ARVC Awards Local Business the First-Ever "Plan-It Green' Award

Kimbolton, OH (February 20, 2009) " The National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds (ARVC) awarded its first-ever Plan-It Green Award to Grand Haven Resort at the 2008 InSites Convention & Outdoor Hospitality Expo in Nashville, TN. Selected for their dedication to preserving the environment, Mark Shambaugh, General Manager of the Resort, proudly accepted this honorable distinction.

The Plan-It Green Award was created in conjunction with ARVC's new environmentally friendly initiative, Plan-It Green. The Plan-It Green program which kicked off in mid-2007, encourages ARVC's 4200 member parks to take the Plan-It Green "pledge" to "green" their parks. ARVC currently has over 100 participating Plan-It Green parks that have taken the pledge and are actively trying to reduce, reuse and recycle.

The award, which was open to participating Plan-It Green pledged parks, required each park to submit an essay describing their efforts to "green" their parks. Grand Haven Resort was chosen based on their activities and measures taken to preserve and conserve their natural environment in and around their facility.

"The Plan-It Green Award is very important to our industry. Being focused on the outdoors, we have a collective responsibility to properly steward our resources for future generations and the love of camping. We are so proud of Grand Haven Resort for their efforts in greening their park. Thank you for your hard work and we hope that you will continue to serve as role model parks in the green initiative," comments Linda Profaizer, ARVC President/CEO.

Grand Haven Resort has been green for over a decade and in their own words have "worked to become good 'stewards' of our land and natural resources." They also have a successful recycling program, are active in a selective Timber Harvest and Forest Regeneration program which has helped over 800 acres and use eco-friendly products such as incandescent lighting, geo-thermal heating/cooling systems for their clubhouses, and the purchase of 14 new electric powered golf cars. Through a water conservation program they have reduced water usage over 25% from 8.19 million gallons a year to 6.03 million a year.

Contact info for Park:
Grand Haven Resort: (740) 498-9158, Mark Shambaugh

About ARVC
The National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds (ARVC) is the trade organization with 4000 active members representing the interests of the approximately 8500 privately owned (commercial) parks in the United States. Commercial parks contribute an estimated 21 billion dollars to local economies each year and the growth prospects for our sector of the Outdoor Hospitality Industry are very strong.

Pictured L-R:
Mark Anderson, ARVC National Chairman
Mark Shambaugh, General Manager, Grand Haven Resort
Linda Profaizer, ARVC President and CEO