DENVER The Motorcoach Council, the fledgling organization set up to promote motorcoach travel throughout North America, has gotten a major boost from two state motorcoach associations.

The Tennessee Motor Coach Association and the North Carolina Motorcoach Association joined the council and made financial contributions many times larger than the $2,000 "founding partner" fee.

The boost from the associations came in the wake of appeals made by the council at two national trade shows in January.

The Tennessee Motor Coach Association responded to the excitement the council generated at the UMA Motorcoach Expo and the ABA Marketplace and joined the organization just weeks later with a $25,000 check - more than 12 times the founding partner rate.

And, just days later, the North Carolina Motorcoach Association sent in a membership application with a check for $10,000, five times the founding member fee, and indicated that amount was just a start.

"The energy and excitement about the Motorcoach Council was astounding following the ABA and UMA tradeshows, and for this reason we wanted to keep that momentum alive and strong," said Bill Gentry of Gentry Trailways in Knoxville, Tenn.

Gentry and Chris Levering of Gray Line Nashville, jointly asked their associations board to join the council and to spend $20,000 to do it even though the group could have become a founding member for as little as $2,000. The directors not only bought the idea but upped the contribution by another $5,000.

At the same time, the Tennessee group issued an industrywide challenge for other states to join the group and match its contribution.

The North Carolina association was the first to respond, agreeing to sign up for $10,000, plus a commitment, depending on financial conditions, to reauthorize its membership with the same amount in each of the next five years.

"The board recognizes the value of the council," said Linda Morris, executive director of the North Carolina association.

The council was formed two years ago to promote the "green" aspects of motorcoaches, but expanded its focus last year to promote awareness of the many benefits of motorcoach transportation throughout North America.

In an effort to spark greater interest in motorcoach travel more quickly, the council developed a television commercial that it plans to air throughout the country. The commercial received good reviews from motorcoach operators who screened it during the UMA Expo and ABA Marketplace.

Council Chairman Todd Holland of Ramblin Express in Colorado Springs, said joining the council should be compared directly to the other investments operators make to market their businesses.

"Your participation is not meant to be a replacement to anything you are already doing but to instead supplement and fortify those efforts," he said.

The council and its supporters say the time is ripe for the industry to promote and position itself as a viable travel alternative.

"With escalating fuel costs, environmental concerns and national events that have caused travelers to recoil from air travel, society is ready, almost begging, for alternative modes of transportation," notes one founding council member.

"Until now, the motorcoach industry was not prepared to present itself in a cohesive fashion to this newly emerged market. This is an opportunity for our industry to step up and do our job to re-educate the traveling public as to who we are and what we have to offer as a solution.

"In this pivotal point in history, it is not possible for a fraction of the industry to get involved or to pull the weight of the group if we truly want to shift perceptions and change society," says this operator.

Gladys Gillis, whose Seattle-based Starline Luxury Coaches was an early member of the council, urges others to join, too.

"If we come together now as an entire industry, we can deliver a stronger, more consistent message that we are a unified front designed to serve our community and the environment," she said. "We want to educate the public and re-position the motorcoach as the safest, most convenient, economical, luxurious, and environmentally responsible mode of transportation available."

The council so far has raised more than $150,000 and has about 65 members, including 50 motorcoach companies. The other members are bus manufacturers, national and state associations, and suppliers.