SierraNevadaAirstreams.org -|- Sierra Nevada Unit -|- SNU History

Enjoyment of the whispering winds, the zephyrs, the airstreams of the Sierra Nevada and Great Basin areas of the United States in a recreational vehicle

50^th Anniversary of the Sierra Nevada Unit 1976 – 2026

SNU History – A Summary

A fter separating from the Nevada Unit, the Sierra Nevada Unit was chartered by WBCCI in 1976. Distance was the primary motivation for the separation. From what I have gleaned from old WBCCI Membership directories and other sources, the new unit was an active group, holding rallies and apparently organizing at least two statewide caravans. One caravan was in the mid-Nevada region. The other was planned for the Northern part of the state. Some of the early rally sites included Hope Valley, Lake Lahontan which is still a favorite, Wilson Canyon and Frenchman’s Lake. One thing that was clear was that the SNU has always preferred more dispersed rally sites with minimal or no facilities. Sadly, in the mid 1990’s all the early SNU history, documents and photos were either dispersed to members or thrown in the trash. The only piece remaining was a photo album of the 1980 Mid-Nevada Caravan.

Bryan and I joined the SNU in 1995 after transferring from the Monterey Bay CA Unit. In 2000 I was elected to the SNU board. In 2001 I served on the Nominating committee. I asked a relatively new member, Fred Hersey to serve as President. He was subsequently elected. That was the beginning of major changes for the SNU. The membership had been declining and the office of President had been rotating between 4 members for a number of years. Some of Fred’s ideas were not appreciated or accepted by some of the charter members. In 2002 it was quite apparent that unless some changes were made the future of the SNU was in question. One of the first changes was to the SNU bylaws. At that time they were more appropriate for a larger unit rather than one with just a few members. Bryan took the lead on re-writing the SNU bylaws. The result was a document that worked for a small unit like the SNU while in complete compliance with the requirements of WBCCI. The revised bylaws were presented to the SNU membership in 2002 and approved by the majority of those present. One of the couples who were charter members were adamantly against the changes and sadly decided to leave the SNU.

By 2003 the SNU membership was down to three active members and the time for some decisions as to the future were at hand. At a rally at Davis Creek in October 2003 those members – Leipper’s, Hersey’s, and Damoth’s decided the fate of the SNU. We had been told our only options were to merge with another Unit or fold. We decided we liked all the camping possibilities in Northern Nevada, we liked camping together and we believed the SNU could have a future. So we decided to just keep going and see what happened.

At Davis Creek we determined several areas to focus on. These included getting back to basics, review and revise how things were done, roll up our sleeves and deal with problems and issues, start actively promoting the SNU, and focus on the goal and reason for keeping the SNU viable and to think outside the box. We decided our main goals were to hold regularly scheduled rallies, to consistently publish a newsletter and to promote the SNU it’s rallies and other activities in multiple ways. Promotion included rally announcements is as many local free newspapers as we could find within the Northern Nevada area. We also created flyers to hand out and made sure our rally schedule was included in WBCCI publications.

For almost two years the SNU teetered on the brink. Rallies often were just one or two of us. Then things started to change, Our efforts began to pay off. For the first time, at a rally at Pyramid Lake in 2004 we had a total of four rigs! One was a surprise. Wes and RoyLaine had seen our ad in a local paper and came to check us out. They then became members of the SNU. From that point on membership increased, and the SNU was finally back on solid ground. Our perseverance and belief in the SNU has paid off. Now here we are in 2026 celebrating 50 years. Not bad for the Little Unit that could – and Did!

Links to related documents

SNU Development https://sierranevadaairstreams.org/snu/members/mgt/index.html

SNU rally and event schedules https://sierranevadaairstreams.org/snu/rally-docs/annual-rally-schedules.html

The SNU 1980 Mid-Nevada Caravan https://sierranevadaairstreams.org/snu/snu-history/80-caravan/index.html

Back to 50^th Anniversary main page -|- Tidbits main page

Sierra Nevada Airstreams home page -|- Destinations -|- Memories -|- Owner's Guide -|- Community

note: all photographs on this site are for personal, private, and non-commercial use only. All other copyrights are retained by the individual photographers. See our policy. Disclaimer: any advice or suggestion presented is provided for informational purposes only and is correct and accurate only to the best of our knowledge at the time it was written. Anyone using such information does so at their own risk. Errors or omissions may exist and additional sources of information or appropriately licensed or qualified personnel should be consulted in deciding a course of action. We assume no liability or obligation by providing this information and warn any users of this information that they do so at their own risk. All links or references to commercial vendors or other sources of information and equipment do not intend or imply or convey any endorsement of that source or the product. They are provided strictly for informational purposes to illustrate the topic at hand. Sierra Nevada Airstreams Enjoyment of the whispering winds, the zephyrs, the airstreams of the Sierra Nevada and Great Basin areas of the United States is a personal, nonprofit, noncommercial web site intended for educational and recreational use only. This site is supported by volunteer effort and contributions. Donations accepted thanks to the Amazon.com