When I was little and someone would ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up, my eyes would light up as I confidently declared, “I want to be a doctor.” I would toddle around the house in my oversized white coat toting my little black doctor’s bag and plastic stethoscope feeling terribly important. One day I was going to grow up to help people.  Other days, I would elegantly parade around my grandmother’s living room proudly displaying every piece of jewelry she owned. With each tiny finger clenched around an oversized ring, gold bangles clanking, stacked up to my elbows, and countless necklaces weighing down my tiny shoulders, I would raise my nose high in the air as I reverently decreed to everyone that I was going to be a princess when I grew up.

In contrast, when my brother was little, he would tell everyone that when he grew up he wanted to be a “bookie.” Strangers would give my parents questioning looks until they rushed to explain that their five-year-old meant he wanted to make books for a living. My brother loved to read. So naturally, he wanted to make books for a living because to him, that didn’t sound much like work at all. I wanted to be a doctor because I thought it would be fun to help people. And because I was five, some days I wanted to be a princess because who wouldn’t love a job where all you do is wear pretty jewelry and are doted on by others?  When you’re little and people ask you what you want to spend the rest of your life doing, your instinct is to think of something fun. Your instinct is to think of something that would feel more like a reward than a punishment. Sadly, we all eventually grow up and many of us fail to focus on what we think is fun, instead of building our lives around what we perceive as practical. My brother still loves books, but he’s not a “bookie.”  He’s a lawyer.

(*Insert your favorite lawyer joke here – I know you’ve got one.)

And I’m allowed to make jokes about “what a sad and miserable life he has as a lawyer” because instead of becoming a doctor or a princess, I’m a lawyer too. But I can honestly say, after years of education taking countless exams, reading an offensive number of books, earning two degrees, and my license – I finally learned something. If you have to have a job, and most of us do, then you better work doing something you truly love. Many of us take entirely too long to learn that lesson. While others never quite reach that realization. And then there are the rare few like Jesse Martin with Bill Thomas Camper Sales, who seems to have known this secret all along.

Jesse is the Business Manager for Bill Thomas Camper Sales in Wentzville, Missouri, but he didn’t just fall into his position or the RV industry.  Jesse deliberately sought a job in the RV industry because he knew, even long before he was old enough to hold a job, that he loved RVing. And even though Jesse was only a teenager, he had figured out that big secret most of us learn too late in life: choose a job you love, and you’ll never have to work a day in your life. Growing up, Jesse’s family always had a motorhome. They spent countless hours traveling around, exploring the outdoors, and enjoying time together in their vacation on wheels. Some of his greatest childhood memories were made with his family in their RV and camping under the stars. Jesse has always loved camping and the outdoors. So when he was a senior in high school and found himself needing a job, it seemed only logical that he would look to Bill Thomas Camper Sales. The dealership had just moved to Wentzville so Jesse jumped at the opportunity to try his hand at working in the RV industry. He began working for the dealership as a porter 15 years ago and has steadily worked his way through numerous roles at the company, but Bill Thomas Camper Sales built a business based on fun long before Jesse was even born.

Bill Thomas Camper Sales has been family owned and operated since 1965 and they have been a proud Airstream dealership for over 50 years. That makes them one of Airstream’s very first trailer dealers and one of the top sellers of Airstream trailers in the Midwest. Airstreams are iconic. Even people who know absolutely nothing about RVs and trailers, know what an Airstream trailer looks like. It is the epitome of classic RVing. And when you’re buying an experience, it’s difficult to find anything more authentic than an Airstream trailer. And that’s why Bill Thomas Camper Sales deals in Airstreams. Airstreams are authentic and genuine just like everyone at Bill Thomas Camper Sales. Every employee of the dealership is dedicated to providing thier customers with Real Value in everything that they do. From pricing to the finance experience, they want to ensure that they are constantly providing excellent service. And like Jesse, they are all RVers. They aren’t just selling the outdoor lifestyle; they live it. And because they are RVers, they understand that customers deserve outstanding service and they want to do everything they can to provide them with all the tools available to make their experience a great one.

Jesse says that’s one reason they choose to partner with Coach-Net. “I find customers appreciate the convenience of having Coach-Net products in making their RV experience easier and less stressful.” Coach-Net is available 24/7 to customers who might need help troubleshooting a difficult component. Sometimes being able to talk one-one-one with an expert technician can save a customer the headache of packing up their campground to take their RV in for service. “Coach-Net saves our customers valued time with their families and in-turn they can save our service department valuable time they need for more complex repairs.” Bill Thomas also offers Coach-Net’s paint and fabric protection, Coach-Net Finish Protect. The interior and exterior protection gives the customer peace of mind knowing that their RV is protected from all sorts of elements that they regularly encounter when exploring and enjoying the outdoors. They can haul their shiny new trailer in the muck and the mud and leave their unit baking in the hot sun without worry while they’re away hiking or fishing at the lake.

And Jesse says he can sell Coach-Net products and services in absolute confidence to his customers because just like his customers rely on him and his support, he in turn can rely on his Coach-Net dealer sales team. “As a dealer being able to reach out to the reps for product knowledge and training is a huge benefit and makes selling the product much easier.” He stresses to other partnered dealers, “Use your reps! They are there to help and have a wealth of knowledge on the products to make selling them, and your customers’ experience with them, much more effective.” But while Jesse often views it as Coach-Net helping him and his customers, we have a slightly different view. By partnering with Coach-Net, Bill Thomas Camper Sales gives us a gift by allowing us to join in their mission of helping people achieve their dreams. Bill Thomas Camper Sales has a motto that drives everything they do: Building dreams is our business. We love partnering with them because they seek to do everything they can to connect people to the outdoors and help them fully embrace all that the camping lifestyle has to offer in the most relaxing way possible.

And their business of building dreams isn’t limited to RVs alone. Every spring Bill Thomas Camper Sales holds an event to benefit the Boy Scouts of America. The dealership encourages customers to trade in a new or gently used tent in exchange for money off the RV they’re buying. At the end of the month-long sales event, Bill Thomas Camper Sales donates all the collected tents giving Boy Scouts endless opportunities to discover their love for camping and the outdoors. Bill Thomas Camper Sales gives to their local Boy Scouts because they are invested in fostering in others a love for the outdoors. Because if they help children discover their love for camping and the outdoors, maybe one of them will choose to work in the RV industry so that they can spend their days doing what they love. Maybe one of them might be inspired to one day grow up and be like Jesse.

Many would agree that the secret to happiness is RVing. But if you can’t spend your entire time vacationing around in an RV, or camping in a tent full-time under the stars, then the next best thing is helping to make that dream come true for others. Thank you, Jesse and everyone at Bill Thomas Camper Sales, for choosing Coach-Net as your partner in helping others find their happiness. Thank you, Bill Thomas Camper Sales, for being your customers’ connection to carefree RVing.

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