2024 Washington, Utah - Hoots XII
Hoots went back to its roots this year. We found a roost from September 15 through September 22, 2024 in southern Utah. With no sponsorship this year, Hoots had room for 50 coaches and we ended up with 46 Newmar coaches at the beautiful Settler's Point Luxury RV Resort. We were very happy to have Newmar executives and Winnebago's Advanced Technology Group join us to answer questions and seek first hand customer ideas and opinions. Welcome Party
This year we began Hoots by inviting all the new Hoots to an early gathering so that they could get to know each other. That was followed by a Welcome Party for all of our Hoots. This has become a tradition allowing everyone to decompress after a day of traveling to the resort and renew old friendships and start making some new ones. Progressive Happy Hour / Coach Stroll
For the third year in a row, we enjoyed the Progressive Happy Hour and Coach Stroll. We moved around as a group (or parliament which is a group of owls) between three areas within the campground where the Hoots served everyone either food, drink or a desert and opened their coaches to show off their floor plans, customizations and decorating prowess. Chili-Cookoff and Southwestern Potluck
We held our first Hoots Chili-Cookoff where we had 14 Hoots compete for the best Chili award. The rest of the Hoots enjoyed tasting the Chilis and voting for their favorites. The Chili Cookoff was followed by a southwestern-themed Potluck. Its safe to say not a single owl was hungry after that evening! Tech Sessions
Newmar executives joined us held a question/answer session, but they also provided remote expertise from service to share some of their knowledge. Additionally, Newmar's vice president of strategy and marketing held a fun session to get our input on future design ideas. For the first time we had Winnebago's Advanced Technology Group also join us to talk with lots of Hoots to get our input on ideas for future technology challenges. This year also saw several Hoots share their knowledge and expertise with all of our Hoots. We had presentations on DIY projects, RV organization, Starlink, and coordinate based navigation. We all learned so much from each other! Jeep Trail Rides and Rock Crawling 101
Southern Utah is a fabulous place to go off-roading. We had so many interested Hoots that we held two days of trail riding with a leader from the local Jeep club. They also held a third session where many Hoots could give rock crawling a shot in their 4x4. Fortunately none of the hoots took flight and everyone had a great time. Fun Hoots Activities Organized by Hoots
This year Hoots had the opportunity to attend the Tuacahn Outdoor Amphitheater to see a wonderful presentation of the Jersey Boys. Lots of Hoots volunteered to provide the Hoots activities that we all enjoy. Once again, we continued our tradition of the Pancake Breakfast and the Dirty Dogs Night. We also had a craft session and a group hike. Vendors
We had a fantastic vendor participation this year from Spartan, Kleen Tank, Oasis, Roadmaster, Open Roads and Camping World. Fireside Chats We help two Fireside Chats in the evening. Each Fireside Chat had a topic where many Hoots gathered together around the fire and discussed the topic. |