships that attended visited the museums, quaint eateries, unique gift shops and art galleries 29 miles from the park.

We toured a large, round barn, built in 1910, is located near the park entrance. It stands 80 feet high (tall as a ten story building) and is 85 feet in diameter with a 16-foot ceiling-to-floor silo inside. One person fished in the park’s lake. The Chief Keokuk Campground was a clean and quiet. One person used their bike to explore the park trails. Four couples attended the Auto show at Bishop hill central park.

Johnson Sauk Trails SP website click here

Family/buddy Rally August 19 -22 Lowden St. Pk. at Oregon, IL, Fun, Fellowship and Camping experience.
We had 13 couple attend plus 6 grandkids. This was the second time we used Reserve America. Draw backs include: internet only, no reservations within 5 days of arrival, $5 non-refundable deposit and fee for the first night. We had a good time at the rally.

Here is the link to the Oregon Website: Click here
Here is the link to the Lowden State Park Website: Click here

Region 5 Rally - September 25 -19 Du Qoin ST. Fairgrounds, Du Quion, IL
The graduated Rally fee includes parking-W/E 30 amp/Dump station on the grounds. Come for the entire week or just the weekend. Coupon is in the Blue Beret Magazine. Just bring your ”Silver Bullet” (Airstream) and your best western duds to the ‘Shootout’ in Du Quoin, IL. Louise Humble, new Region 5 President, is promising you will have a fun experience.

Caravan to Surgarcreek - Sept 20 - 24th - Leaving from Region 5 Rally. Contact Dwight. We have 8 signed up so far.

SWISS FESTIVAL NATIONAL RALLY at Sugarcreek - Sept 24 - Oct. 2 Sugarcreek, OH This rally has been hosted by LAND-O-LAKES OF OHIO UNIT for 48 years. They know how to do it right.
Eight days to enjoy our famous tours, band concert, nightly entertainment, door prizes and hospitality. Our “day in the park” includes Amish buggy rides, horse shoeing, homemade ice cream, apple butter, hobby and flea market, golfing, popcorn and kettle cooked ham and beans. Rally topped off with Swiss Festival filled with parades, polka bands, dancing, swiss events, swiss food, crafts and lots of local cheese. Fill out the coupon in Blue Beret and mail to Carmel Porter, Chairperson, 1500 Callie Rd., Charleston, WV25314 cells: 304-550-6336, 304-550-0092, email: guycporter@yahoo.com. Let Carol Dixon know you’re going so we can go in and park together. We have 9 signed up so far from the Northern Illinois Unit. Link to their website click here

Thanksgiving Rally -October 15 -17 - Lee County Fairgrounds Amboy, IL Always the largest rally of the season. Contact our president to be Terry Chesnut 815-874-3307. This will be the first rally he is responsible for.

Christmas Luncheon - December 4 - 11:00 -3:00 Stockholm Inn Rockford, IL Contact Terry Chesnut 815-874-3307

2009 Activities

October 23 - 27th,2009 Thanksgiving / Halloween Rally - Amboy, Forty-two people attended our last fall outing. Carol was elected as President, Terry Chestnut was elected 1st Vice President and Dwight Dixon was elected to fill out the remaining year of a resigning director. Bob Moyers, Region 5 President, installed the officers during a break in the meeting. After the installation, our new president, Carol Dixon, introduced an amendment to our Constitution reducing the number of directors from 6 to 4. It passed. Friday night, the executive board approved Carol’s balanced budget for 2010. After the Saturday members meeting, we conducted a white elephant auction, which raised $200 to balance the budget. Saturday afternoon we had a great feast featuring three turkeys roasted in the Nesco’s. Saturday evening, using our projector, we saw portions of the Wally Byam “Around the world” caravan as well as the complete Wally Byam “Capetown to Cairo” African Caravan . A great time was had by all who attended.

December 5th 2009 Christmas Luncheon - We had 42 people attend. We elected and installed Jim Matkovich as our second Vice president. We were entertained by a 14 member choral group. The food was good and conversations excellent.