Former Maine Governor pens RV travelogue on family adventures!
How cool is this?
Angus King, the former Governor of Maine from 1995 to 2003 is a high-profile RVer with a new book that will hit the stores in a few weeks. Titled Governor’s Travels: How I Left Politics, Learned to Back Up a Bus, and Found America, the 128-page paperback is filled with 150 photographs. The book chronicles the King family trek across America in the days immediately following his second term as Governor of one of the best vacation destinations in the country.
King purchased a Newmar Dutch Star motorhome and set out on a thrilling five-and-a-half month adventure with his wife and children to see this great country, up close and personal.
Governor’s Travels is the story of that adventure, describing the places they went and the people they met along the way. Governor King reflects on the transition from public office to private life and includes helpful information about selecting the right RV, a daily pre-departure checklist, and tips for handling a large vehicle on the road. This was not an experienced RV family, it was in fact their first exposure to a lifestyle enjoyed by millions of people and they jumped in with both feet and loved every minute of it.
I am writing from information provided to me in advance of the book’s release and must admit I have not read the book yet, but will as soon as it arrives - probably from cover to cover while sitting under the pine trees in Maine at Wild Duck Campground. I think it is incredible for the RV industry to have such a high-profile spokesperson promoting the lifestyle this summer.
If you are attending the 86th FMCA Convention in Wisconsin in August you’ll have an opportunity to sit in on the Governor’s slide presentation and attend a book signing. We have also booked him for the New England RV & Camping Expo next February in Boston.
I would like to see RVIA invite him to speak in front of industry executives at their Outlook Breakfast at the Louisville this November. He may just be the most popular spokesperson for the RV industry in the coming months as word of the book spreads through social media, newspapers, radio and television spots.
It is this type of exposure from ordinary people, who have had extraordinary careers, that will create more interest in RVing than many of the other market expansion programs that preach to the choir in the same advertising vehicles every month. I’m not saying these programs are bad, but the amount of investment required to support them can be challenged.
This is the type of story that people will spread through their Twitter feeds, Facebook accounts and videos on YouTube. This is a great human interest story of a family finding America while traveling in an RV.
Is there anybody among us that doesn’t want to do the same thing someday? Do we have any readers here who have already done what Governor King and his family did?
The Introduction by Governor King starts out like this:
It was about eight o’clock on a cold January night when the trooper drove away and I was alone for the first time in eight years.
A few minutes before, I had been Governor of Maine, with all that entailed - staff, special parking (pretty much the best part of the job), constant attention from the press, standing ovations (sometimes, at least in the first few years), and 24-hour-a-day supervision by the state police. But in one of those delightful turnings of our democratic system, the moment my successor took the Oath, I was out, and the whole think disappeared with the receding taillights of the trooper’s car.
A few paragraphs later he continues; And so, the next morning that January - about 12 hours after the trooper dropped me off - we were on the road, headed south with no particular destination but with a very clear intention: to discover America, ourselves, and a little something about family. What follows is the story of the trip that began that day - part travelogue, part executive transition manual, part celebration. It’s more impressionist than comprehensive, but the idea is to convey the feel and fun of the journey.
But there’s a subversive intent as well - to make you want to go, too.
What a great line: “….. the feel and fun of the journey.” That could be the next tag line for the industry’s Go RVing advertising campaign! I love it.
So click on over to Downeast Books and order Governor’s Travels then jump into the co-pilots seat as Governor King takes you on a journey across America behind the wheel of a Newmar motorhome. I think a lot of RVers are going to really enjoy this book after reviewing the titles and contents of the eight chapters and concluding thoughts by King on America, family and the open road.
Governor King may have another career to add to his impressive resume as a featured speaker at RV rallies, shows, dealer open houses, consumer RV shows, industry trade shows and other RV related events. If you are looking for a fresh new face with a new found love and respect for the value and enjoyment that RVing can bring to all of us, and to all of those who have not yet discovered the lifestyle as Governor King and his family did.
If you are interested in booking Governor King for an RV event you can call Judy Paolini at 207-871-1813 or judyp@tpda.com
Buy the book, spread the word, and if he’s coming to an event you will be attending check out his slide presentation and humorous discussion on what happened when he left politics, learned how to back up a bus, and found America.
Angus King, the former Governor of Maine from 1995 to 2003 is a high-profile RVer with a new book that will hit the stores in a few weeks. Titled Governor’s Travels: How I Left Politics, Learned to Back Up a Bus, and Found America, the 128-page paperback is filled with 150 photographs. The book chronicles the King family trek across America in the days immediately following his second term as Governor of one of the best vacation destinations in the country.
King purchased a Newmar Dutch Star motorhome and set out on a thrilling five-and-a-half month adventure with his wife and children to see this great country, up close and personal.
Governor’s Travels is the story of that adventure, describing the places they went and the people they met along the way. Governor King reflects on the transition from public office to private life and includes helpful information about selecting the right RV, a daily pre-departure checklist, and tips for handling a large vehicle on the road. This was not an experienced RV family, it was in fact their first exposure to a lifestyle enjoyed by millions of people and they jumped in with both feet and loved every minute of it.
I am writing from information provided to me in advance of the book’s release and must admit I have not read the book yet, but will as soon as it arrives - probably from cover to cover while sitting under the pine trees in Maine at Wild Duck Campground. I think it is incredible for the RV industry to have such a high-profile spokesperson promoting the lifestyle this summer.
If you are attending the 86th FMCA Convention in Wisconsin in August you’ll have an opportunity to sit in on the Governor’s slide presentation and attend a book signing. We have also booked him for the New England RV & Camping Expo next February in Boston.
I would like to see RVIA invite him to speak in front of industry executives at their Outlook Breakfast at the Louisville this November. He may just be the most popular spokesperson for the RV industry in the coming months as word of the book spreads through social media, newspapers, radio and television spots.
It is this type of exposure from ordinary people, who have had extraordinary careers, that will create more interest in RVing than many of the other market expansion programs that preach to the choir in the same advertising vehicles every month. I’m not saying these programs are bad, but the amount of investment required to support them can be challenged.
This is the type of story that people will spread through their Twitter feeds, Facebook accounts and videos on YouTube. This is a great human interest story of a family finding America while traveling in an RV.
Is there anybody among us that doesn’t want to do the same thing someday? Do we have any readers here who have already done what Governor King and his family did?
The Introduction by Governor King starts out like this:
It was about eight o’clock on a cold January night when the trooper drove away and I was alone for the first time in eight years.
A few minutes before, I had been Governor of Maine, with all that entailed - staff, special parking (pretty much the best part of the job), constant attention from the press, standing ovations (sometimes, at least in the first few years), and 24-hour-a-day supervision by the state police. But in one of those delightful turnings of our democratic system, the moment my successor took the Oath, I was out, and the whole think disappeared with the receding taillights of the trooper’s car.
A few paragraphs later he continues; And so, the next morning that January - about 12 hours after the trooper dropped me off - we were on the road, headed south with no particular destination but with a very clear intention: to discover America, ourselves, and a little something about family. What follows is the story of the trip that began that day - part travelogue, part executive transition manual, part celebration. It’s more impressionist than comprehensive, but the idea is to convey the feel and fun of the journey.
But there’s a subversive intent as well - to make you want to go, too.
What a great line: “….. the feel and fun of the journey.” That could be the next tag line for the industry’s Go RVing advertising campaign! I love it.
So click on over to Downeast Books and order Governor’s Travels then jump into the co-pilots seat as Governor King takes you on a journey across America behind the wheel of a Newmar motorhome. I think a lot of RVers are going to really enjoy this book after reviewing the titles and contents of the eight chapters and concluding thoughts by King on America, family and the open road.
Governor King may have another career to add to his impressive resume as a featured speaker at RV rallies, shows, dealer open houses, consumer RV shows, industry trade shows and other RV related events. If you are looking for a fresh new face with a new found love and respect for the value and enjoyment that RVing can bring to all of us, and to all of those who have not yet discovered the lifestyle as Governor King and his family did.
If you are interested in booking Governor King for an RV event you can call Judy Paolini at 207-871-1813 or judyp@tpda.com
Buy the book, spread the word, and if he’s coming to an event you will be attending check out his slide presentation and humorous discussion on what happened when he left politics, learned how to back up a bus, and found America.
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