Good Sam Club
Encyclopedia
Recreational vehicle
Recreational vehicle or RV is, in North America, the usual term for a Motor vehicle or trailer equipped with living space and amenities found in a home.-Features:...
owners. Its stated primary goals are to make RVing safer and more enjoyable, and to save members money through Club-endorsed benefits and services. It claims over a million members.
Credited with the development of the Good Sam Club is Art Rouse, founder of TL Enterprises, a California-based publishing company responsible for Trailer Life
Trailer Life
-History:Trailer Life was founded in July 1941 as Western Trailer Life in California. In 1958, Los Angeles advertising executive Art Rouse purchased the magazine. In 1992, Trailer Life Enterprises became part of the umbrella company Affinity Group Inc....
Magazine, Motorhome Magazine, and Rider Magazine. Rouse and his two sons acquired the organization in 1968 and further developed member benefits and RV-related services for which the club is known. Rouse sold TL Enterprises in the 1980s and died on June 19, 2007 following head injuries suffered as a result of a fall, at 89 years old.
Good Sam Club is currently owned by the Affinity Group Inc.
Affinity Group Inc.
Affinity Group is a provider of membership clubs, as well as subscription-based products, services and publications, targeted toward recreational vehicle and other outdoor enthusiasts in the United States...
, which also owns Trailer Life Publications, Motor Home Publications, Camping World
Camping World
Camping World is an American corporation specializing in selling parts and service for recreational vehicles and supplies for camping. The company is based in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and is privately held. Camping World has 70+ retail/service locations throughout the United States, and also sells...
, Woodalls RV park
RV park
A recreational vehicle park or caravan park is a place where people with recreational vehicles can stay overnight, or longer, in alloted spaces known as "pitches"...
directory, and Camp Coast to Coast. Good Sam Club is based in Arapahoe County, Colorado
Arapahoe County, Colorado
As of the census of 2000, there were 487,967 people, 190,909 households, and 125,809 families residing in the county. The population density was 608 people per square mile . There were 196,835 housing units at an average density of 245 per square mile...
, near Centennial
Centennial, Colorado
The city of Centennial is a Home Rule City located in Arapahoe County, Colorado, United States, and part of the Denver-Aurora metropolitan area. The city was to have a total population of 100,377 in 2010 census. Centennial is the tenth-most populous municipality in the state of Colorado and its...
.
The name comes from the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
parable
Parable
A parable is a succinct story, in prose or verse, which illustrates one or more instructive principles, or lessons, or a normative principle. It differs from a fable in that fables use animals, plants, inanimate objects, and forces of nature as characters, while parables generally feature human...
of the Good Samaritan, which tells of a traveler from the region of Samaria
Samaria
Samaria, or the Shomron is a term used for a mountainous region roughly corresponding to the northern part of the West Bank.- Etymology :...
who helped a person along the road who had been robbed and beaten.
RV park affiliations
There are 1,700 RV parkRV park
A recreational vehicle park or caravan park is a place where people with recreational vehicles can stay overnight, or longer, in alloted spaces known as "pitches"...
s and campgrounds affiliated with the Good Sam organization which offer Club members discounts for staying in their parks. These RV parks have to meet a minimum standard of services and appearance to be considered for association. These parks are inspected annually by Good Sam representatives and secret inspectors, who also help the parks stay current with industry trends and the needs of RV'ers.
Good Sam also publishes information to help members find parks that provide stated levels of services. Associated parks pay no revenue to Good Sam other than the cost of inspection and may advertise in the Good Sam publications at their discretion.
See also
- Affinity Group Inc.Affinity Group Inc.Affinity Group is a provider of membership clubs, as well as subscription-based products, services and publications, targeted toward recreational vehicle and other outdoor enthusiasts in the United States...
- CampingCampingCamping is an outdoor recreational activity. The participants leave urban areas, their home region, or civilization and enjoy nature while spending one or several nights outdoors, usually at a campsite. Camping may involve the use of a tent, caravan, motorhome, cabin, a primitive structure, or no...
- Camping WorldCamping WorldCamping World is an American corporation specializing in selling parts and service for recreational vehicles and supplies for camping. The company is based in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and is privately held. Camping World has 70+ retail/service locations throughout the United States, and also sells...
- SnowbirdSnowbird (people)The term snowbird is used to describe people from the U.S. Northeast, U.S. Midwest, or Canada who spend a large portion of winter in warmer locales such as California, Arizona, Florida, Texas, the Carolinas, or elsewhere along the Sun Belt region of the southern and southwest United States,...
- Stephen AdamsStephen Adams (business)Stephen Adams is an American businessman and private equity investor. His current holdings include Affinity Group, Inc., a national publishing, retail stores, and member-based direct marketing organization directed toward owners of recreational vehicles and Adams Outdoor Advertising, an operator...
External links
- Official web site
- Good Sam Club Benefits
- Why Join the Good Sam Club
- Affinity Group (official website)