NAM Newsletter, June 15, 2009

The Attorney General of Illinois, acting on complaints from Mrs. Murna Lindsey (NAM Representative in Illinois) and 49 other former members of Willow Creek Campground, successfully sued the campground. The AG obtained an order demanding that the owner pay restitution to the former members and that they basically get out of business in Illinois.

The campground owner was ordered to pay $25,000 to the 50 former members who registered complaints with the AG office.

The following is an excerpt from the Final Order and Decree that was issued in conclusion of the case:

Willow Creek Owner ‘Out of Business’ in Illinois
Because of ‘Business Practices’

The ORDER:

Defendant, their successors, assigns, officers, agents, servants, employees, and those persons in active concert or participation with Defendants, are hereby permanently enjoined from:

Advertising, offering for sale, or selling campground memberships, membership contract addendums, or membership upgrades to consumers in or from the State of Illinois;
Owning, operating, directing, managing, controlling, or being an officer, director, board member, or having any ownership interest in any campground in the State of Illinois;
Violating Section 2 of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act by engaging in the following acts or practices;
Representing that they will improve and maintain facilities at a campground or campground resort, and then failing to do so;
Utilizing language in campground membership contracts or campground bylaws which obligate campground members and/or such member’s heirs to pay membership dues until the year of their death regardless of whether or not they utilize campground facilities;
Representing that it is not possible to abandon membership in Defendants’ campground when in fact, Defendants routinely allow consumers to buy out of their membership dues obligations;
Failing to maintain accurate financial records for Defendants’ campground;
Attempting to collect campground membership dues for which Defendants have inadequate substantiation;
Representing to consumers that Defendants could resell campground memberships for consumers who purchased membership upgrades and then failing to do so;
Failing and refusing to maintain Willow Creek campground to the minimum standard required to comply with the Campground Licensing and Recreational Area Act;
Operating a campground/Willow Creek Resorts without a Recreational Area license; and Selling campground memberships and membership upgrades without having a Recreational Area license for such campground.

RESTITUTION

The Court also entered a judgment for restitution, against the Defendants of $25,000.00 to be used as restitution to consumers (who joined the AG in the lawsuit as recommended by Mrs. Murna Lindsey, NAM representative in IL).

It appears that the owner of the Willow Creek Park near Rockford, IL was ordered to sell the campground and report the sale to the AG.

RV Park and Members Abandoned

Members at Meadow Lake Resort were shocked recently as the owner of the park packed up and left. They abandoned several significant and unpaid bills. According to a TV news report they were in violation of several health regulations because of failure to maintain the facility. One might anticipate that any cash reserves that belonged to the operation also dissapeared in the process.

The abandoned members are probably sad and disappointed at their loss. They may think that they are alone with no hope of recovering their investment in the facility via their ‘annual fees’, volunteer work, etc. They may think that no one else has had to deal with such a tradgety...

Campground members at Leisure Lake (Wayland, OH) and River Bend (Claridon, OH) had to deal with similar situations several years ago.

How did they deal with it?

They formed “Members Committies” that decided to save the park! Both of these groups had attorneys who advised them as they proceeded to take ownership of their respective parks. —

NAM has not been asked for advice. We are NOT attoneys. We do know, however, what others have done in situation like theirs.

I Believe...

At a time of personal loss, I ran across the following.
You are my friends, I want to share it with you. (Editor)

A Death Certificate shows we died
Pictures show we lived!
We don’t have to change friends if we understand friends change.
It’s taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.
You should always leave loved ones with loving words. It may be the last time you see them.
You can keep going long after you think you can’t.
Heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of consequences.
My best friend and I can do anything or nothing and have the best time.
Sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you’re down will be the ones to help you get back up.
Sometimes when I’m angry, I have the right to be angry, but that doesn’t give me the right to be cruel.
Maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you’ve had and what you’ve learned from them, and less to do with how many birthdays you’ve celebrated.
It isn’t always enough to be forgiven by others; sometimes, you have to learn to forgive yourself..
No matter how bad your heart is broken, the world doesn’t stop for your grief.
Our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for whom we become.
Two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different..
Your life can be changed in a matter of hours by people who don’t even know you.
Even when you think you have no more to give, when a friend cries out to you - you will find the strength to help.
The people you care about most in life are taken from you too soon.
‘The happiest of people don’t necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of anything.

We Miss You

The RV needs repairs (whose doesn’t), gas is just too expensive, the work we do for NAM just demands so much of our time.

We don’t mind. The work we do makes us feel that we have a “higher calling” to help people who need help.

But we miss you. We miss traveling and visiting with the wonderful people we meet in every campground we visit.

Maybe the little lady will win the lottery and we can find a better way to make a difference.

We Need Your Help!

You and I know how some of the schemers in the membership campground industry operate. How they try to isolate and intimidate former members. Their evil and aggressive attempts to extract undeserved money from former members is poisoning the pool of potential members of legitimate campground operators.

It’s not enough that we (NAM) preach to the choir, people who have already been victimized. We’re desperately trying to make a difference for the better...

We’ve written letters to newspapers, Attorneys General, US government officials, and industry campground organizations, etc. It’s not enough!

We maintain two web sites that try to educate campers so that they won’t be “hooked” by the schemers. It’s not enough...

We maintain a hotline where people can call if they feel they need help. It’s not enough!

Write letters to your Governor, your Attorney General, the US Federal Trade Commission, your state and federal congressmen, and to the Better Business Bureau (BBB). Tell them YOUR STORY.

This writer is inspired by the words of Mrs. Murna Lindsey (NAM-IL): “Many voices make a platform on which all of us can stand”

and Mrs. Barbara Bowen, NAM President: “Alone our voice is small. — Stand together and we will be heard.”

Add your voice to ours. Help us make a difference. Send your story to people who can help make a difference. People who can help solve this problem.

If you need help finding an address or phone number let us know and we will help you.

Marital Bliss...

One year, a husband decided to buy his mother-in-law a cemetery plot as a Christmas gift.
The next year, he didn’t buy her a gift.
When she asked him why, he replied, “Well, you still haven’t used the gift I bought you last year!”
- - And that’s how the fight started.....

My wife walked into the den and asked “What’s on the TV?”
I replied “Dust”.
- - And that’s how the fight started.....

A woman was standing nude, looking in the bedroom mirror.
She was not happy with what she saw and said to her husband, ‘I feel horrible; I look old, fat and ugly. I really need you to pay me a compliment.’
The husband replied, ‘Your eyesight’s darn near perfect.’
- - And that’s how the fight started.....

My wife was hinting about what she wanted for our upcoming anniversary.
She said, ‘I want something shiny that goes from 0 to 200 in about 3 seconds.
I bought her a scale.
- - And that’s how the fight started.....

I asked my wife, ‘Where do you want to go for our anniversary?’
It warmed my heart to see her face melt in sweet appreciation.
‘Somewhere I haven’t been in a long time!’ she said.
So I suggested, ‘How about the kitchen?’
- - And that’s when the fight started....

My wife and I are watching ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire’ while we were in bed. I turned to her and said, ‘Do you want to have sex?’
‘No,’ she answered.
I then said, ‘Is that your final answer?’
She didn’t even look at me this time, simply saying ‘Yes.’
So I said, ‘Then I’d like to phone a friend.’
- - And that’s when the fight started....

I tried to talk my wife into buying a case of Miller Light for $14.95.
Instead, she bought a jar of cold cream for $7.95.
I told her the beer would make her look better at night than the cold cream.
- - And that’s when the fight started.....

I took my wife to a restaurant. The waiter, for some reason, took my order first.
‘I’ll have the strip steak, medium rare,please.’
He said, ‘Aren’t you worried about the mad cow?’
‘Nah, she can order for herself.’
- - And that’s when the fight started....

Attending a wedding for the first time, a little girl whispered to her mother,
“Why is the bride dressed in white?””

The mother replied, “Because white is the color of happiness, and today is the happiest day of her life.”

The child thought about this for a moment then said, “So why is the groom wearing black?”

Reverend Ole was the pastor of a small Pennsylvania Lutheran Church, and Pastor Sven was the minister of a Swedish Covenant Church across the road. They were seen standing by the road, pounding a sign into the ground on the edge of town, that read:

As an RV sped past them, the driver leaned out his window and yelled,
"Leave us alone, you religious nuts!"

Rev. Ole turned to Pastor Sven and asked, "Do ya tink maybe da sign should yust say 'Bridge Out'?"

We all get heavier as we get older because there’s a lot more information in our heads.

So I’m not fat, I’m just really intelligent and my head couldn’t hold any more
so it started filling up the rest of me!

Preaching to the Choir

We’ve published our newsletters for more than 15 years now. We’ve told you how to escape bad campground schemes and who your allies are.

Our efforts are made possible by your encouragement and your support (both spiritual and financial).
What do YOU think we should be doing now?

Please send us a letter or an email. Let us know how you think we are doing and how to do it better.

Pig Cake

Those of you who’ve been reading our newsletters know that one of my hobbies is to be a
“Shoot-from-the-hip” cook. Well, one of our readers sent in this recipe. I haven’t tried it yet, but I think I will...

1 pkg yellow cake mix
1/2 C. orange juice
‘4’ eggs
1 11oz can mandarin oranges, drained

Mix ingredients and bake cake for 30-35 minute at 350 degrees.
Let cool.
Mix topping ingredients* and put on cooled cake.
Keep refrigerated.

1 Sm pkg fat-free vanilla instant pudding
1 20oz can crushed pineapple, drained.
Small container of low-fat Cool Whip.

I’m impressed that the “Topping” calls for “low-fat” ingredients!
I guess that is so you won’t EXPLODE when you eat it...

Support NAM, Make a donation...

We will send you a receipt for your tax deductable donation and one of these amazing, no-battery, “Forever Flashlights” as a Thank-You gift.

This “Thank You Gift” does not need batteries. Just shake it a few times and it will stay lit for several hours - then just shake it again.

Easily carried in your purse, pocket, or tool box. (Grandkids can hide it under their pillows if they are afraid of ‘night goblins’.)

Illinois AG Wins Lawsuit in Support of Former Campground Members

Willow Creek Owner ‘Out of Business’ in Illinois Because of ‘Business Practices’