By Herb Moering
The look was different for the Ron Hoover RV & Marine Center Boat Show this past weekend in Donna. Masks were the order of the day in the huge showroom and on the grounds where some 50 plus business vendors set up shop under huge tents along with displays of boats, travel and camper trailers, motor coaches and golf carts.
For some attending on Saturday, it was a chance to get out and do something, like for Jerry and Marjorie Richardson, from Heritage Square Park in Mission.
“We wanted to get out,” Jerry said. “Nothing much is going on. The jams are mostly gone, as are the concerts.” Marjorie added, “We like to go to gospel jams.”
The couple, who hail from Kansas, “love it here.” Marjorie enjoys the palm trees, and the plant life is gorgeous she indicated.
They like the warm weather and since coming four years ago to reduce their expensive medication costs, they have been staying in the Valley for longer periods. They did get a late start this season, not arriving until November due to bad reactions from flu shots. When not here, they are traveling with a trailer to see family up north and out east, which had them looking at a possible new travel trailer replacement.
Alexander Palomo, from Mission, does not get to fish very often, but he took to a bait casting contest very well. The youth, who was brought to the Expo by his grandfather, Ricardo Castellanos, from McAllen, learned quickly from Julio Gutierrez, a transporter for Ron Hoover and was hitting the “fish” type containers.
On both days, the Expo featured hourly seminars on fishing, with Capt. Raul Leal, a Port Mansfield charter boat operator, speaking on the subject of lures and tackle. Capt. Juares, a commercial fisherman, presented the topic of fishing knots and rigs and the U.S. Coast Guard had a representative to discuss Texas and federal regulations for watercraft.
Dustin Hoover, on behalf of the company, greeted visitors, who were treated to free T-shirts and drinks. Most browsed not only the hundreds of boats and trailers, but also the flea market of RV and marine left-over accessories.
One of the nicest aspects to the Expo was the funds donated by vendors for booth space resulting in $6,500 for support of the Make A Wish Foundation of the Rio Grande Valley. Hoover said that was enough to make a wish come true for one child suffering a serious illness. Additional funds were collected in jars at counters in the showroom.
Photo One: Alexander Palomo (center), from Mission, received some casting tips from Ron Hoover employee Julio Gutierrez at the boat expo. Palomo's grandfather Ricardo Castellanos watched the bait casting.
Photo Two: Jerry and Marjorie Richardson, from Mission, were checking out trailers at the Ron Hoover Expo Saturday just to have something to do.
