RCI Heads to Summer Camp

Who said only kids can go off to a summer camp surrounded by all types of majestic flora and natural wonders? Exactly, which is why we are planning to fully enjoy our time at this year’s Summer Ops Camp made possible by Ski Area Management or SAM for short. This will be our second time attending the 3-day event and our Sales Executive, Steve Morse, is the one making the trip down to Gatlinburg, Tennessee to represent RCI throughout the duration of the camp. You might be wondering a few things at this point: What is the Summer Ops camp? Why are we attending? & What are we going to be up to while present?

We’ve got all of those answers and more so without further ado, let’s get into it!

What is the camp?

SAM’s Summer Ops Camp is an annual 3-day occurrence where resort professionals and industry suppliers alike gather together in a location (it changes every year) to talk trends, share tips and participate in hands-on product demonstrations. This year is the 11th time the event has been put on and is being held in the beautiful mountain town of Gatlinburg from September 3-5. 

Unlike more traditional conferences or trade shows, the Summer Ops camp is not stationary and does not feature set booths for attendees. Instead, a more casual in-person or physical experience is promoted and carried out for everyone involved. To help mix it up and lend some (or a lot of) variety to the event, each day has its own itinerary filled with different seminars, workshops and site visits that attendees can join in on to expand their knowledge of various attractions. Being situated near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a huge bonus as event-goers will be able to see firsthand just how this area maintains its success year after year.

What is RCI’s involvement?

As a recognized ‘camp partner’ and vendor, RCI will be attending the scheduled discussions, workshops and even taking the lead during a site visit at Ober Gatlinburg, an amusement park and ski area that contains an Amaze’n Maze™ amongst its other offerings. We are really eager to be able to show guests a fully realized maze up close and speak alongside representatives from Ober Gatlinburg about how the installation of the maze has benefited them. Aside from the maze at Ober, RCI also has a Sky Trail® located at Gatlin’s Fun Center and at the event we will be discussing our new outdoor Clip ‘n Climb® offerings that are ideal for those operating within the resort and camp industries.

Tell me more about Ober Gatlinburg?

As mentioned previously, Ober Gatlinburg is a combination amusement park and ski area that is open year-round throughout all seasons so visitors can bask in the fun as long as possible. They are primarily a destination for winter snowboarding, skiing and tubing but also offer activities such as aerial tramway rides, running races, ice skating (indoor), mountain coaster, alpine slides and mini golf during warmer months. Another one of those activities is of course the Amaze’n Maze™.

The maze was purchased and installed in the spring of 2010 and subsequently opened in June of that same year. “One of the biggest benefits for us is the portability of the maze. We deal with space constraints here at Ober and are forced to utilize space differently for winter and summer operations,” explained Rick Claude, mountain operations manager for Ober Gatlinburg.

“The majority of our activities are physical in nature and require the participants to be in decent athletic shape,” added Kent Anders, vice president and co-owner of Ober Gatlinburg. “The addition of this activity provides a much easier experience that guests of all ages can participate in together.”

We’re overall immensely excited to take part in the event and hope to not only talk with some key players within the industry but broaden our horizons with new product demonstrations as well!

To find out more information about the event and the schedule we’ll be following, click here.