I always look forward to the Outlook breakfast that kicks off the National RV Show every year. It's inspiring to see several thousand professionals gathered in one area chomping at the bit to get started at the largest RV show in the world. And, the folks at the RV Industry Association do a good job in putting on the event. It's apparent a great deal of work goes into planning and setting up the single meal.

 

But, as I walked away from this year's breakfast, I was a little disappointed. It seemed as though too much was crammed into too little time.

 

Part of the problem comes from the fact that a significant segment of the event is generally the same year after year. I'm referring to the Go RVing update, the public relations update and the snippets of media exposure the industry received on various TV stations.  All that is good. But it can also be packaged into a downloadable video package and popped on RVIA's Web site. When we have several thousand corporate leaders, dealers and their staff congregated in one area, is it really the best use of their time to hear what Matthew McConaughey or some other star had to say on the Tonight Show?

 

Personally, I'd like to have seen more "outlook" in the Outlook breakfast, or a single keynote speaker addressing a critical issue like fuel availability, formaldehyde, the impact of the mortgage crisis or the expected state of the economy in 2008.

 

I also felt cheated because several of the exceptional speakers that were on hand for the event were cut short after two or three minutes. Many people I talked to were anxious to hear more from Rulon Gardner, the Olympic Greco Roman wrestler who poignantly laid his boots on mat after winning a gold medal in 2000. In grammar school, he was impaled by an arrow during a show-and-tell incident. In 2002, he was stranded on a snowmobile trip and lost a toe or two to exposure. In 2004, he was hit by a car while riding his motorcycle. Last February his airplane crashed and he was forced to swim in 44 degree water for more than an hour just to spend the night without shelter or fire in 28 degree weather.

 

If anyone knows how to survive adversity, it's this guy. But, his introduction was longer than his presentation at the Outlook breakfast, which didn't spend much time discussing his trials and tribulations. 

 

Secretary of Interior Krik Temphorne did a great job promoting outdoor recreation and the RV industry, but I suspect with more time he, too, could have provided information with more take home value to attendees. NASCAR driver Kenny Wallace described in detail how much he enjoys traveling from race to race in his RV, but I'd rather have heard how he maintains his composure and maintains a balance of risk with security in his occupation.

 

Throughout the three-day show, several people tied the breakfast to the exhorbitant cost suppliers must pay for booths at the event. Each supplier is tapped for a special $395 Go RVing assessment in addition to booth costs just to secure space at the show. Multiplied by 300 suppliers, the fee netted $158,000 for RVIA -- much of which was spent paying for high-profile speakers to make three-minute presentations.

 

Next year, it would be nice to enjoy more meat at breakfast and fewer Go RVing commercials. To follow the same pattern of promoting Go RVing to a audience of active RV professionals is akin to preaching to the choir.