Over 700 campers, armed with lifetime memberships to Roaring Run RV Resort in the Laurel Highlands, are grappling with the news that they must vacate their home away from home. According to Audacy, these memberships — some costing upwards of $10,000 — were seemingly discarded after the previous owner, Jay Corl, sold the property to a Texas-based LLC, Tannery, for $2.5 million.
Despite assurances from Corl that the lifetime memberships would continue to be honored post-sale, Tannery has decided to abruptly change course. Members were blindsided by an email stating that their memberships were never included in the sale and are now null and void. As a result, regulars to the resort must now grapple with the decision to either drastically adjust their budgets to pay the new fees imposed by Tannery — such as $60 a day — or be forced to leave.
Camper Catherine Thompson stated, as per CBS News, "It is just a different kind of life, and I can't imagine someone would be so disconnected and cold and say your memberships mean nothing." Her sentiment echoes across the RV community, where many like Mark and Fran Wills fear that their retirement plans are in jeopardy. In a statement, Mark Wills shared, "We spent our life savings to join here. I've got over $16,000 invested."
Amidst the legal turmoil and the dismay of displaced campers, the new ownership, through their attorney, expressed a willingness to negotiate, telling CBS News, "We care deeply about cleaning up this mess." However, no firm resolution has yet been publicly disclosed.
