Tonya J. Long: 0:00

You're listening to Pirate Cat Radio, KPCR 92.9 FM and Translator. K215ga 90.9 FM in Los Gatos, KMRT 101.9 FM in Santa Cruz and new family member KVBE 91.1 FM in Portland FM in Portland. Hello everyone and welcome to a remote edition of RESET with Tonya. I am here at Half Moon Bay, very near Mavericks, where there are tricky waves and we've had tricky weather this weekend as we have celebrated the end of a term for the Airstream Club International President, Eric McHenry. Yay, it's been a big love fest where everyone has celebrated what Eric stands for.

Tonya J. Long: 0:49

Eric is a tech veteran turned community builder in an environment that brings together so many different people who have a love of travel, adventure experiences, have a love of travel, adventure experiences and, in my four or five years doing this, a ton of diversity within the cultures that are represented. You'll find tech retired CEOs and you'll find people who grew up on farms. Yeah, All coming together. And I think that is what has made Eric remarkable in this journey is that he has brought to bear. He brings together the resources and the people to do things with the community and for the community. So I am thrilled to have Eric McHenry today on RESET with Tonya from Halfling Bay. It doesn't get much better. It is gorgeous out here it is.

Eric McHenry: 1:39

It is. I did a bike ride up on the bluffs earlier today and just to be able to relax and sit on the beach and read a book. It was absolutely wonderful and to come back here with my friends, right.

Tonya J. Long: 1:49

And I think there was a map at some point. Yes, and you said earlier tonight this isn't camping. This is not actually camping, it's socializing it's community.

Eric McHenry: 2:00

We're outdoors, we have that sort of the that call it the wanderlust. You want to move and we're like. Next time I see you, I don't know where it'll be. It won't be in Half Moon Bay.

Tonya J. Long: 2:08

No, I think it's going to be down near Los Angeles. It may be.

Eric McHenry: 2:11

yeah, I remember the last time I saw you was probably up in Lake Tahoe it was probably in. Tahoe, that's the magic right. You bump two weeks and it's. Where else can I get this?

Tonya J. Long: 2:23

Yeah, yeah. And this community, I say, is family. A lot of people here are a little older, they have a little more flexibility with their time and their, and for the people who have children, those children have moved on into their adult lives and so people are, I think, really tight in the Airstream community because it's their new version of family that they don't have to put up with every day and wash laundry for. They get to show up at beautiful places like Half Moon Bay, yeah, sort of family.

Eric McHenry: 2:49

It's your neighbors back in our parents' generation where you knew your neighbors. You go two blocks away to Bobby's house and Bobby's mom cooks you dinner each day, overnight. It's a little bit of neighbors. It's a little bit of family, a little bit of travel to different places, experiencing together.

Tonya J. Long: 3:04

I love it. I love it. So you are just now retired from this role. Funny, what word do you?

Eric McHenry: 3:11

use. My term is over.

Tonya J. Long: 3:16

His term as international president is over. Yeah, we are grieving that on our West Coast side of the international region, if you will. But before your three years at the helm of ACI, you had two robust careers.

Eric McHenry: 3:36

Yeah, at least I worked in a bike shop. I used to race bikes when I was a kid. Then you had three robust careers.

Tonya J. Long: 3:43

But you spent 25 years at Hewlett-Packard, left Hewlett-Packard as a general manager of a division and I think by then it was Agilent.

Eric McHenry: 3:51

Yeah, vice president, general manager. Yeah, we had a nice size business, half international, domestic, love it, classic yeah.

Tonya J. Long: 3:59

So you were there 25 years and then you did 17 as the head of, as the cio of the city of santa rosa it's wine country up here. So what? An hour and a half north of the bay area, that's correct. That's home for you when you're not out traveling because you travel quite extensively. So you had these two really long-term careers. Yeah, this podcast is about transitions and RESET. It's and it's trying to normalize that we all transition and change things and normally when we change, life gets better and change shouldn't be feared ideally.

Tonya J. Long: 4:33

So what helped you understand for both Hewlett Packard and then for the city of Santa Rosa? When did you start to feel and know what gave you the signal that it was time to move on?

Eric McHenry: 4:48

It was a long time with Hewlett-Packard and I started in Silicon Valley and we joke about it. We said when the gods still walk the earth Because Hewlett and Packard would walk through the lab.

Eric McHenry: 4:58

They woke up here we're bitches and I was electrical engineer, computer science background, soldering and doing firmware and code and stuff and it felt like a family. Back in the days of 80s it was a family and you thought you worked there for a and back in those days Hewlett Packard we owned Demarcus, in which we participated in A product lifecycle would go for seven to 10 years.

Tonya J. Long: 5:21

You were the Google of the day.

Eric McHenry: 5:22

We were the Google of the day and it brought a wonderful group of people from around the world to work with.

Eric McHenry: 5:27

It's where I learned, by the way, that one of the funnest things in life is to work with people that are smarter than you. Yeah, it builds into it prevents us from humor. I remember that I think it was President Barack Obama, a long time ago said that he realized when he became president that on any given topic, there was someone else in the room that knew more about that topic than he did. And the goal is how do you get that input and that feedback into you? And so we did really well at Hewlett Packard. I loved it there. I did well professionally with friends, but there came a time where it felt like I needed to do something more connected to my community. My wife would always somewhat joke that I knew my home, I knew SFO and I knew Hewlett Packard I used to worry my kids would go to school. I felt like something was missing in my life.

Eric McHenry: 6:14

While the products we developed it might be a stretch to say they changed people's lives, but they were phenomenal products they didn't really have any impact on the people around whom I lived in the community and I thought I love to do something, that it matters where I live. And, I, think, Tonya that's something that people come to often in their careers at certain ages. I think, Like I know, that I never would have come to that conclusion when I was 20. And even when I was 30 and climbing the corporate ladder.

Tonya J. Long: 6:44

I think you're chasing different things in your 20s and 30s and then you chase something different when you're in your 40s. You do and if you're lucky, you understand when it's time to change.

Eric McHenry: 6:53

Yeah, and you change to something, transition to something that's sort of the next wave in your life. I remember friends of mine that were male that in that timeframe they had reached a certain level of professional objectives. They were the general manager, they were the vice president and it's okay. Now what I got here all my life. It's not fully and rewarding to me anymore. So now what? And I was really fortunate to be kayaking up in the Sierras a really good friend of mine and he said, eric, what are you going to do with the rest of your life? And I was probably in my 50s then.

Tonya J. Long: 7:29

Okay, what are you going to do with the rest of your life? Well done kayaking. How much safe is that? He's a neighbor? Yeah, A little wine probably also.

Eric McHenry: 7:38

And when you're in a boat, in a small boat, and he's in a small boat, the world becomes very small and focused and the water's calm. I have a lovely kayak.

Eric McHenry: 7:46

He's a real crew at MIT and I just love being on a fast boat in a nice calm lake and the serenity. And I said I don't know. And he says, what about working for a public sector? I was like no, I can't imagine working for the government. And he talked to me some more and I trusted him and he, of course, the city. At the time one of the hurdles they had was building out technology infrastructure for process improvement internally operational efficiency, but also, more importantly, for citizen-facing technology.

Eric McHenry: 8:15

You didn't have any of this stuff back then right, you were going to talk to the city council. You called up someone and open government didn't exist. You have the opportunity, the background, the skills to help out locally. And there happens to be some openings coming up that end, so that blah, blah, blah happened and it was one of the best decisions.

Tonya J. Long: 8:32

So that's what took you into the CIO role. That's right At Santa Rosa, that's right. How amazing. And I'm guessing this is around 2005 or so. It must have been around 2005.

Eric McHenry: 8:43

Yeah about. I left in about 2024, 2023.

Tonya J. Long: 8:46

Which would have been an amazing time in local government.

Eric McHenry: 8:49

It was an amazing time.

Tonya J. Long: 8:49

Because then they were starting to actually fund, to do things, to catch up with what people, with what their consumers expected. They knew it by then.

Eric McHenry: 8:57

Because at some point, if you're too early moving into a new, a larger organization, they don't view that as mission critical. They view that as willing to fund. Yeah, and it can be really frustrating and I was fortunate to work with a wonderful city manager and chief financial officer at the time and let me do what I do well.

Tonya J. Long: 9:15

So you felt the calling for meaning yes, yeah, yes, yeah, I loved it, yeah, and that never stopped. No, never stopped never stopped.

Eric McHenry: 9:24

No.

Tonya J. Long: 9:24

Never stopped, Never stopped. So it occurs to me as I work through these dates with you. I think I saw an article somewhere your Airstream journey started around 2010.

Eric McHenry: 9:32

Yes, this will be 15 years in the club because we get our third star. I don't know this, but in our Airstream club I laugh. It's kind of like Boy Scouts in some ways. What's up with Scouts? But it's about rewarding people for accomplishments. And so every five years a member has been in the club, we get an extra little star we can choose and put up on the train. I haven't earned a star yet oh, he'll be soon.

Tonya J. Long: 9:50

I peeped, he'll be soon. I didn't know about this.

Eric McHenry: 9:54

And I used to joke, but one time I ran into a gentleman and he probably had are 12 stars on his trip, oh my. I would write up to him to talk to him. You would have too, Okay, Because you know someone that has been around the travel that he must have done the stories they've been part of. Almost nicest man, nicest man, and we talked for hours. So anyway, so about 15 years in the club.

Tonya J. Long: 10:18

So what was it like in 2010,? Walking into your first gathering rally, you and Laverne and you, I think you maybe had outdoor things that you were doing as a family, yeah, but you I think that's how Laverne quoted as saying you graduated up to an adult trailer. Is that what she called? Because people who drive who tow Airstreams are fanatical about the brand.

Eric McHenry: 10:40

Yeah, they are.

Tonya J. Long: 10:41

But she said that you needed to graduate up to an adult trailer.

Eric McHenry: 10:45

Like a lot of people, we started off car camping, backpacking, kayak camping, Still had a family at home, a family we had, a tent trailer we loved at. We were camping a lot, but Laverne grew up in Hawaii.

Tonya J. Long: 10:56

Yeah.

Eric McHenry: 10:56

So her version of camping is going out two blocks from the beach and putting out a bike, Having a tight mind. And Seattle was. You go up in the Cascades and you dig a trench around your tent and try to stay dry.

Tonya J. Long: 11:07

Yes, with your wool clothing.

Eric McHenry: 11:09

Yes, yes, love it, and so we started in the club. But kind of the club was a very different place back then. You know my wife, she's half Japanese and Portuguese.

Tonya J. Long: 11:20

Looks Hawaiian. Yeah, you're just talking about physical attributes.

Eric McHenry: 11:23

I'm obviously African-American.

Tonya J. Long: 11:25

So, laverne, we'll say looks like a Hawaiian woman, I'm obviously African-American and you're an African-American man.

Eric McHenry: 11:30

The demographic of people in our club is not that it's mainly Caucasian, it's white, it's mainly older, and we came in a time where we didn't see ourselves in the club. The world was in a different time, yeah, but more importantly, we didn't see ourselves. We didn't see anyone around. That sort of reminded us of our friends.

Tonya J. Long: 11:51

And it made us concerned, if you join a club.

Eric McHenry: 11:53

You're doing it to join a group probably.

Tonya J. Long: 11:55

Yes, and you're going to invest time in that group and you want to be comfortable.

Eric McHenry: 11:58

And I learned from that that my misconceptions were huge, because it's just a wonderful group of people, but it didn't look like a group that we'd ever been part of. Fortunately, when we were purchasing our trailer, a gentleman came up. Apparently he was Chinese. He says oh, I'm in the Ayrsham Club and he told us all about it. He's like a nice guy. He lives in the Bay Area. He said it's a great place. Great people Come to an event. And we came to an event and after that we just were all in.

Tonya J. Long: 12:26

So here you are, a person that looks different from the average demographic, correct. You look different in your appearance, in your marriage, all these things, yeah. And then you began leading. It isn't just attend. You got so involved that you were assuming pretty soon in club leadership. What was it like to lead an organization where everyone was had a very different life than yours or had at least different experiences in their history?

Eric McHenry: 13:00

So I had a benefit because for most of my professional life I have been a senior manager, so I have been in those positions and Laverne in those with me, as being a senior person over a large organization. Another person of color. Often we look younger than we are.

Tonya J. Long: 13:14

So we're a little more accustomed to that. Yeah, you've been the only yeah, so much so that it's your own person. For me, I've been the only for a lot of my career and it was just my standard. If I came into the room and there was another woman in the room, I didn't know my place, because my place was very well carved out as the only woman in the room for a long time.

Eric McHenry: 13:39

I think our community, our United States, California, ready for our club, was ready for it at that time. Yes, yeah, we didn't know it for sure, but one of the markers of that was when Laverne and I so the first major role you have was third vice president in the international club, and second and first we were brought in as third vice president. It was at a big event. We had a standing ovation. No one else did, and I.

Tonya J. Long: 14:08

So it was embraced and I choose the Blue Mountains, because the club says finally Saw it as a moment this is another sign that our club is opening up.

Eric McHenry: 14:13

We're more inclusive To have an African-American man, and before me was the first openly gay person to lead our club Before you yeah, the president before me Before that was the first female to lead our club Before you, yeah the president before me Before that, it was the first female to ever lead our club in 70 years. Okay, and so our club, I think, started to see that we are inclusive. We're moving to a place where I think a lot of people want to be, where race doesn't matter.

Eric McHenry: 14:38

It's your character it's your capacity to lead your judgment right, and so that was really helpful for us to see that, and I think that to see that in our first major introduction to the club was incredibly powerful. Yeah, Because as you go around the country, you meet people and they are people. Some are reserved, some are open, distrustful, Some are oh my gosh, you guys are. The word woke wasn't used back then but, you're a bunch of woke Western coast people.

Eric McHenry: 15:06

That's how they perceive us, because they don't know any better. So it was really nice to see that warm and welcoming introduction to the club you are completely authentic yes, with everything that you are, and you're a role model.

Tonya J. Long: 15:17

It's a lot to carry, I know, because you are. I've never seen you as recruiting for people who are married to Hawaiian looking women, but I think you know that just when you show up, the people go. Oh, it's not what I expected.

Eric McHenry: 15:31

That's right, it's an opportunity. We hear that all the time and it's usually from the people that have been disenfranchised as a minority or racial or sexual preference or gender racial or sexual preference or gender and they would come to us, often privately, and say I was so glad to see you guys there, because it made me feel like, because I'm xxx, I could do it too yeah, it was okay for me to be different, but the other thing that we did, I'm very proud of when laverne was instrumental in helping this go through.

Eric McHenry: 16:00

Also is that our club has a bunch of we call them intra clubs, and that's if you're in a ham radio or amateur radio.

Tonya J. Long: 16:06

What is it? Grains and Grapes and grains. Grapes and grains.

Eric McHenry: 16:09

So back in those days when we first came into leadership, probably five years ago, we didn't have that many, and Laverne and I personally helped start and promote single women towers, women that towed by themselves, lgbtq plus club, because that's really important. And when people see that, they see that it's been approved by the International Board of Trustees, then it's all talk about it. I'm not one to be shy on this. I talk about the fact that we are inclusive, our club, and here's some examples of it, and I think it's important to talk the walk, not just walk the talk.

Eric McHenry: 16:44

What also helped Tonya, was that Airstream Inc would make our lovely trailer. When they look at their clients, the people buying their trailers or their motorhomes, it's a very diverse set of people. They may not be in our club, but they're younger, they're more diverse, and Airstream is making some rigs that are lower cost entry level. Their point and they told me this, their CEO and their marketing director is that, look, this is our demographics. If we partner with you, we want you to be welcoming to those parts, if you're not the people for us to recommend to. So Synergy helped a lot that it was reinforced not just by some of the other people in our club, but also by our key, the manufacturer.

Tonya J. Long: 17:25

I think that's a retention play. It is, and there's nothing wrong with that it's. They were progressive enough to see if this demographic in purchases was broadening and diversifying. Yes, the club had to mirror those values.

Eric McHenry: 17:39

Yes.

Tonya J. Long: 17:39

Because people not me, but other people their streams tend to graduate. They'll start out with a 16-footer and then they go to a 20, and then they have kids and they might pop to a 30. But people graduate in their Airstreams in terms of size and accommodating families.

Eric McHenry: 17:55

Well it's also the brand stickiness too. I was at the Airstream every year puts on a meeting for their dealer network, which the general managers are owners or other dealers. So we got invited to go for the first time three years ago and I helped present to the general managers. But one of the key messages that Airstream, their CEO and their chief marketing officer said in their sales VP sales was that we want brand stickiness and the number one thing that we've identified that keeps people buying Airstream over and over again is there's something that they lose if they don't buy it Right.

Tonya J. Long: 18:27

Say that a different way.

Eric McHenry: 18:28

Okay, the number one thing is that love the trailers, but they understand that if they go to some other brand, they will lose this community they've built up 100%. And so-.

Tonya J. Long: 18:40

That would probably give up my home before I would give up my Airstream, because this represents to me my extended family.

Eric McHenry: 18:47

Your extended family and you give that up if you leave the brand. That's right and it's not a cynical way of looking at things. It's what people want and they realize the thing that can help them with that brand stickiness club. That provides value to their customers and we are in a position to do that.

Tonya J. Long: 19:02

I love it to their customers, and we are in a position to do that. I love it. There are very few brands, as I can think of it, that have accomplished the creation of such a tight community. I bought an Airstream because it seemed like thing I wanted to buy. I didn't know there was a community Most people don't and then, but now that I do, there's just no way I would ever have any other nature experience other than this one. That's right, right, that's right.

Eric McHenry: 19:30

And if you look at the Airstream ads, some of them I call aspiration land Right.

Tonya J. Long: 19:35

Yeah, they are the ideal life.

Eric McHenry: 19:37

You're with your friends or your family.

Tonya J. Long: 19:39

Yeah, and you're just in a creek or lake right.

Eric McHenry: 19:41

Some of you are with a bunch of people gathering around and going on a tour of New Orleans or camping in some place up in Yellowstone together as a group. So it's all those things, and I think that people want choices Like I and the word and I we love to go up into Bureau Land Management, blm Land, be alone or go to Death Valley and hang out there. There's the two of us.

Tonya J. Long: 20:05

That means not an organized experience, not a campground, not plug-in power sewer cable. That means like you're just on the land.

Eric McHenry: 20:10

Yeah, one of our favorite items we were in arkansas for the solar eclipse about a year ago and we were in some dude's hayfield in the middle of nowhere and there's about 40 air streams in a circle, just off-grid, camping for about five or six nights and one of those was the eclipse and it was just such a magical thing.

Tonya J. Long: 20:28

Yeah, and memories, yeah, memories. I don't know of many places where you can expect that you're going to have experiences that you're still talking about two years later, that you count those as like milestones in life.

Eric McHenry: 20:41

And we remember the people that were there, absolutely yeah.

Tonya J. Long: 20:44

Yeah, absolutely Like when you pulled into this rally and there were 35 or so trailers here to celebrate the end of your term. Yeah, friends and family level, people all cheering. There was a drone in the sky. The only thing we didn't have was like a drone laser show Spelling out Eric McKinnon guy.

Eric McHenry: 21:07

I bought it as repatriation.

Tonya J. Long: 21:11

So so in my career at Hewlett Packard I did a foreign service employee assignment two years abroad. Where'd you go? I didn't notice.

Eric McHenry: 21:19

That doesn't count, can you tell a Canadian that.

Eric McHenry: 21:23

I would not under the current climate, that would not be my intention it was abroad, it was abroad Okay, and it worked out well for us. But the problem is, when you do that, you step out of your local management chain and the hierarchy, and so when you come back to the States, there's a process called repatriation. How do you fit you back into where you came from? And that's what this was about for me. Maybe not for y'all, but for me it was like we've been gone. We've been on the road for six to seven months out of the year for the last three years, and a lot of people here at this local club were used to be our local family. We didn't even know. We've seen them once or twice. It's how do you, how do we fit back in? Yep, and this was a wonderful sort of an open arms.

Tonya J. Long: 22:05

Welcome home.

Eric McHenry: 22:06

We're still here. There's new people here also. We look forward to rejoining our local family.

Tonya J. Long: 22:11

I love it. So that's what it was for me. I love it. I'm not quite done talking about your leadership, though. Let's go and it's the RESET that we have and that we explore in life, and you transitioned from tech Dramatic improvements, still tech but what you were doing really was changing people's lives in terms of how they were serviced by a very important community here, and then you began to manage a largely volunteer community. Yes, right, and manage is not. That, didn't feel right.

Eric McHenry: 22:46

Airstream club.

Tonya J. Long: 22:46

Airstream club, yeah, club, yeah. So what skills do you think, or experiences from your more work experience translated as you, because you talked beautifully about the kayak moment where you understood that doing something for local government using the skills you had would be meaningful? You were looking for meaning. Yes, you pulled technical skills into meaning. So when you transitioned into the Airstream role, what were you pulling forward into that?

Eric McHenry: 23:20

I'd say, ironically, the part that most was my public sector. It turns out background. Because if they're working for a city, let's say there's 200,000 employees, employees, and they don't really know who the mayor is. They don't care who the mayor is, they're sitting out somewhere. All they care about is the light to go on, their utility bills are reasonable, their streets are clean and there's no high rise bill next to them. I'm simplifying a lot. They're disengaged. They view public government as to be in the background to make their life as a citizen work. Well, if you think about the Airstream Club, people join us because they want to just have fun. They want to go to events, rig time, that's all they care about, by and large.

Eric McHenry: 24:00

I think that our job as leaders of an organization is to understand that these are somewhat disconnected people from a leadership. They just want to have fun. We call it the camping club. So that awareness was really important to me, and I say that because I've worked with some people in leadership in our club that thought that they would have a level of importance to other people. Now, these people that are in our club, they have a wide background, a lot of very successful in their own means. They view you as someone to help them out. They're thankful you're helping, but you're just helping out and so there isn't this sense, I'd say, of entitlement from a leader. You shouldn't be there because we're serving them, we're serving our members.

Tonya J. Long: 24:41

When it's going well, and that's what public service is serving your community Yep and so I pulled more sector.

Eric McHenry: 24:53

Typically in high tech we move fast, we're nimble, we hopefully, if we do our job, we anticipate the needs of our customer. We understand that customers have choices where to go.

Eric McHenry: 24:56

In the public sector you have more of an audience that probably isn't going to move because the water bill is up too high. So you have to think about life a little bit differently with them. It's a bit more of a long-term play too, and so that kind of that nuance. And the other thing that we found in the what I found coming into the Airstream Club from a leadership standpoint is that we may hear from a couple of people that are very upset about a certain issue. We have 18,000 members and if you have never had feedback from a few people before, you think that the two people may reflect the majority of the population.

Eric McHenry: 25:32

That almost is never the case, and in public sector you realize that because you have city council meeting you have people come down tensioned, and so it's just to balance the fact that I'm hearing from these few people and while their input is important, it may not be the quiet majority.

Eric McHenry: 25:48

So how do you manage and govern and come up with policies and programs that hit the majority of your members, who are quiet and they will vote with their feet, because if they don't like what they see for the membership dollars, they're going to call you up and they're going to leave. Yeah, so that whole understanding of that has been very helpful to me, I think.

Tonya J. Long: 26:06

I love it. I'll go back to your story about the gentleman who had five or ten stars, yeah. So with what you've done, you've done a complete rebrand. Yes, on ACI, you've redesigned not just the website but how it serves people, and that's your technical leanings that helped you do some of those things. But you had to really balance tradition with innovation.

Tonya J. Long: 26:32

That's right, okay, and sometimes it's not about what you deliver, but it's about what you change. Yes, this magazine has been a hot point of contention. At times, I think you guys went to fewer this is a silly story, but you went to fewer episodes, sorry, fewer printed versions. And, oh people, I was at one of my first rallies and people were up in arms that they weren't getting a monthly beautiful publication, that it was online, digitally, yes, and so that's my example of it. It does matter when you pull these communities forward. How did you go about understanding how to move a community into better efficiency? Because it is a big business with 18,000 people, but it also there's ways that we serve. You and I are tech forward, yes, but we know we serve people better if we can just get them to give an inch.

Eric McHenry: 27:25

So that they'll? I shouldn't say it's an easy answer, but it is, in my mind at least. Again, Hewlett Packard right. He started the idea of management by walking around in BWA that was a key thing in Silicon Valley Started, became very aware with Hewlett Packard, They'd walk around to your office as managers. You walk around. And so, Laverne and I, we spent three years, seven months out of the year, going around the country sitting in discussions like this, campfires, talking to people, and we started to build this appreciation, but also understanding, of what's really important to them.

Tonya J. Long: 27:59

Yeah.

Eric McHenry: 27:59

And you could tell really quickly that most of the people they already got most of their publications digitally, most of them, and if you think about a magazine, it wasn't as much for information every month, it was almost. I think Laverne coined it a coffee table book.

Tonya J. Long: 28:14

So you thumb through it.

Eric McHenry: 28:15

I usually have these out on my table outside and you thumb through it and you look at it, but it isn't where you get your primary source anymore. And once we realized that, we said look, let's take the old Blue Braid magazine, make it a lot prettier, a lot more aesthetically interesting, and assume that people will see this every three months or so, and then we'll build up also a really strong marketing. So we brought on, first time ever, a marketing person into headquarters office.

Eric McHenry: 28:44

We brought on a consultant to help us with our marketing collateral. We built up our social media stuff, we worked with some automation in our social media MailChimp type deliveries, and so now you have this. But this is just a reference book. I like looking at it nowadays but again, if I want to find anything that's going on, we put on 800 events a year, our club website and we have an app. Everyone has it.

Tonya J. Long: 29:07

And you can get to what you need. With that kind of scale, it no longer made sense to have this book or yeah.

Eric McHenry: 29:13

So people would sometimes say, oh, if you're young. I said, look, there's a lady I won't share her name. She's one of our members that we met in the Midwest and she wrote me a really nice letter and we were driving near her town and we said, oh, let's Popeye visit. She must have been 90. And I asked her about this. She goes get all my stuff online 90.

Tonya J. Long: 29:35

I'm on Facebook, I don't look online I love it.

Eric McHenry: 29:38

I love the Blue Beret. I've been to the club for 30 years. No, I get all my stuff online, and so I would tell people that story. You know something, you can do it, because you think that someone in their 70s or 60s says don't assume anymore, what other bills do they do in paper? No one writes checks anymore. Let's get rid of checks, let's do everything online. And so if you tell people those stories enough and enough, you still get the people pushing back. But this is a small subset and you know that you have to move forward and be where your customers are. You become antiquated. So that helped a lot and I think it's also. I call it leadership courage. Also, at some point I have to say I think this is the right thing. I think this is what we want we should do. You don't get it right all the time, but that's okay too.

Tonya J. Long: 30:27

I like to think you're absolutely right. You don't get it right all the time, but as leaders and as servant leaders, we don't have a choice but to always be trying to make it better. Yes, and so sometimes that does cause wrinkles in the system that people grow and learn from. Yes, and I would say that there have been a lot of things that have happened just in my five years with the club that represent that growth, represent that it's a little bit of churn, it's a little bit of question Introducing lotteries for rallies, things that are really contentious. Do I get to go to Albuquerque or not? There's just different ways we've chosen to handle things as we scale, but you have to keep iterating on it to find what the rhythm is that works for the most people.

Eric McHenry: 31:16

So we have a 21 person board, okay.

Tonya J. Long: 31:19

An Airstream club.

Eric McHenry: 31:20

It's 12 regional, if you will, and then nine at large executive council. And so the re-presidents, their responsibilities, understand their constituents. They understand sort of California, nevada, texas and Oklahoma, blah, blah, blah, florida, they understand, and there are regional differences.

Tonya J. Long: 31:38

Yeah, oh, there are Absolutely.

Eric McHenry: 31:41

Their job is to understand that. The Executive Council's job is to look holistically across the whole and say, okay, what are some partners or initiatives? Let's get some feedback from the regional presidents, let's fight them a bit and then we roll it out together so we do have that localized responsibility.

Tonya J. Long: 31:55

Risa Goluboff Responsibility.

Eric McHenry: 31:56

And they're very vocal on the board, and that's something else I'm really proud that we did is that it used to be that board wasn't very active and now they're very active. Sometimes it gave me more gray hair than I wanted. Risa Goluboff I understand that, but that's the reality of working with a board that is involved.

Tonya J. Long: 32:14

But it brought that representation into the board you have to have, and this is to me like the listening tour that you did. Yes, when you first started, and whether you knew it was a listening tour or not, it was your ethos, it was how you move over and operate.

Eric McHenry: 32:27

That's right.

Tonya J. Long: 32:27

And from that you learned and had insights and then had leverage and influence Eventually. I don't know that was your design. I have never felt like you wanted to let grow up and be ACI president.

Eric McHenry: 32:40

That was not just evolved through it's successful in any job that you do, and to do that you have to have those, that collaboration, you have to have the trusted people people that can call you up and say Eric, this is a stupid mistake and you have to have sort of the confidence of the members. I met this guy. I met his wife. He's like a great guy. I think he's on to some good ideas I'm not sure everything, but I'll give him. I'll give him a try.

Tonya J. Long: 33:05

So what has been your biggest challenge in bringing together, because I would characterize the 18,000 group as being diverse but also very passionate about what they hold on to. So what was the biggest challenge in working with those dyed in the wool must-dos, as you, naturally, are a changemaker?

Eric McHenry: 33:28

So one of the comments that and I'll tell you a little story about this one. So we started this thing, laverne and I did. With the comments that, I'll tell you a little story about this one. So we started this thing, laverne and I did with the corporate manager, lori, when I first started three years ago and we called them campfire chats. A lot of companies would do this. They do quarterly or whatever meetings all the employee meetings.

Tonya J. Long: 33:45

Now three years ago, this was in the middle of COVID. Right yeah, okay, right yeah or internationally, right?

Eric McHenry: 33:50

Yeah, so we started these quarterly campfire chats and it was a way where I got on for an hour, once for the East Coast, one for the West Coast timing to say, hey, no real agenda. Ask anything you want, I'll answer any question, give us your feedback. And that was hugely important because what it signaled was that approachable, wanting to listen. In one of those I got the question why do you talk so much about the growth of the club?

Tonya J. Long: 34:15

Oh, that's a very telling question.

Eric McHenry: 34:18

It is. Yes, keep going and I said the opposite of growth is stagnation and we don't want that. A lot of other social clubs around the world, be they Kiwanis or Scouts or the bowling leagues or whatever they have gone down. And I said so if we don't grow, we will have an aging membership and at some point we're going to go away. But we have to pay attention not just to the needs of our legacy members that have been in for 10 or 12 years but also the zero to three years and that was, at most, the biggest challenge in our club.

Eric McHenry: 34:51

Also the zero to three years and that was the biggest challenge in our club Because, rightly, if you've been in the club and it's your family for five years, ten years, you may not want to change some things and why should the new people cater to them? And I'm serious, these are really, yeah, understood. These are sort of family, neighborhood types, this was my biggest challenge.

Tonya J. Long: 35:11

How much do you push? How much change on? Then they're working because it's working for them. Is it a?

Eric McHenry: 35:14

metaphor or analogy where you're trying to push a kid on a swing and you can only push at a certain rate to make them go higher. If you try to push too fast, it's like damn, if you push hard enough, the kid doesn't go anywhere.

Tonya J. Long: 35:24

You did that with your kids? Huh, I have not seen that.

Eric McHenry: 35:26

No, no, yeah, got to push it, but from an organizational standpoint, there's a sweet spot of knowing pushing a little bit harder than maybe you think, but not too hard, and scaling back sometimes, and that's a lesson that I have a hard time with, because I can be somewhat impatient also.

Tonya J. Long: 35:41

That's my biggest challenge as a leader. But that's leadership. Want everything moving fast. Some organizations are not ready to move fast, and the other one organizational change.

Eric McHenry: 35:49

They say, hey, the CEO at Agile at the time. He told me that if you look at organizational change, there's one third, one third, one third. Right, a third of the people are like yeah, let's go do that. The third of the other end are like no, but there's this third in the middle that are I don't know, it might be okay.

Tonya J. Long: 36:05

Might be, Don't know how does. What's the climate? So those are the people you focus on.

Eric McHenry: 36:09

If you focus on the one-third like this, you're not going to get anything done. You want to focus on the one-third that's going to do it, but really it's people in the middle, because they're going to get some really good questions.

Tonya J. Long: 36:18

They're already committed. They're changed positively. It's the people in the middle right.

Eric McHenry: 36:20

Because they have really good questions and really good concerns and if you can get them on board, then the organization by and large will move along, and so that's a part of the thing we did. Also, we started to do some initiatives with clubs that we knew were ready to try more off-grid camping or do some special events that were highly curated, perhaps more expensive, in addition to the off-grid events.

Tonya J. Long: 36:42

Oh, here's an example of how progressive and that's not the right word but we just did a cruise. We're Airstreamers, we are RV trailer people and I didn't go, but it was did a cruise. We're airstreamers, we are RV trailer people and I didn't go, but it was an Alaska cruise and people are talking about it here. Several people here went and have spoken about because it's community now right. So trying out those experiments, if you will, led to people, because Jason, I think, is the one who spearheaded the cruise, and so people rise in their interest levels and begin to lead with you to carry things forward that are of interest to them, and that's what you want in a club this size.

Eric McHenry: 37:20

So how wonderful is it right to be able to work in that space. You can try innovations.

Tonya J. Long: 37:24

Yes, you're not backpedaling, or?

Eric McHenry: 37:26

have a financial crisis or a personnel crisis, and when those things happen you can't really do anything. But we're really fortunate. I also focused on getting our financials you know trans finance director on board, that now we look at P&L cashflow report. All of that I would argue most of our members don't care, but we have a solid financial underpinning now. We have a good financial planning. Now we have infrastructure planning, fundational and so, because that's in place, you can start to work on. You've got some movement to play around on a different thing and that's where I think people really want us to be yeah, looking on services that help them get the value out of their membership.

Tonya J. Long: 38:05

So yeah, anyway. No, I love it. No, I love it. You're listening to Pirate Cat Radio, kpcr 92.9 FM and Translator K215GA 90.9 FM in Los Gatos, kmrt 101.9 FM in Santa Cruz and new family member, kv 91.1 FM in Portland. So what's beyond Airstream for you? Because this is just a chapter? You may look 40. Look at that camera. You may look 40, but you're not, you're a bottom-line hero.

Eric McHenry: 38:42

He left on, so I'm thinking that that's okay. You do.

Tonya J. Long: 38:46

Personality and look. Do you play basketball?

Eric McHenry: 38:50

I do not.

Tonya J. Long: 38:51

Okay, then you're not quite Barack.

Eric McHenry: 38:52

Obama, I'm not, so my interest right now is local.

Tonya J. Long: 38:59

Okay, it's still impact driven.

Eric McHenry: 39:00

It's impact driven. I am still the board president for a local observatory John Wilkes Observatory, robert Ferguson Observatory because I care a lot about STEM. I care a lot about women in engineering, people of color engineering, low to moderate income, disenfranchised people in engineering and sciences, and there's something about getting people out under the stars that haven't done it before, and who?

Eric McHenry: 39:22

knows that spark that they get from. Oh, wait a minute. I don't understand why the North Star stays there because there are spins and it doesn't to the pole. Blah, blah, blah I think oh, I get it. And they start to ask these questions. And when kids are asking questions celestial mechanics, it's okay. That's a great start. And they get to have confidence in asking questions. And so we bring also young adults in to help out as volunteers. And there's one lady I won't say her name, but she when she first came to the observatory she was so shy and she was in her second year in high school she was so shy she would stand in the corner. And now you watch her a year later and she's up on there talking about the constellations, getting her laser pointer out, talking about all this stuff.

Eric McHenry: 40:03

She's studying in double stars and wow that is really cool.

Tonya J. Long: 40:07

We planted the seed. We planted the seed.

Eric McHenry: 40:09

So that I'm also really interested in wildfire mitigation because we live in Stonema County and we had a tremendous number of horrible wildfires. There's some groups now that are working on trying to ensure it doesn't happen again. There's watershed protection and preservation. We have a lot of people where we live we're in Stonema County and it's actually agriculture, and as some of these farms go under or their kids don't want to run it, there's a choice of selling their land to a developer or enshrining it into a public trust. And just think of what if the Golden Gate had not been put in a trust when the military left be fully developed Right now. It's a nice mix of where it is right now, and so there are these decisions that happen early on around land use protection and management that if you don't do those, then it's really hard to reverse, and so this group I'm working with now on their board, stone Ecology Center, is all about that.

Tonya J. Long: 40:59

I'm going to ask you a I don't know. It's a philosophical question about the future. You and I both talk about AI a lot. I think that's how we met.

Tonya J. Long: 41:08

And that's how we met and all of our gadgets, our watches and our stuff. But, as you said, that and I'm thinking about, I moved here from Tennessee 12 years ago and Tennessee is rural largely, but I moved to California and there are so many expanses of beautiful land because people made moves 50 years ago to protect those spaces. It's the West. We made a lot of good decisions that allow ago to protect those spaces. It's the West. We made a lot of good decisions that allow us to drive down 280, for me, down 280 from San Jose to San Francisco and there's just beautiful rolling hills for the majority of it. Yes, but that was in 2008. Intentional design 50 years ago, investment commitment, working to preserve and protect those things. With AI, what do you think we need to preserve and protect for the future of your grandchildren?

Eric McHenry: 41:58

Oh, my goodness.

Tonya J. Long: 42:01

I told you a hard question, but it's a hard question. I think that kind of lawyer-turned-thinking is missing. I think that kind of law of return thinking is missing, because we're all about, we're all in such a hurry developing with this new tech for speed and more and more, and we are not taking as much time as I think we will be in as we settle into this and looking at how to protect the future with this technology as an enabler. So mind you, as I answer this.

Eric McHenry: 42:29

I'm also very cognizant of the fact that when I grew up, I used paper maps and now I use Google Maps and GPS satellites. I don't feel I've lost anything huge. I grew up using slide rules and now I use calculators. If I could, I just ask my phone ask to add to me Again. That's something that. So I know that change happens Totally fine with that. So I know that change happens totally fine with that. What I'm really concerned about, though, is the interpersonal communications, the interpersonal experiences. I think the pandemic exacerbated my concerns there, because people got accustomed to being by themselves and a little nervous about being with other people and losing a little of work. From home also, there's a little bit of the, so I worry about that. I've worked from home also using a little bit of the, so I worry about that, and I I've been playing around with the Chajigme 4.0 and interacting with it as a person Sitting out on the coast today and I figured I got my AirPods in and I'll just start chatting with and asking questions about.

Eric McHenry: 43:21

Hey, I'm, I'm done with my term. I'm feeling a little, I don't know, missing something, not sure what. What phenomenal conversation with my AI in my head Not in my head, my voice in my ears. They're on the beach and I thought I should be talking to a real person about this.

Tonya J. Long: 43:37

Oh.

Eric McHenry: 43:37

Yes, and I do, and I do, but two years ago I never would have had that opportunity to have that discussion with, quote unquote my AI. Yeah, and so I worry where that might lead us, because it will come to a point where I and my kids' kids feel more comfortable Actually I would say feel less comfortable talking to people than they do to their AI about something that's personal to them. I don't think they should talk. We should talk to all of our friends about things that are personal.

Tonya J. Long: 44:10

That said, I worry about that because it's so easy and my AI notes me it doesn't make anything. I told it that's right and your AI is on. It's not the conversation.

Eric McHenry: 44:18

It's not remember when I told you yeah, I remember.

Tonya J. Long: 44:21

Make more AI, 24-7 available to you.

Eric McHenry: 44:27

Yes.

Tonya J. Long: 44:28

It's available to you. Laverne is still snuggled in and sleeping hard. Yes, I think for those of us who don't want to be a burden on others, depth is hard to come by these days. I know, right, I know, and so that's why I love coming to these rallies, because I've got a handful of you I would introvert.

Eric McHenry: 44:48

I think you are too a little bit. I love being by myself and I realized that this helps me get me out of myself. It's nice.

Eric McHenry: 45:03

I worry that even me I can easily see myself directing a lot more personal attention into an AI conversation, because, yeah, you know why, I don't know where that's going. But people are worried about again a whole bunch of things years ago. Oh, people are driving cars. Where's that going to go? Oh, not driving stickships anymore. Who drives a stickshifter? I totally get that change happens. But this one feels a bit different. I'm talking about this displacement or changing of jobs.

Tonya J. Long: 45:29

Right, that's a whole different thing. We could do two more podcasts on that.

Eric McHenry: 45:31

Yeah, I get all that Right so.

Tonya J. Long: 45:34

I am an optimist most of the time and I think we've had some semblances of snippets of conversations. I think people are going to create more community.

Eric McHenry: 45:46

With AI.

Tonya J. Long: 45:48

The changes AI will shift in us. Humans are seeking more connection, yes, more people are hiding at home hiding behind the Zoom?

Eric McHenry: 45:57

What makes you think people are looking for more connection?

Tonya J. Long: 46:00

Because I experience it and the groups of Bay Area-based tech community. People are not going into the office anymore and they're creating things Like next weekend I'm going to be at a thing called the Decelerator 40 unrelated people. They're not used to that. It would be a company retreat and you go bond as a team.

Tonya J. Long: 46:22

Now you've got people independently finding each other and saying let's invite more and more. And as communities grow, and if you look at the individuals, they have nothing connecting them except maybe a technical interest thread and they're getting together and they're picking things out of the garden and doing yoga in a barn.

Tonya J. Long: 46:43

There's more and more of that because I think people are seeking it out. I think people I think there are plenty of people that are afraid to be out publicly because now they don't have to, they don't have to go into the office five days a week, and so they're like I can stay home in my yoga pants, nobody will know if I didn't have a shower. It's a convenience, but more and more people I see are seeking. A friend of mine wrote about on LinkedIn that he took an Uber ride or a Lyft ride and the guy driving the Lyft was a software engineer. And this friend of mine, he's a VC and he said software engineers in the Bay Area do pretty well financially. Why is this guy picking up rides? And so we asked the guy he said what are you doing? And he said what are you doing driving a Lyft? And the guy says I'm single, I live alone in my apartment, and he said so I pick up shifts one or two nights a week because I just want to be around other people.

Eric McHenry: 47:39

I met a lady doing an airport shuttle that said exactly the same thing a few months ago.

Tonya J. Long: 47:44

He's choosing it. He's not doing it really for insom Because he says I like talking to people interesting and I to plug technology. These technologies like lyft, like ride sharing, to apps. That's technology is enabling people he's not stuck at home alone, since he's not in a coupled situation or whatever. He has other opportunities. Now that's not going and sitting at a bar, because some people that are less introverted, or whatever. He can choose these channels that have been enabled by technology.

Eric McHenry: 48:19

I agree, I just don't know where it's going, but I'm optimistic. I remember my mom used to tell me that when she was young there was a big thing about getting a phone in the house, that it was dangerous because people would do that. Oh, I haven't heard this one, because once you have phones in your house, you won't go talk to your neighbors anymore. What does that sound like?

Tonya J. Long: 48:38

Interesting, and it still is years ago. Of course it's passed away now.

Eric McHenry: 48:43

And of course, it changed some things, because kids would go in the room with their phone, the long cable, and they talk with their friends instead of going to their friends' houses. Sure, it changes things, so I guess I am going to be optimistic and curious.

Eric McHenry: 48:56

Yeah, I do have to say, though, from a technology standpoint, as you and your listeners know, it is really amazing from an office productivity standpoint Again, on the bank I'm on and the boards, we're starting to use it now in a way that allows us to not really stay down to the lower level of data manipulation.

Tonya J. Long: 49:11

You can totally get insights. You can see things so much more broadly.

Eric McHenry: 49:15

Totally, you can ask it about this. We think about any odd things you're seeing in this data set or trend as long as the data is accurate, and that's a separate issue which we know about how to manage. It is amazing, it is.

Tonya J. Long: 49:27

Because we're out of the tactical straightening up the data and we're into really assessing what the data means.

Eric McHenry: 49:34

I was talking to. I don't want to say too much about Airstream, but I was talking to an Airstream dealer a couple weeks ago and we were talking about AI and I was sharing with him some of the things that we've been doing in my other areas. Oh my gosh. He says I really want to know more about my customers. I said so what data sets do you have? He goes what data sets? I said okay, what information? Oh, I know when people come in and out of the dealership, so he knows, so he has access to. He says I was wondering, on rainy days versus sunny days, do I have different amounts of traffic flow or not? And do people buy more likely after rainy days or not? So guess what?

Tonya J. Long: 50:09

Fine.

Eric McHenry: 50:10

Yeah, you didn't have any. If there's a correlation, like six, eight years of data, I said yeah. I said you may not in your head know if it was raining or not, guess what you can get that data set, you're added pretty easily, yeah, a comparison Do you see any?

Tonya J. Long: 50:24

He goes, oh my gosh, and then tune his business.

Eric McHenry: 50:27

That's right, you would have hired a data analyst in the past to do that. And he goes yeah, I spent all my time working on spreadsheets. I said you don't have to do it that way anymore. And he left it inspired. So I do think stuff like that Because he can serve better now.

Eric McHenry: 50:54

Yeah, that's right, not just sell more Airstreams, but actually he's thinking about how to move his business forward to help more people live this lifestyle. That's exactly right. And again, he's a general manager, so he wants to be working at this level, but he's forced to now to work at these. He's got four or five data sets from different programs. He can't combine the data. I said well, no, you can combine it now you don't have to do a data lake like you used to in the old day AI. Here's five data sets, blah, blah, blah. So I find that very interesting and I really hope that. I'm not going to call it simplistic operational efficiency, but I hope that people can use that.

Tonya J. Long: 51:19

It's not simplistic because we've not done it before.

Eric McHenry: 51:22

No, but in terms of what AI can do, it's really far down the line.

Tonya J. Long: 51:25

Oh, and the technology's capacity to handle. It is very simplistic, yeah, but I think that people courage is the word that- comes to mind. They're just not comfortable enough, yet they're not To step into it, or inspired.

Eric McHenry: 51:39

I gave him a very real example. I can see that.

Tonya J. Long: 51:42

Yes.

Eric McHenry: 51:43

And he knows now he can get started on it. I should check with him later to see if he did it.

Tonya J. Long: 51:47

But I know he got it. Maybe you and I could productize it.

Eric McHenry: 51:49

There you go.

Tonya J. Long: 51:51

I like it. I wanted to like you know, stop talking, stop talking, let's mix it. That wouldn't be fluent.

Eric McHenry: 51:57

So for our observatory we did a little analysis. We use a ticketing software so we know when people book ticket to come to the event. We have about 100 events a year. We also know the sunrise and sunset times because we're observatory. In the wintertime, the sunset's a lot earlier than it does in the summertime. And I'm curious is there a correlation between the number of people that come to our events when it starts at 10 o'clock or when it starts at 7 o'clock? The answer is there's no correlation.

Tonya J. Long: 52:23

Interesting it's not I wonder what patterns in society drive that to not be a change. I'm surprised by that.

Eric McHenry: 52:30

But so this is what I love about this is that I've told the board this and it starts all these discussions. I wonder what it is, is it? Well, maybe it's just the temperature out. It could be, too, because it's warmer in the summertime. That's right, it's court awareness, so it could be that, or it could be kids are out of school and so tomorrow is no work day, or is different if you're a kid. A whole bunch of things. We need to know that so we can predict what our oversell amount should be, because we typically try to limit it right, try to predict how, so we don't. So anyway, there's all these things that we can do that we never really could talk about before.

Tonya J. Long: 53:06

We didn't have that ability it wasn't even possible to have a reasonable conversation about it. Now, what I love? Because you and I are in a lot of conversations with people worried that the humanity is leaking away with AI. But this is to me, another example of how AI gives us a platform, through that data it does, to then have dialogue, because before it wouldn't be worth having the conversation because it wouldn't be based on anything that's. Right. Now we can like, spar with what we do know, yeah, and it leads to more well-developed conversations that's right because we have a starting point.

Tonya J. Long: 53:40

so I love it. Good, I want to do this for another two hours, but we're coming into the last segment, which to me is fun. It's all fun, but it's my lightning round. So I do a lightning round of speed questions that I think about ahead of time Don't cheat. Don't cheat, fast answers. So you introduced me to birding a year ago in Tahoe and you told me this weekend that you didn't think I'd be patient enough to introduce you. Yeah, and when. She was pretty funny, but you and Chris took me birding really early.

Eric McHenry: 54:19

I didn't realize you were competitive enough to get into it. I got that.

Tonya J. Long: 54:22

You introduced me to birding, got all the apps. Now have fun with it, but for you, you're also an avid mountain biker.

Eric McHenry: 54:30

Yes, a also an avid mountain biker. Yes, avid, avid.

Tonya J. Long: 54:31

Definitely Birding or biking, which puts you in flow.

Eric McHenry: 54:35

Yeah, okay, okay. Good Exercise outdoors. Think concentrate war on bike. If you don't concentrate, you're on the ground. The concentration.

Tonya J. Long: 54:45

People like us need to be fixed.

Eric McHenry: 54:47

It's seriously. You're like, in the moment I'm going down this, I got to worry about the next 20 hours right now. Yes, and that's it.

Tonya J. Long: 54:53

Good, good, love it. Back to birding. That was a great answer for birding or biking. But, birding.

Eric McHenry: 55:07

what is the one bird species that still gets you excited anytime you see it out in the wild? Oh, actually waterfowl, actually Pintail ducks.

Tonya J. Long: 55:14

Okay, that's your thing, so that's good. Yes, back to Airstreams. What's the best piece of advice you would give to someone trying to buy their first Airstream?

Eric McHenry: 55:26

Buy a size up for what you think it's like in a boat, because you're probably going to want.

Tonya J. Long: 55:31

I'm never giving bella up. She's perfect. I'm not doing you. Buy a size up yes, yes, she's good.

Eric McHenry: 55:38

Yes, okay, you think, at 23 you get a 25, thinking 25 get a 27 okay, that's.

Tonya J. Long: 55:44

I would say that's good advice, based on the number of people who moved up just within a year or two of buying their first one.

Eric McHenry: 55:52

And the idea is that you're going to love it. You're probably going to. If you love it, you'll probably go out more than you thought you would. It unlocks the comfort of home, with the outcome there's places we typically would have gone to hotels totally our finger. We're like why don't you go to hotels? Like why would I? I've got everything stuff here. Their finger. People are like why don't you go on a tour? I was like why would I? I've got everything and stuff here and it's lovely, so ostensibly use it more and then often be using more to bring people along.

Eric McHenry: 56:14

Maybe they just want a little more space. Don't go too big.

Tonya J. Long: 56:18

No, I'm, I'm pageant princess.

Eric McHenry: 56:21

Laura and Bella and Bella's listening.

Tonya J. Long: 56:23

So if you could Now you go on long trips Because you go to the East Coast, you swing through the South If you could only pack three things for a month long adventure.

Eric McHenry: 56:35

Toys or like essential clothing. I didn't say Three things.

Tonya J. Long: 56:40

Your heated vest. Is that one of them?

Eric McHenry: 56:45

Three things. That's a really good question.

Tonya J. Long: 56:47

I would pack my toque. What's your deserted island list?

Eric McHenry: 56:50

My beanie. Okay, Because I had no hair. In Canada they call them toques.

Tonya J. Long: 56:54

Oh, so you did get some value. A leader in Canada I know you did A toque, because my hair gets clean.

Eric McHenry: 57:02

I'm outdoor all the time.

Tonya J. Long: 57:03

Yeah.

Eric McHenry: 57:04

I wear a pair of hiking shoes. I love Ultras A-L-T-R-A. Yeah. Yeah, they're trail running shoes. They're great because I do stuff outdoors all the time. I wear a big knapsack. Basically, I'm outdoors person. Man, you are practical.

Tonya J. Long: 57:17

Sure, I want my AeroPress. You're an AeroPress fan, right?

Eric McHenry: 57:21

I am yeah, but One at home, one in the trailer.

Tonya J. Long: 57:24

But a hat to keep your head from being cold is probably more critical than Okay, fine, that's.

Eric McHenry: 57:32

What's the most. I feel like you weren't as happy with those answers.

Tonya J. Long: 57:36

They were very practical. I'm an engineer, practical you. He's wearing a heated vest, like he can change.

Eric McHenry: 57:48

Wearing my heated vest and my airbrush you introduce me to apps which is a rare thing for a friend of mine.

Tonya J. Long: 57:55

Right, it's also but you have toys. That's why I love you so much, because we share gadget stories so yes so it was a very vanilla answer than all the things that you could have said. All All right. So what's the most unexpected place that your airstream has taken?

Eric McHenry: 58:13

you Black Rock Playa.

Tonya J. Long: 58:17

Tell us more about that, where Burning man is.

Eric McHenry: 58:19

Oh, you took your airstream to Burning man, to Burning man.

Tonya J. Long: 58:24

I would never take my. There's a rocket launching event.

Eric McHenry: 58:26

Okay, that happens two weeks after Burning.

Tonya J. Long: 58:29

Okay.

Eric McHenry: 58:29

And it's up in the Black Rock Playa. It's a little bit east. It's probably about a mile east, two miles east of where the man is burned, and so when we get there they're still cleaning up after burning that and they call them afterburners or that People would stay around after yeah.

Eric McHenry: 58:41

It's over there we have a rocket launching con. Go and observe and you playa Like up. I'm on the middle of this playa. I know the earth curves, I totally understand that, but when I look out there, all I see is just it just dives into nothing. I can't even see the edge of the playa because it's, that far out and it's curving over and it's dead flat.

Eric McHenry: 58:59

That's a magical place and you look around and if I started walking that way, I'd have to walk for good Lord, I don't know how many hours before I bump into anybody or anything. So that's the most magical place it's been.

Tonya J. Long: 59:12

I love it, Just as a sidebar. How long did it take to get the silt out of your?

Eric McHenry: 59:17

system. We think of it. It's all about positioning.

Tonya J. Long: 59:20

Please frame it for me. We think of it as annual cleaning. Oh, okay, okay. Okay we'll talk about that offline because I'm very curious what that process looks like. Couple days okay, that's not bad no, it's annual cleaning.

Eric McHenry: 59:35

Okay, bella deserves it.

Tonya J. Long: 59:37

Yeah, bella does she would love to be in the life but, I'll keep you posted, I'll never forget the picture I saw of an airstream buried up to its axle. Yeah, when they had the rainstorms a couple of years ago. And that's kind of stuck with me. Okay, fine, that's right. That's right, which leads me to I actually got one more question.

Eric McHenry: 1:00:01

Do you look at pictures of airstreams back in the 50s? Oh my God, with.

Tonya J. Long: 1:00:04

Wally Bynum crossing rivers in Africa.

Eric McHenry: 1:00:08

With machetes, hacking out trails.

Tonya J. Long: 1:00:10

With a station wagon. We fight about these big monster trucks that you have to have this major engine to pull these things. I don't. I have an SUV, but Wally pulled them with essentially a station wagon and they were huge and heavy and not optimized like today's materials are it?

Eric McHenry: 1:00:27

was amazing. You had to have aapsack and some boots.

Tonya J. Long: 1:00:33

Wisdom of the ages. What's one outdoor skill you wish you had learned earlier in life?

Eric McHenry: 1:00:41

Wow, I've always thought I should have scuba dive. I never did, no, but you don't need to know how to swim to scuba dive, I've been told over and over.

Tonya J. Long: 1:00:54

I understand that, so you're right.

Eric McHenry: 1:00:56

The world is closed to me, and a large part of the world isn't. I would love to. I think that's my interest in nature and what's happening to our reefs and just our. You know in California, the whole thing with the mussels and stuff, sorry, with the sea urchins and stuff. I'd love to be able to just dive and be there with the animals underwater. Okay.

Tonya J. Long: 1:01:20

So if you had it to do over and invested time and learning a new, skill, that diving, class, that a number of friends have asked me to do over the years.

Eric McHenry: 1:01:28

I always said nah.

Tonya J. Long: 1:01:30

You were more fit than most 30 year olds. That I know. My point is it's not too late for you. I know, I know, and I didn't mean to lecture you in this conversation, but I have to wag my finger and be like my friend. If that's something you want, that is completely achievable.

Eric McHenry: 1:01:46

I understand that.

Tonya J. Long: 1:01:48

But there are priorities.

Eric McHenry: 1:01:49

There's a lot of time in the life, time wasted in the day, completely achievable. I understand that.

Tonya J. Long: 1:01:51

But there are priorities, Time in the light. Time went through the day. Yep, Yep. I forgot what I got all excited about a minute ago and said it's the last question. But what's the big adventure that is still on your bucket list?

Eric McHenry: 1:02:01

I've never been to Alaska. I know You're kidding me. Every flippin' elsewhere and never to Alaska.

Tonya J. Long: 1:02:09

You've been everywhere else three times. But I have a dream trip to Alaska.

Eric McHenry: 1:02:12

So I'm a hunter also, so I want to be flown in to one of those remote islands, dropped and hunt and fish and have someone come pick me up later.

Tonya J. Long: 1:02:20

And the introvert in you you want to hunt and fish on essentially private land. Well, public, thank you public land.

Eric McHenry: 1:02:32

But you want to not be in an entourage of people. Probably Sure, I probably have one person go with me, or two. I already know. But no small way back in the middle there and by hunting. I feel that means you don't get anything, but you're just in a place that's just as remote as you can be with a purpose in mind, right, and some gorgeous. I've never been up there, so that's my one of my adventures.

Tonya J. Long: 1:02:51

Is that something you're going to work on, now that you'll spend less time traveling the U S? Continental U S?

Eric McHenry: 1:02:59

Yes, I love it, definitely I love it. And what about you? Your one adventure that you haven't yet achieved Because you've been everywhere as well. You want a flash question?

Tonya J. Long: 1:03:13

My adventures involve shopping.

Eric McHenry: 1:03:16

Go ahead.

Tonya J. Long: 1:03:17

So it's landing in Beijing with nothing but a toothbrush and my laptop and going to the silk market and buying everything I need for the week, from a piece of luggage to the things that I'll wear To just show up. And for me that's a very risky thing, are you?

Eric McHenry: 1:03:35

working on that, to make that happen.

Tonya J. Long: 1:03:36

Not right now. Not right now. China's not in my radar. Now, when I was going a lot, I said wouldn't it be great to come over once and do that? So I think something like that would be my adventure. It wouldn't be a physically risky external adventure like you and nature. It would be more Adventures, adventure. Yeah, yes, that's something I talked about doing and I would still like to have a way to do.

Eric McHenry: 1:04:00

Yeah, I think it's still doing.

Tonya J. Long: 1:04:02

I thank you Thank you Take in I knew that. Okay, so looking ahead as we close, what's the title of your next?

Eric McHenry: 1:04:13

chapter. It's local, for sure.

Tonya J. Long: 1:04:16

That's it. Local, it's local.

Eric McHenry: 1:04:18

That's where I want to spend my time and energy.

Tonya J. Long: 1:04:22

Beautiful. Beautiful If you want to leave people with information about you, about the causes that are important to you, about how to get into Airstreams. What's the piece of like connection information you would provide to our audience?

Eric McHenry: 1:04:37

Because we're in an Airstream I just have to say AirstreamCluborg and I don't ascribe to the belief that people have to only travel to our events. I think it should be a part of one's outdoor experiences.

Tonya J. Long: 1:04:52

This is a good question for me to ask you. I'm going to extend this by a minute, but I think there are a lot of people, because Airstreams aren't inexpensive. It's a lot of people. It's a long, protracted decision-making process For sure, because you probably know this better than anybody how can you get involved to test the waters on Airstream Life, the community, all those things, before you feel like you have to own an Airstream Because I think you can?

Eric McHenry: 1:05:19

Okay, we've thought about it a lot. I don't think you can, because our events are three, four days long and they're for members and so you have to have an Airstream. We invite people to come in and visit sometimes, but it's just not the same. So I would say, if you're interested in the outdoors, it's a lovely experience to be in Get an Airstream, get a used one, get a new one, rebuild a vintage one, start traveling, come to the Van Der Steen and see if you like it. If you love it, then you know it may be in your future to do long-term.

Tonya J. Long: 1:05:49

The people that you met at dinner tonight when you got by they came to one of our club rallies in a. We call them SOBs. What is that? Some? Other some oh, you don't Okay, but it's an acronym that's pleasant.

Eric McHenry: 1:06:04

That's for some other brand, some other brand, thank you. But my old hand is Airstream Club president.

Tonya J. Long: 1:06:12

The death of our club is to be viewed as elitist. Thank you, I love it. Yeah, but they came in not some other brand that they owned, they did a rental. They did a rental of a very different kind of RV, but they had friends that were in the club, so they came camped like right next to our group and they went through everybody's trailer and the whole because they knew they wanted to lean in that direction. But he's an architect, so they're planners and they looked in my closets.

Eric McHenry: 1:06:39

They looked at my cabinets. That's right.

Tonya J. Long: 1:06:40

Because they were trying to make decisions like 23 versus 27. Some of the frames or the form factors are different, and so they came and they explored by doing a.

Eric McHenry: 1:06:49

That's a fantastic job because you get to see a bunch of in this case, like 40 airstreams here. Every single one of us come inside and take a look around, Every single one of us.

Tonya J. Long: 1:06:56

Yeah, and see my mess, See what's in that closet, and there is an openness that is really remarkable that you don't see anywhere else. You and I talked earlier about this concept of going inside people's homes. Yes.

Eric McHenry: 1:07:09

It's a more intimate experience with people, Community creation yes, to fit here. The fact that you're fine me coming in and looking at whatever's around here, it's just, it's magical. You don't really do that. A lot of people don't do it enough at home anymore.

Tonya J. Long: 1:07:20

Yeah, I agree.

Eric McHenry: 1:07:21

Come to that, come look at the rigs, see if you meet some people and come to other event and whatever. See what happens.

Tonya J. Long: 1:07:27

I'm going to sit with you in a year, before then, but on this podcast I'm going to sit with you in a year, I'll be in Alaska and you'll be in Alaska.

Eric McHenry: 1:07:42

And I have to come. I will come to.

Tonya J. Long: 1:07:42

Alaska with my set of preformed questions. All right, I'll meet you in Beijing and we'll yeah, we could do that, we could do that. But I will come see you and we will see what is happening in your next chapter, because I am excited. I adore your energy and the way you build community and the way you inclusively fold in people who are so different from each other and turn them into resources.

Eric McHenry: 1:08:04

Thank you.

Tonya J. Long: 1:08:06

And so I'm excited about what the next year will bring for you, because I think the next year is your transition timing to decide where your energy goes and your tremendous skill and talent.

Eric McHenry: 1:08:19

This is about transitions, and pretty much every transition I've had it's come at a time where I knew exactly what I wanted to do. The time was right and I've thought about it quite a bit too. About what I want to do next, I knew I wanted to focus local years. Time was right and I thought about it quite a bit too. But what I want to do next, I knew I wanted to focus local years ago at this point in my life.

Tonya J. Long: 1:08:35

But you don't have an agenda. You're not winding down this because you're going to run for mayor of San Rosa. You see what I'm saying? You don't have an agenda. So the next year for you will evolve into how. Where is the place that you can make the most impact?

Eric McHenry: 1:08:52

Sure For sure. Thank you so much.

Tonya J. Long: 1:08:55

So the impact that Eric and I are going to go make now is next door. I'm hoping these noise canceling microphones. Our friends are waiting for us with a chocolate and wine.

Eric McHenry: 1:09:05

I'll be having. They're drinking.

Tonya J. Long: 1:09:07

I'll have a double helping of chocolate, since I don't drink. I can't believe how many.

Eric McHenry: 1:09:11

Zoom or Teams meetings.

Tonya J. Long: 1:09:12

I've been on while traveling and having people outside partying, knocking on the windows, saying oh yeah, they've been quite good to us, but it is getting a little louder over there so we shall go, but it has been remarkable. I have loved this, Thank you. Thank you Everyone from RESET with Tonya. Half Moon Bay edition with Eric McHenry, Next chapter.

Eric McHenry: 1:09:37

Thank you.

Tonya J. Long: 1:09:38

Thanks for joining us on RESET. You've been listening to our show from KPCR-LP 92.9 FM in Los Gatos and KMRT-LP 101.9 FM in Los Gatos and KMRT-LP 101.9 FM in Santa Cruz. Remember, transformation is a journey, not a destination. Until next time, keep exploring what's possible. I'm Tonya Long and this is home. This is RESET.