05-March-2008
An update for Heartland Owners…
Hello Heartlanders,
I have some updates for you as well as some exciting news.
How far we have come:
As many of you know, 3-1/2 years ago, myself and another Heartland product owner started this forum as an online community for Heartland product owners and prospective owners. Nearly 3,000 members, 4,500 threads and 33,500 posts later, I think we've really delivered.
Heartland's Growth:
In those 3-1/2 years, Heartland has introduced another 7 product lines, with an 8th on the way. They've now produced nearly 10,000 trailers. That's a lot of Heartland product on the road and even more innovation on the drawing boards.
Busy Admin - More Moderators:
All of this activity and Heartland buzz in the marketplace has resulted in Jim being a very busy guy. So much so that 13 months ago, I invited John Morgan (jpmorgan37) to come on as a Moderator. And then late this January, I invited Michael Kidd (linuxkidd) to also come on as a moderator. Great team members! As a team, we have moderated over 4,000 events. That's a lot of work! And we need more help. Stay tuned for a casting call .
Heartland Owners Club:
Just short of a year ago, Heartland asked me to create and run the Heartland Owners Club. I accepted their request. To date, we have a North American Regional structure with many local chapters already formed and rallies within these chapters already taking place. All of this and we've only soft-launched the Club. Look for bigger and better things to come soon for the Heartland Owners Club.
Heartland Owners Online Tools (H.O.O.T.):
Just recently, through Michael's programming efforts, we have soft-launched the Heartland Owners Online Tools - HOOT for short. HOOT is the realization of the "Issues and Solutions Guide" (ISG) that several members and I began two years ago. We are still working out the details for the full implementation of HOOT, but we have some pretty high hopes for its benefit to Heartland product owners.
Heartland Owners Chat:
Caught you by surprise on this one didn't I? That's right, to be launched yet this March, the Heartland Owners Portal (H.O.P.) will sport a Chat application. Imagine being able to do a live chat with your Heartland family. Or going on to ask a quick question that you just know someone will have an immediate answer for. Or how about a guest speaker of sorts every now and then? It should be fun. Here again, this will be a reality due to Michael's programming prowess.
Rallies:
Wow - it's shaping up to be the "year of the rallies". There are already no fewer than 10 rallies planned with most of them already set with dates. And our big rally set for Branson, Missouri this June is selling well as we are nearing the 50% mark (nearly 50 units) - all without a posted agenda! If you have yet to make a Heartland Owners Rally, please do yourself a favor and join in on the fun at a chapter rally near you.
The Big News:
I quit my day job! Woohoo! That's right, no more business suit by day - RV costume by night. With the success of the Forum, the budding success of the Club, the launch of more tools for you and a full-time "other" job, I've become seriously sleep deprived. Something had to give. Our love of RVing, the RV lifestyle and our fondness for getting out there and meeting all of you, drove me to create and pitch an employment proposal to Heartland RVs. Guess what? They agreed that I should be doing this full-time!
Effective March 10th, 2008, I will be on-staff, full-time with Heartland RVs in the position of Director of Owners Interests. In this capacity, I'll be able to further develop and hard-launch the Heartland Owners Club and further develop the Heartland Owners Forum. It will allow me to work closer with our chapter leaders to put on even more rallies and for me to get to more rallies. It will allow me to get to more RV shows to meet more of you! It's all good.
Working for Heartland will give me even better access to Heartland staff, plants and processes. Better access means more information for you. While my role will not take the place of Heartland Dealers, Heartland Regional Reps, Heartland Brand Managers or even Heartland Customer Service - I will be yet another tool for you, the customer.
Thank you for your kindness and your help these last 3+ years and I look forward to serving the Heartland Owners community in my new capacity.
Jim Beletti
Director of Owners Interests
Heartland RVs, LLC
An update for Heartland Owners…
Hello Heartlanders,
I have some updates for you as well as some exciting news.
How far we have come:
As many of you know, 3-1/2 years ago, myself and another Heartland product owner started this forum as an online community for Heartland product owners and prospective owners. Nearly 3,000 members, 4,500 threads and 33,500 posts later, I think we've really delivered.
Heartland's Growth:
In those 3-1/2 years, Heartland has introduced another 7 product lines, with an 8th on the way. They've now produced nearly 10,000 trailers. That's a lot of Heartland product on the road and even more innovation on the drawing boards.
Busy Admin - More Moderators:
All of this activity and Heartland buzz in the marketplace has resulted in Jim being a very busy guy. So much so that 13 months ago, I invited John Morgan (jpmorgan37) to come on as a Moderator. And then late this January, I invited Michael Kidd (linuxkidd) to also come on as a moderator. Great team members! As a team, we have moderated over 4,000 events. That's a lot of work! And we need more help. Stay tuned for a casting call .
Heartland Owners Club:
Just short of a year ago, Heartland asked me to create and run the Heartland Owners Club. I accepted their request. To date, we have a North American Regional structure with many local chapters already formed and rallies within these chapters already taking place. All of this and we've only soft-launched the Club. Look for bigger and better things to come soon for the Heartland Owners Club.
Heartland Owners Online Tools (H.O.O.T.):
Just recently, through Michael's programming efforts, we have soft-launched the Heartland Owners Online Tools - HOOT for short. HOOT is the realization of the "Issues and Solutions Guide" (ISG) that several members and I began two years ago. We are still working out the details for the full implementation of HOOT, but we have some pretty high hopes for its benefit to Heartland product owners.
Heartland Owners Chat:
Caught you by surprise on this one didn't I? That's right, to be launched yet this March, the Heartland Owners Portal (H.O.P.) will sport a Chat application. Imagine being able to do a live chat with your Heartland family. Or going on to ask a quick question that you just know someone will have an immediate answer for. Or how about a guest speaker of sorts every now and then? It should be fun. Here again, this will be a reality due to Michael's programming prowess.
Rallies:
Wow - it's shaping up to be the "year of the rallies". There are already no fewer than 10 rallies planned with most of them already set with dates. And our big rally set for Branson, Missouri this June is selling well as we are nearing the 50% mark (nearly 50 units) - all without a posted agenda! If you have yet to make a Heartland Owners Rally, please do yourself a favor and join in on the fun at a chapter rally near you.
The Big News:
I quit my day job! Woohoo! That's right, no more business suit by day - RV costume by night. With the success of the Forum, the budding success of the Club, the launch of more tools for you and a full-time "other" job, I've become seriously sleep deprived. Something had to give. Our love of RVing, the RV lifestyle and our fondness for getting out there and meeting all of you, drove me to create and pitch an employment proposal to Heartland RVs. Guess what? They agreed that I should be doing this full-time!
Effective March 10th, 2008, I will be on-staff, full-time with Heartland RVs in the position of Director of Owners Interests. In this capacity, I'll be able to further develop and hard-launch the Heartland Owners Club and further develop the Heartland Owners Forum. It will allow me to work closer with our chapter leaders to put on even more rallies and for me to get to more rallies. It will allow me to get to more RV shows to meet more of you! It's all good.
Working for Heartland will give me even better access to Heartland staff, plants and processes. Better access means more information for you. While my role will not take the place of Heartland Dealers, Heartland Regional Reps, Heartland Brand Managers or even Heartland Customer Service - I will be yet another tool for you, the customer.
Thank you for your kindness and your help these last 3+ years and I look forward to serving the Heartland Owners community in my new capacity.
Jim Beletti
Director of Owners Interests
Heartland RVs, LLC