The Route 66 RV Network Virtual Rally finished its final business section of the conference Oct. 22, where network partner Rob Merrill opened on a somber note with news of Dell Sanders’ passing.
Sanders was a former Route 66 member dealer with Florida-based JD Sanders RV, as well as a past RVDA chairman and a member of the Route 66 Advisory Board.
Merrill reviewed the network’s success over the past year, touched on future expectations and presented this year’s Larry Coker Route 66 RV Network Commitment Award to multiple Canadian dealerships.
These dealerships pioneered Route 66 in Canada and now will be folded into the RV Care Network following the new alliance between the two, a Route 66 press release stated. These dealerships have fully embraced and reflected an all-in commitment to the network throughout their years with the ROUTE 66 RV Network:
- Village RV of Regina, Saskatchewan
- Smith’s RV Centre of Thunder Bay, Ontario
- Triangle RV Centre of North Saanich, British Columbia
- Outdoor Travel of Hamilton, Ontario
- Roulottes Levesque with seven locations in Quebec and one in Ontario
- ArrKann Trailer & RV Centre with four locations in Alberta
- Great Candadian RV of Peterborough, Ontario
- Chemo RV with two locations in British Columbia
Additionally, the Dave Francis Trusted Partner Award was a new award introduced this year.
“It will be an award that reflects the commitment that Dave has shown to our partners,” Merrill stated. “We will select a partner each year who reflects and embodies those same values back to Route 66, our dealers and their customers.” The award will be presented for the first time at the 2021 Route 66 RV Network Rally, scheduled Oct. 11-13, 2021 in Albuquerque, N.M.
Other sessions presented at the event’s closing day were RideDigital, a Route 66 proprietary digital marketing partner, which providing virtual attendees a tutorial of Google My Business to promote themselves and connect with customers via Google.
Members then heard from keynote speakers, Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.), founder and president of Meyer Distributing, and RVDA President Phil Ingrassia. Braun talked through the challenges of the RV industry and small businesses. Ingrassia shared insights into the RV market’s conditions, the programs that RVDA has available to help dealers and the opportunities ahead for dealerships under the ROUTE 66 RV Network.
