Not So S*M*A*R*T

When we started fulltiming we joined S*M*A*R*T (active and retired military campers) and got little helpful information from them, so we dropped our membership. The concept is good and they have a couple of people who work tirelessly to keep their list of military campgrounds current.

I know that Larry has contacted them about making this site their source for campground information and in return giving them some visibility on this site. Does anyone who is a member of S*M*A*R*T know why they haven't jumped at the offer?

One of the reasons we dropped our membership is that they seemed to be hung up in some leadership battles that were obvious in their magazine. I still feel like the group has superior potential and am kind of looking for an excuse to re-join.

Just curious.

Glenn

Glenn,
Even though we are new members (Mbr.#12258) my wife and I are current members of S*M*A*R*T* (Special Military Active Retired Travel Club). We joined in Aug. of 2006 in hopes of meeting some new prior military folks and maybe some old friends. Camraderie is always good to have also. November came and no one had contacted us to acknowledge our new membership or welcome us aboard. At that point it seamed that no one cared, so I sent an e-mail to the then South Central Region Director, The President and Both the 1st & 2nd VP's. I explained that after reading the S*M*A*R*T Traveler that I noticed west Tennessee did not have a chapter, however there were 48 members in west Tennessee and requested he send me a roster of those 48 so I could contact someone close to me. I also pointed out that the South East Region Director had written an artice on membership & retention. At that time there were 84 new members that did not belong to a chapter, their membership had dropped by 530 in 2005 of which 357 did not belong to a chapter. I also explained that there was no motivation for paying dues to maintain a membership in S*M*A*R*T. I don't think there was much interest in maintaining or cultivating new membership. I stated that I felt communication was paramont in the survival of an organization. New members must be made to feel welcome and new ideas should be welcomed in order to grow and move forward. The SCRD did send me a roster of a club & called me to insure I recieved it. The 2nd VP finally sent an e-mail welcoming us and verifying that this topic would be discussed at the fall Board of Directors meeting. I have not met anyone yet however the few members I have communicated with have been very nice. A club presidents wife has e-mailed me after wintering in Texas. I must say that I've not heard anything from the president so don't know if he's concerned or not. Personally I'm undecided on maintaining my membership with S*M*A*R*T*.

First Sergeant,
While the specifics differ, our general experience is the same. It is an organization with good potential but atrophied reflexes. I, too, want to be positive about S*etc but the lack of leadership is palpable.
Semper Fi,
Glenn

[move]Well, my mind is definately made up[/move]

I really appreciate the information passed on here. I have been toying with the idea of membership for about a year. Not now!

Free2RV

We looked into it a couple of years ago and decided that it was not for us.

We joined S.M.A.R.T. a few years ago, to try it out and see if it is what we wanted. We found that we didn't get anything out of it. The magazine was boring, we attempted to contact a local chapter three times before someone finally got back to us. We did go to one of the local chapters "muster", I think that was what it was called. There was a poor showing there and not much to do for those who showed up.

We felt that if we had to work that hard to meet people it was not worth it.

As long as I am on the subject of joining clubs, we also tried "Passport America". There again it looked good on paper, however once we got the membership book and went to a few campgrounds, the restrictions were more that the satisfaction of wanting what we wanted. A few had restrictions on what days were approved. Some would give water and electric, but if you wanted full hook up's that was not covered.

So the bottom line is do your own checking and see what priorities you want, then make your own mind.