(Hamilton, NY- Feb. 2013
) Campground Owners of New York reports that Truman Hartshorn, Ph.D., owner of Lebanon Reservoir Campground in Hamilton has been re-elected to a second term as a member of the National Association of ARV Parks and Camprounds (ARVC) Board of Directors, representing the states of New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, New Jersey and Maryland.
The election for the three-year term took place at ARVC’s Annual Outdoor Hospitality Conference and Expo in Las Vegas. He was also elected to a one-year term as Secretary of the ARVC Board Executive Committee.
Hartshorn previously served on the ARVC Council of Delegates for two years prior to his first election to the ARVC Board of Directors.
ARVC, headquartered in Colorado, is a national association representing the interests of commercial RV Parks and Campgrounds in the United States.
Hartshorn’s campground is a member of ARVC, as well as Campground Owners of New York (CONY), Madison County Tourism, Inc., and the Chittenango Landing Canal Museum.
Hartshorn is also active on the Cabinet of Freedom of the National Abolition Hall of Fame Museum in Peterboro. Since 2007, he has served on the CONY board of directors, representing Region 5 (encompassing campgrounds from Madison, Broome, Otsego and Chenango Counties). In February 2012, he completed the Graduate Program of the RV Park and Campground Management School at Oglebay in Wheeling, WV.
As a member of ARVC’s board of directors, Hartshorn takes part in overseeing administrative and business affairs of the association, including national conferences and expos.
Lebanon Reservoir Campground was founded in 1963 by Gailan and Carolyn Hartshorn, Hartshorn’s parents. The elder Hartshorns were charter members of Campground Owners of New York, also founded in 1963, as well as the National Campground Owners Association, a predecessor to ARVC.
While assisting in developing and operating the campground, Hartshorn earned a bachelor’s degree at Binghamton University and later a doctorate at the University of Iowa. After starting a teaching and research career as a Geography Professor at Western Illinois University, and a short stint at the University of South Florida, he settled in to a long term commitment at Georgia State University in Atlanta.
Over the years Hartshorn spent as much time as possible at the campground during the summers and became the campground manager in 1980. He retired from academic life in 2006 and has devoted full time to the campground since that time.
Hartshorn authored three books and numerous chapters and articles. He served as editor of two international geography journals and continues service on editorial boards. He generated over $1 million in grant money from the National Geographic Society during his career to support teacher education. As Chairperson of the Department of Geography at Georgia State University for 11 years, he developed a leadership role in the University.
Hartshorn’s specialties in economic development, transportation planning, and retail location, led to many opportunities for public speaking and real world planning applications. International travel became an important part of his professional development, taking him to more than 20 countries in Asia, Europe and Africa as well as extensive travel in the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean. He maintains professional memberships with The Urban Land Institute and the Association of American Geographers.
At Lebanon Reservoir Campground, Hartshorn has overseen the recent completion of a 10-year facilities and infrastructure upgrade program that involved all facets of the operation including new office and bathroom facilities, new wastewater system, electrical upgrades, Wi-Fi installation, a new water well and distribution system, machinery replacement, security gates, rebuilt pavilion, and landscaping improvements. In the past two years kayak rentals and mini-golf have been added.
To celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2013, Lebanon Reservoir Campground will unveil new recreation amenities including a mining sluice where guests can pan for fossils and gemstones, a bounce house, and dunk tank. An open house will be held in early June to welcome the new camping season.