Merchantry Tourism, LLC now operating as ICA’s front office staff and association management provider. 

Amboy, Illinois – January 30, 2024 – Earlier this month, the board of directors of the Illinois Campground Association (ICA) voted to engage Merchantry Tourism, LLC to operate as the association’s “front office” staff and association management provider. 

Merchantry Tourism is a boutique agency located in Pittsford, New York, that provides association management and event management services, strategic planning consultation, and speakers for meetings and conventions. Doing business as Anderson’s Brochure Distribution Service, the company also offers a robust service for design, printing, and distribution of marketing literature. 

The Illinois Campground Association currently represents the interests of almost 50 privately owned campgrounds in the state. 

B.J. Davis, President of the ICA board and owner of Rustic Acres Jellystone Park in New Douglas, IL, facilitated the matchmaking between the two entities.

“As ICA continues to grow, we are seeing the board’s workload continuing to increase and it was time for our association to grow in a way to better assist our membership,” said Davis. “Over the past several years our membership has increased by over 25 percent, we’ve added associate vendor membership, and developed new member benefits that need upkeep. It was in our members’ best interests to look to expand our team beyond a working board.” 

Jamie Rogers is the Vice President of the ICA board and owner of Mendota Hills Campground in Amboy, IL.  According to Rogers, dedicated leadership and hard work built the foundation for this exciting new transition. 

“This is many years and much effort by many rotating volunteer board members to get to this point in our association,” said Rogers. “With a revolving board due to term limits and park owner changes, we needed an executive director to maintain continuity to continue our growth, increase members and benefits, and take a deeper role in our state legislation.”

Rogers continues, “We are beyond excited for this transition which comes about because our board president, BJ Davis, was able to keep on top of industry happenings to know the perfect opportunity to work with Merchantry Tourism.” 

Donald Bennett, Jr. and wife Lisa Bennett own and operate Merchantry Tourism. Don will serve as ICA’s Executive Director. In a message to the ICA membership, he stated, “I am confident we will continue to assist the Association in working toward its mission to help Illinois campgrounds thrive.” 

According to Don, he immediately felt that ICA and Merchantry Tourism would be a good fit when the association requested a management proposal. 

“Between myself and our staff, we have decades of experience managing campground associations and destination marketing organizations. Illinois is a motivated association with potential to grow and a desire to continue building as much value as possible for its members, and we’re thankful and thrilled to assist in that endeavor.” 

Merchantry Tourism will officially begin managing the Illinois Campground Association on February 1st. In the meantime, personnel is working with the association leadership to get up to speed on day-to-day operations and upcoming projects. 

Don Bennett, Jr. was the President & CEO of Campground Owners of New York State, Inc. (CONY) from 2006 until May 2023, before stepping away to focus more on his own business endeavors. In November 2023, he was inducted into CONY’s prestigious Hall of Fame, joining only 17 others inducted since 1985. He has served on multiple boards for various entities in outdoor hospitality, tourism, and local communities. He is a Certified Public Accountant maintaining a small client base. Don and Lisa also operate two campgrounds in the Finger Lakes vacation region of New York State. 

Suzanne Hopkins, Merchantry Tourism’s Vice President of Client Services and Marketing will assist Don in ICA’s day-to-day operations. She has held several leadership roles in the tourism industry since 1998, when she was hired as the director for Madison County Tourism, Inc. located in New York State. Prior to joining Merchantry Tourism, she spent many years as CONY’s Vice President for Public Relations and Member Services. 

For more information about the Illinois Campground Association, visit www.illinoisgocamping.com. For more information about Merchantry Tourism, LLC, visit www.merchantrytourism.com.