The votes are in, the ballots have been tallied and the winners of the Good Sam Club’s fourth annual RVer of the Year award are…Michigan Good Sam members John and Joyce Williams. Nominated for their many years of volunteer service, the Williams edged out a strong field of exemplary candidates in online voting by Good Sam members late last year.
In their quest to make the world a better place, the Williams have traveled with their camping trailer for up to 10 months a year to lend a hand for worthy causes, clocking nearly 40,000 service hours along the way. Among their volunteer contributions, the couple has pitched in on Habitat for Humanity projects for nearly a quarter of a century. They also volunteer for organizations ranging from the National Park Service to Nomads on a Mission Active in Divine Service (NOMADS) to their local church.
In honor of John and Joyce Williams, the Good Sam Club has donated $3,000 to NOMADS, the couple’s chosen charity. They’ll receive official recognition at the Good Sam Rally in Louisville, June 21 through 24.
Like the Williams, the runners-up have all devoted countless hours to public service and are equally deserving of accolades:
• Michigan Good Sam member Dave Wolfsen made headlines last year for towing a 20-foot camping trailer with a 1937 tractor across the Midwest to raise money to fight world hunger.
• Minnesotans Sharon and Duane Thiel and their family drove cross-country in their motorhome to establish music libraries at veterans’ hospitals in all 50 states.
• Full-time RVer Ted Caine founded Citizens Care Giving Circle Foundation, a unique British Columbia charity established to give financial support to neighbors in need.
• For the past 28 summers, Kansas native Muriel Greene has traveled in her motorhome to collect household necessities for shipment to needy communities around the world.
Since 2008, Good Sam has acknowledged exceptional volunteer service by RVing individuals and couples by recognizing an RVer of the Year. Four years ago, Good Sam honored animal shelter founder and inspirational blogger Richard Daniels with the inaugural award. In 2009 professional contractors Susan and Monty Scales were singled out for five years of full-time volunteer work reconstructing communities in the wake of natural disasters. And in 2010 Don and Marilyn Buller received the award for founding an RV division of a faith-based volunteer group that rebuilds homes destroyed by fires, hurricanes, tornadoes and floods.
Do you know an RVing Good Sam member or couple who dedicates themselves to doing good? If so, please take a few minutes to nominate them—or yourself!—for the club’s fifth-annual RVer of the Year award. Email nominations to [email protected] and don’t forget to include a full description and contact information.
