Member Spotlight

Gene and Eunice Getzendanner
Hurst, Texas

FMCA membership number:  F116478. We joined FMCA in May 1989.

FMCA chapter memberships:  Lone Star, National RV Central States

Our current motorhome is:  a 34-foot National RV Dolphin, 1996 model

Other motorhomes that we have owned:  Four Winnebagos before we purchased the Dolphin

We decided to buy a motorhome because:
We bought our first motorhome about 20 years ago to use in our part-time business. We enjoyed using it and decided that we would continue after retiring.

Current or former occupation:
I (Gene) retired from Tarrant County College in 1988, where I was maintenance supervisor. Eunice is a full-time homemaker.

Children, grandchildren:  We have two children, Mike and Janell, and four grandchildren: Nick and Blake Getzendanner and Matt and Michelle Brawner.

The best thing about motorhoming is:
No reservations, no second-floor motel rooms. No smoking. No packing of suitcases. Sleep in your bed every night and get up when you are ready.

We travel in our motorhome approximately:  Three months a year

One of our favorite motorhome trips was:
To Albuquerque, N.M., in 1999 to the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. Another fond trip was to the Calgary Stampede in Canada.

One of our fondest motorhoming memories is:
We attended a 250-year-old celebration of the Getzendanner family in Frederick, Md., in 1997. There, we met and visited with Getzendanners from four countries and 22 states, a total of more than 200 people.

Our "dream" motorhome trip would be:
We have traveled to every state except Alaska. I (Gene) would like to go to Alaska in the motorhome. Eunice says that is too far. She would like to go back to the Northwest and tour Washington and Oregon. I would like to take the piggyback train trip in Copper Canyon in Mexico. Eunice doesn’t care for bridges or mountains.

Our worst motorhoming experience was:
We have been very lucky and haven’t had bad motorhome experiences. We did spend four days in Three Rivers, Texas, during New Year’s, when we ran the front wheel off the ’78 Winnebago several years ago.

The best thing about our motorhome is:
It has a bed, bath and kitchen.

Our favorite things about FMCA are:
Chapter meetings, Six State Rallies and international conventions. We have met wonderful, friendly and caring people in our travels.

A motorhoming tip we'd like to share with other motorhomers is:
Join a chapter and volunteer to help, whether it is on a local chapter, area rally or national level.

Our hobbies are:
Traveling, reading and playing games. Eunice does do some sewing and participates in a quilters group.

Our favorite way to exercise is:  We are not exercising too much, but we do enjoy walking and bicycle riding.

Favorite movie:  John Wayne movies

Favorite reading material:  Books by Robin Cook, Sandra Brown, Nora Roberts and Patricia Cornwell

Favorite song:  “Elvira” by the Oak Ridge Boys, “Crazy” by Patsy Cline

When motorhomers visit our state or hometown, they should be sure to see:
The Hill Country, Big Bend National Park, and our state parks. When in the Fort Worth area: Amon Carter Museum, Kimbell Art Museum, Texas Motor Speedway, National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame. The Ball Park in Arlington.

Items always in our motorhome refrigerator while we’re traveling include:
Cold drinks and sandwich material

Our advice to new motorhomers is:
Get out there and travel. Meet new people and enjoy yourself.

Behind our motorhome, we tow:
A 1997 Honda with a tow bar

Our favorite activity to do inside the motorhome is:
Read and play card games

Other motorhomers may contact us via e-mail at:  ergetzl@juno.com