Before Darryl Searer came along, the RV Hall of Fame was five and a half million dollars in debt.
And in six months, "We dropped it from 5 and a half million to 3 million," says Searer.
Searer was in Florida when he got a call from a board member, with news that the Hall of Fame might not survive.
"At that time I was playing golf 5 days a week and fishing the other two."
After some thinking, he decided to head up to his hometown and step in.
"A year ago the future looked pretty bleak." He made a business plan and negotiated the loans, and the hard work has paid off.
"We've gone to a positive cash flow and we have a lot of support from people in the industry. That put the Hall of Fame in a position where it controlled it's own destiny," says Searer.
Searer - who worked in the industry for years - isn't getting a salary for his work.
"The industry's been good to me and I volunteered my time for the next two years to work with the Hall of Fame to make sure it's here forever."
For now it's not going anywhere, something these visitors are happy about.
"It's really nice to see that kind of history, that people were into what we're into now, today, in a little more elaborate style now," says John Blevins, a visitor from Pennsylvania.
"I think it's done very nicely. So far what we've seen, these trailers are very unique and it's going to be an interesting tour," says LaVome Amstutz, a visitor from Ohio.
A tour that a year ago, many thought might not be possible.
"I thank the good Lord that I was the right person at the right time," says Searer.
And now many more can enjoy the RV/MH Hall of Fame.
