RV’er of the Year 2010

RV’er of the Year 2010

http://www.goodsamclub.com/rvcentral/HighwaysDetails.aspx?articleid=2603215

We’ve chosen five Good Sam nominees who give more than they take. Now it’s up to you to select our 2010 winner

Good Sam Club Highways August 2010

For some Good Sam members, the term “recreational vehicle” is misleading. Sure, they pilot their RVs to popular camping destinations and remote rustic getaways, but these RVers also hit the road with a more worthy purpose: to give back to their communities and the world at large.

The Good Sam Club recognizes these travelers every year with our RVer of the Year Award. For 2010, we’ve selected five admirable individuals and couples who’ve helped make the world a better place through volunteering, fundraising or building awareness for worthwhile causes. With your vote, you can help select which of our nominees is most deserving of the award. Read their biographies below, then click on one of the links and cast your vote.

We’ll announce the 2010 RVer of the Year in the January issue of Highways and honor them during the 2011 Rally in Redmond, Oregon, July 14 through 17. Voting is limited to Good Sam Club members.

Martin Shenkman:

Raising awareness and funds for serious illnesses

When Martin Shenkman’s wife, Patti, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, the New Jersey couple knew they’d have to make big changes in their lives. Air travel, for one, became unfeasible as Patti’s symptoms worsened.

“We went to LaGuardia airport for a trip, and it was torturous for Patti,” says Martin, an estate attorney. “She got very fatigued, and we had to lay coats on the floor to help her sleep. There was nothing in the terminal to eat or drink.”

Shenkman quickly realized that RVing was the only mode of travel that would give Patti, an anesthesiologist, easy access to comfort and medication. A stranger to the RV lifestyle, Shenkman purchased an Airstream to tow with his Ford Expedition and learned the finer points of RVing, primarily from fellow RVers he met at campgrounds.

Shenkman continues to travel the country with Patti in their Airstream trailer and gives seminars to attorneys and accountants on estate planning for people with serious illnesses. Instead of taking seminar fees, Shenkman asks for donations to the Multiple Sclerosis Society, the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Reasearch and the Association of Hole in the Wall Camps, which provide outdoor recreation for kids with life-threatening illnesses.

“Each professional who is informed will in turn help many people,” says Shenkman, adding that there are an estimated 120 million people in the United States with chronic illnesses.

In his seminars, Shenkman shares a number of estate-planning techniques for victims of serious illnesses, such as customizing living wills and consolidating accounts to make finance management easier. Shenkman also launched the www.rv4thecause.org website, which chronicles the Shenkmans’ story and offers information about Martin’s seminars and the charities he supports. The Shenkmans can also be found on Facebook (www.facebook.com/rv4thecause).