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GOLD WING ROAD RIDERS ASSOCIATION SOUTHEASTERN “REGION A” ‘HEADQUARTERS OF THE “A” TEAM’ |
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Region "A"-News
November 2008
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The Official newsletter of Region "A" |
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Region "A" Directors
Bob & Nancy Shrader
9333 Rolling Circle
San Antonio, FL 33576
352-668-3164
regiondirector@gwrra-regiona.org
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As
we write this article, the Region “ A” rally season officially draws
to a close with the successful completion of the Mississippi District
rally in Biloxi October 16th through 18th.
The Region “A” rally season will resume with the Florida
District rally in March of ’09.
Speaking of the Mississippi District rally, Nan and I had the
pleasure of attending. The
rally was Gregg and Pat Harbison’s first as the MS District Director
and they certainly put on a great show.
This was the last MS rally to be held in Biloxi; in ’09 the
rally will be held in Tupelo, MS. We
congratulate Gregg and Pat along with their staff for hosting a
fantastic rally, which featured lots of vendors, games, prizes and which
was also well attended. It was obvious that the MS District invested much planning
and organization in this event and it showed in its smooth operation.
It was lots of fun and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
Nan and I rode out and back and that made it all the more fun.
Our next Region “A” event is business related; the annual
officer’s meeting at the George Bagby Lodge in Ft. Gaines, GA on
December 6th. We
ask that the members of the Region staff and District staffs arrive on
Friday evening so that we will be ready to begin on Saturday morning.
Though this event is pretty much business, we always try to make
it enjoyable as possible. Each
component of the Region staff will make a presentation and we request
that each District Director come prepared to make similar presentation
of the current status of their respective Districts.
We will have continuous soda, water and coffee service in the
meeting room for the convenience of the attendees.
We will also feature the Christmas gift exchange per the
guidelines we discussed in Biloxi.
District Directors please recall that the Chapter Chartering Fees
are due to the Home Office by December 1st.
Please remit the payment directly to the Home Office by one
District check covering the total of the chapters that you are renewing
for 2009. A letter listing
each of those chapter titles should also be included.
Please copy us on the check and letter for our files here. If you have not yet begun this process, we’d suggest that
you start now so that we get them all in on time.
Districts, please recall that the annual Financial Reports are
due to the Home Office by February 1st.
At the Region level we need only your respective District
Financial Reports. You do
not have to send us the chapter reports, but it is the responsibility of
the Districts to carefully review each chapter’s financial report for
accuracy, completeness and the appropriate expenditure of monies.
If you have any questions about the Financial Reports, please
contact the Region Treasurer, Joanne Jacob before you sign them off.
Please remember that the dreaded IRS has been randomly looking
into GWRRA Financial Reports across the country so let’s be sure to
get them correct. The
annual Financial Report consists of the Cover Sheet, Equipment List and
the actual Financial Report form. These
can be obtained from the Officers Connection web site if you do not have
them on hand. Additionally,
if the home address of the Chapter Director is changing, then a copy of
the IRS form 8822 must also be attached with the original being mailed
to the IRS by the incoming or retiring CD.
The Home Office now requires that an Incident Report be completed
on certain types of accidents, injuries or problems at GWRRA sanctioned
events. This is spelled out
at the Officer Connection web site, where the form may also be obtained.
District and Chapter officers need to be aware of this
requirement and should read the guidelines as posted at the Officer
Connection site. The
purpose of this Incident Report is to document unusual situations where
there might be some future legal or insurance issues.
Our Region “A” Leadership Training team, Dave and Ellen
Hamilton have indicated their desire to “retire” from active duty
with GWRRA. Dave and Ellen have long served not only the Region as our
Leadership Trainers, but as members of the Alabama District staff and
also their home chapter. In
other words, they have been workers for a long time and now deserve some
time off. We really hate to
see them go (though they will remain active GWRRA members) because they
did so much to enhance the mission of Leadership Training in Region
“A”. Their official
departure date will be December 6th at the Region officers
meeting. Our sincerest
“Thank You” to Dave and Ellen for the fantastic job they’ve done
for Region “A”!
Region “A” is very fortunate to have a good talent pool of
volunteers to draw on and we have asked Dave and Sharon Aikens to step
up to fill the position of Region “A” Leadership Trainers.
Dave has a very long and distinguished history in Leadership
Training and is responsible for curriculum development of many of the
Leadership Training courses taught across the GWRRA system.
Dave and Sharon will assume their duties at the Region officers
meeting in December. We
welcome them to the Region staff and thank them for their continued
service to GWRRA.
Nan and I hope to see you at a GWRRA event soon,
Bob & Nan |
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Region "A" Asst. Region Directors
Jim & Sue Jackson
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Hello from the GWRRA Fun Capitol of the U.S.A and that is the Southeast Region ‘A’ consisting of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and South Carolina. I sincerely hope you attended all or a couple of the excellent rallies presented in Region ‘A’ or the Region’s Districts. The most recent was the Mississippi District Rally with the theme “Stars On the Coast” and I must give Greg and Pat Harbison, Mississippi District Directors, and their excellent Staff a tip of the Region ‘A’ helmet for such a bodacious fun time. Yep, there certainly was “Stars” running around the rally and what a super-fun pizza/costume contest held on Thursday night with a number of different winners according to the category entered. Naturally, the pizza was a huge winner with most of us Gold Wingers. Mississippi known for its talent show on Friday night was simply outstanding as it always is in Mississippi. Many new acts and several that have performed previously in the show, but again another hit for the Mississippi Rally. You
know it’s hard to leave a place like Biloxi that has provided so many
memorable Mississippi District Rallies, and actually the only home for the
Mississippi Rally that I have ever known, but things have changed drastically
since the visit from Katrina three years ago.
The main issue I see is the extremely slow progress in rebuilding hotels,
restaurants, service stations, roads, etc, the things that most of us take for
granted when visiting a city presenting a GWRRA District Rally.
I also get a uncomfortable feeling from the area and this just may be me,
but in previous years the complete area including the casinos, hotels and
restaurants seem to support this rally, but since Katrina I sense everything has
changed, and of course it has, and along with those changes have come much
higher prices for food, rooms, etc. Even the buffets in the casinos that use to
give the GW Family a break with coupons are almost non-existent. I have literally talked with GW Family Members that told me
they are not going back to Biloxi until things are like they were before Katrina
and I comment to them Biloxi will never be like before Katrina.
It will be better at some point in time, but that will probably be 10 to
15 years from now. Basically it’s
time for a change and the change will be difficult, but the new venue in Tupelo,
MS will provide many new roads to ride and many new experiences that will be
savored and remembered like the ones in Biloxi.
I look forward to another bodacious Mississippi District Rally in Tupelo,
MS in October of 2009. Hey, you do
know Tupelo is where Elvis was born don’t ya?
In fact, I just recently heard of a sighting of Elvis near Tupelo.
Could it be? The
LA (Lower Alabama) Hoedown will be held in Dothan, AL at the Holiday Inn South
Sep 10-12, 2009. For a good time,
grab a rally flyer off the Region ‘A’ website and register today. The hotel is dedicated solely to the Region ‘A’ Rally and
only GWRRA Region ‘A’ delegates will be staying during the rally dates.
Nan Shrader will be hosting the toebaccker spit-in contest which includes
two categories: first, chaw-tobacco for the Gents and second, snuff for the
Ladies. Bring your favorite or use
whatever Nan is chewing or dipping that day of the contest.
Do you know how to tell if a redneck is level-headed?
Answer: If tobacco is
running down both cracks on each side of his mouth at the same time.
Jim & Sue |
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Senior Region
“A” Educators
Ron & Pam Lantz
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It sounds like Mississippi had a fantastic Rally. Pam really enjoyed it. On the other hand I did not see much of the Rally nor did I spend one dollar at the vendors, a real change. However there is an underlying reason for that. Myself, MS. D/E Buddy Shirley and National Director of Rider Education Mark Zingery conducted a training course for six new GWRRA Instructors for ARC. Congratulations to all these fine new Instructors, Chuck Reed, Jim Robinson, Rod Polk, Percy Garner, KZ ( former MS D/D) Lomax Rosemond are all ARC Instructors. Eldon (Buddy) is now a Master Instructor and I am now a Master Instructor Trainer. Way to go Region "A". The Region Staff wants to thank each of these members for their dedication to the members and Rider Education Program, and the unselfishness to give up all their Rally time to go through this 60 hr course. A special Thanks to Jim and Margie Hodge for securing the site for us, and Rusty, the Mayor of D’Irberville, MS and Mike from the Sports complex. Without these fine people this would not have been possible. We must also give credit to Gregg and Pat Harrison whom overcame some challenges by letting us steal some of their help from the Rally. Lastly a SPECIAL Thank-you to Mark Zingery for his 1100 mile one way track to come down from the Great White North to conduct this Course. The next Training Course will be in GA. some time this spring. If you are interested fill out an application and mail it to Robert Berry along with the check, the amount is listed on the application. This is an interesting article, however we may not agree with all points made in this article, some of the speeds mentioned seem to be excessive, at least for us, but there are some great points made. Truck Related Tips For Highway RidingOvertaking and Trucker-Tailgating By: Cash Anthony On our recent trip to North Carolina and back to Houston,
first for reasons of getting to a wedding on time, and then for coming
home unexpectedly fast for a funeral, Jim and I rode the interstates
almost exclusively. We did a little under 3,000 miles in eight 'riding
days,' with two of them averaging only a hundred miles while we visited in
the area. Here are some thoughts I had while riding those miles and
miles of highway. First, the American highway network is a work of art, no
question. By and large the road surfaces are smooth, with decent
shoulders, clear signage, and fast speed limits. Not that the speed limits
matter much to most of the traffic.. Some areas are scenic by
happenstance, but the routing is designed purely to be efficient. Across
the South especially, the major roads tend to run straight for a long,
long way, without landmark or feature. There are very few curves, although
from West to East by the inland route, the road rises steadily. The US interstate highway system is geared to the
transportation of goods to accommodate interstate commerce, and that means
trucks 'rule.' Advertising, lodgings, restaurants and now gambling
facilities are all geared toward serving the trucking population, with the
individual or family tourist who is passing through coming in a distant
second. Gasoline is available at marked exits only, even when there may be
lodgings or fast food places (for truckers) at other exits in-between. (If
the exit sign doesn't say 'gas,' there IS no gas. Don't ask how I know.)
And, no surprise, you can expect to see huge numbers of trucks on these
roads. All this is not news to motorcyclists who tour regularly,
but if you are contemplating a trip cross-country you may want to take
note that 'huge numbers' means 'MOST of the other vehicles on the road.'
Passenger cars are out there, too, but as a rider your orientation to
riding the interstates will inevitably focus on dealing with trucks and
truckers. Big rigs present particular hazards that can be deadly to
motorcyclists. A blowout on a car will sometimes throw a piece of tire
tread into the road, endangering any rider who is following it at the
moment; but by observation of the roads in your area, you know it's mostly
truck tires that come apart. The tread off an 18-wheeler is enormous,
certainly big enough to knock a Gold Wing off its wheels, and the force
with which it comes apart is horrific. Another feature of trucks is their design. Because they are
made for fast switching of their cargo - nowadays trucks haul boxcars on
wheels - the cab and trailer are often separate: separately owned and
maintained. The driver is supposed to safety-check his trailer regularly,
but he will not know its history. Note that with this articulated cab and trailer system, the
driver loses sight of the rear of his rig when he makes a turn, assuming
he's looking where he's going and not in his mirrors. Some drivers are
good at tight turns, some not so good. This can be important at truck stops and in little towns, if
you have to go into one. I had one 18-wheeler cut back to within a foot of
my elbow as I sat in the left turn lane in Ferriday, LA, Thursday morning.
I had seen him there when we pulled up at the light, getting ready to make
a right turn my way, so I stopped farther back in the turn lane than
normal, to give him a few extra feet for clearance. He took every bit of
it, and still the back tires on his rig went over the curb! Like a
motorcyclist, the trucker drove forward into the turn, slowed, looked
right, and then 'rolled on' the juice. This means he was accelerating as
he made the last part of the turn and started to straighten out, when he
was closest to me. 'Grrrrrind, swooosh!' We know it can be hard for a
rider to safely brake just as you start to accelerate through a turn. With
a similar dynamic working on that big rig (in this case, for reasons of
momentum), it would have been impossible for him to stop without hitting
me if he had misjudged that foot of space. It may surprise the riders who don't hang out around big
rigs that there are rows upon rows of instruments in the cab of today's
trucks, at least in the ones that haul for a major line. Jim asked for
permission from a fellow fueling up outside Columbia, SC, for me to crawl
up into the cab and look around. It looked like an airplane control panel!
There were gauges and buttons and switches covering the dash. It also
seems like you're on top of the world when you look down at the road.
Point: if you were driving one of these, aiming it down a thin, straight
lane for hours, the opportunity to be distracted from watching the road is
great. On a long day of riding, overtaking trucks is the only game
out there for a motorcyclist on the interstates. In order to try to ride
at a constant speed to maximize gas mileage and make steady time, there
are some tricks that I learned for passing, and being passed. As for being passed, it's simple: get out of their way. Move
to the far side of the road from the passing lane to diminish the wind
blast that will come your way. It starts before the truck is next to you,
from all the air being pushed to the side and forward as it rolls at
speed. Be prepared to be moved involuntarily as much as half a lane to the
side of your path of travel, and that's if you're maintaining a strong
grip, good forward focus and firm control. Choose your path so that you
allow for this sideways movement and don't run off the road. After about half of the truck's trailer has passed, you may
experience the opposite tendency, to be pulled toward the truck's back
wheels. A slipstream shaped like a teardrop is formed in the air
turbulence created behind the truck, and some (but not all) truck rigs
will try to suck you into it. So do not move back toward the truck to
reestablish a left (i.e., lead bike) lane position until it is well away
from you. Try to create as much of a gap as you can between yourself
and trucks that are behind you in the same lane. They will use the terrain
to maximize their gas mileage, too, which means they really get rolling on
the downhills if they can. Speed limits do not matter during these
maneuvers, and being tailgated by a big rig going 95 mph will certainly wake you up! (Remember the MSF lesson on planning escape routes?) A word about relative speeds: Jim and I were commonly
running between 75 mph and 80 mph on the interstates. We were constantly
passed by huge trucks doing 100. This was especially true in Alabama and
Georgia, where the roads are beautifully maintained. The state troopers
were out in fair numbers, but they only seem to catch a few of the most
egregious speeders, and many big rig drivers go extremely fast with
impunity. On passing: When you decide to pass an 18-wheeler, try to
choose an uphill stretch to do it in. [Unless, of course, you are on a
single-lane road. This article is about multiplelane freeway travel.] The
truck will slow for an incline more than you will on your bike, and this
will give you a chance to put some major distance between your vehicles so
that it will not catch up to you and tailgate, or pass you again, on the
next downhill run. Plan your maneuver. Ideally, you want to pull out into
the fast lane just before you reach the bottom of the incline, as you are
starting up, and then use all your acceleration for straight-line, uphill
driving as you pass. You will have to burn more gas to pass on an incline, but
you will get by the truck faster, minimizing other risks, like having a
tire on the rig blowout when you're next to it, or having the driver lose
sight of you and try to pull into your lane to pass a slower truck. Remember to listen to truck tires! We started into one
passing maneuver outside Villa Rico, GA on Tuesday, just after we'd made a
fairly long rest stop at a big truck fueling center. We came to a hill
behind a large red truck we'd been following for a couple of miles, and I
signaled to pass. I got up to within five feet of the truck's back wheels,
and suddenly I heard a loud, rhythmic 'whomp, whomp' from the truck's
right side. I couldn't see anything strange, but I couldn't tell where
that was coming from or what was making it, so I shook my head and backed
off. We tucked in behind the rig a few moments later, giving it a good
clearance, and I just let it go. We slowed from 80 to 60 mph for a few
minutes to be sure it was gone, then resumed our cruising speed. I don't know whether the noise was a tire that would soon
come apart, or whether the truck's right wheels were striking the Bott's
dots on the shoulder for a few turns. There was no turn signal from the
truck that he was intending to pull off, and the truck was too wide for me
gauge where it was on the other side. I didn't like it, though, so we
dropped back. We may have passed him later, or he may have stayed way
ahead of us, or we may have leapfrogged with him at one of our breaks, but
I only heard that noise once on this trip. While most truck drivers are very decent people with a hard
job to do and a timetable to meet, you may occasionally run into a rogue.
We did, when I pulled out to pass a big rig in Mississippi on Interstate
20. It was a regional carrier, with a reddish-orange cab and trailer,
being followed by an old, dull-coated orange Supersport. The guy in the
car was riding along with his arm out the window, sipping a soft drink and
showing off his tattoo while he played the radio. The two vehicles were
obviously traveling together, and probably connected via CB as well. Jim speculates that the truck driver said something along these lines to
his buddy: 'Let's mess with these bikers' minds.' I pulled out into the
fast lane from a cruising speed of about 70 mph. For the reasons stated,
I'd waited for an inclined stretch to pass. About the time I hit 75, the
truck began to accelerate. Before I could fight the wind blast and the
rising elevation enough to get past him, we were both doing 95! I came up
to the window of the cab but could only see out of the corner of my eye,
not enough to make out the driver's face. When I glanced at my speedometer
and saw that I'd break 100 before I could pass him, I thought, 'Screw
this,' and backed off. This meant backing off behind the Supersport, too,
of course, and losing a lot of speed on that hill. And I expect those two
rednecks were choking on their Co-Cola for laughing. Yeah, real funny,
that kind of thing. Jim said he was glad to see I kept all my fingers on the
grips as I dropped back. [grin] This is not the kind of trucker you want behind you anyway. We saw a few others that fit that description on our trip,
like truckers who are drunk or half-asleep. A big rig weaving from side to
side in the lane, crossing the stripe on the roadside and then coming
close to the dotted line is a hairy sight. We dropped back and watched one
for a while, talking it over. Jim got on the CB to try to wake the driver
up, but he couldn't raise him on any channel. We finally passed him, fast,
and hauled it away from him at once. For some reason, the drivers on the interstate and by-passes in Atlanta, GA are the most aggressive people I've ever seen on the road. They made the Houston traffic look like a ride in the park! This included the solo drivers in passenger cars and the truckers in big rigs. There are lots of regional and local trucking lines in that city, too, and many slow moving rigs are mixed in with the speed demons. If you can find a way to skip riding a motorcycle on the interstates through Atlanta, spend some time with your maps and give yourself a break. Be especially careful about your footing at truck stops,
too.. some of these rigs really drop oil. After this trip, I'd say that while motorcycles and
18-wheelers can co-exist on the superslabs, it really isn't much fun for a
biker out there. It's a serious test of your nerve, and it can be very
fatiguing to do it for hour after hour. If you have to make time to your
destination, you can certainly do it with our excellent system of roads.
But for me, the next time I go on two wheels across half the country, I
plan to seek out the back roads and regional highways, so I can enjoy the
ride. Once we left Interstate 20 and took Highway 61 south from
Vicksburg to Natchez, for a while Jim and I were the only two moving
objects on the road. It was misty, and so quiet! In places, the road was a
tunnel of green leaves, weaving back and forth across the Natchez Trace.
There were little hills and dales, there were curves, there were small
towns to see. It was so beautiful, and after the freeways, what a relief!
If you're going to see America on two wheels, to me that's the way it's
supposed to be. If you have to do it, stay alert, and ride safe on the interstates!
Ron & Pam
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Region "A" Trainers
Dave & Ellen Hamilton
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Hello
again from your Region “A” Leadership Trainers.
The last District Rally in Region “A” is in the books and what
a great rally we had in Mississippi.
Had great weather the entire time we were in Biloxi.
The new Mississippi District Trainers were in non-stop mode as they
had all kinds of fun classes going on as well as helping out in the Rider
Ed area. Laurie and Bobby
Bryant are going to be a real asset to their district and the Region.
Then came the announcement that it is on to Tupelo, MS for 2009. That
is a new area we will just have to check out next year. It
is also time to let you know that Ellen and I will be retiring from our
position as Region “A” Trainers, effective December 31, 2008.
It has been a great ride and we have enjoyed every minute of it.
We leave the Region in great hands as Dave and Sharon Akins, the
current Georgia District Trainers, will be taking over for us.
We will officially turn the reigns over at the Region meeting in
December. Dave is a Master
Instructor, he and Sharon have put Georgia on the map in the training
arena and have been a monumental help to all the District Trainers and to
us. His experience in
training in GWRRA and in the corporate/government world is unsurpassed.
We
also leave the Region in the best shape ever with super District Trainers
in every district of our region. They
are enthusiastic, experienced leaders and after having a stupendous year
of training, they are all planning lots more training and fun for 2009. We had 1230 hours of training in this last quarter with a
total of 4186 hours of training for the year in Region “A”. I don’t think any other region has topped that number.
But then we ARE Region “A”!! Be
sure to check out the district and Region websites for the dates and times
of 2009 training classes planned, and if you see a class in another
district that suits your schedule, sign up for it.
Your circle of friends will be widened greatly. It
is amazing and really gratifying to hear how these training classes have
enhanced the chapter life and also applied in the work place or with
another activity. We
are not going away. We will
be around as instructors and will see you down the road at the next rally. Keep learning and having fun! Dave & Ellen |
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Region "A" Motorist Awareness Coordinators
Ray & Cindy Erickson
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Good
news, we have new National “MAD” Coordinators and their names are
Charles and Nancy Mallett. Their biography is currently posted on the
National web site under the Motorist Awareness tab. They plan to take us
in a new direction with our program. This direction is of course geared
to take our message to the motorist. The program will focus on three
main areas: 1) Public Relations 2) Advertising, and 3) Awareness
Education. Charles and Nancy’s goal is to breath new life into the
Motorist Awareness program. Our
present pamphlets are being reviewed and updated.
Several new presentations are being developed to help us in our
endeavors. Charles has asked from us in the field for any input that we
may think would be a contribution to the presentations being developed.
He can be contacted by email: rideaware@yahoo.com
and if you do have anything you would like to contribute, please Cc me
when you reply to him. I would like to have this info on file for future
use. Last
but not least, I would like to welcome our newest District “MAD”
Coordinators to our family of “MAD” folk.
Nate and Danelle Kinion are our new Florida District “MAD”
Coordinators. They are also Florida ADD’s and already have experience
with the “MAD” program. What a catch! I’m delighted to have you
two on our “A” Team. Until
next time, keep the shinny side up and save a life!
Ray & Cindy
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Region "A" Membership Enhancement Coordinators
Bob & Karla Greer
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Don’t
Be the Last to Know Do
you ever feel like you are the last person to find out about something new
that is happening in the world or GWRRA?
Well, the GWRRA Home Office has begun working with a company to
look for ways to improve communications with members.
Since the telephone is too people intensive and mail is too slow
and expensive, e-mail is the modern day answer.
This company also specializes in helping organizations protect
e-mails from unethical people and spammers. To
read the full article on this matter…go to Wing
World Magazine, November 2008, (Pages 12, 13
& 14) GWRRA
Home Office is asking for your help in setting up this process.
First, all members who would like to receive communications via
e-mail from GWRRA need to make sure their current e-mail is registered
with the Home Office. You can
do this by contacting customer service (800) 843-9460 or (623) 581-2500,
[Phoenix area] or by logging into your membership account at www.gwrra.org/members. Now
that sounds like a great thing to us.
Don’t you just hate being left out of the loop? Speaking
of great things…we have just returned from the Mississippi District
Rally and it was certainly one of the great ones.
Gregg and Pat Harbison and their staff did a wonderful job.
The stars were out in Biloxi.
We had the privilege of teaching two seminars at the rally.
We put together a seminar on the Chapter
of the Year Competition. We
hope it cleared up any misconceptions and confusions.
We have so many outstanding Chapters here in Region “A”.
It will be a challenge on the part of the Districts and the Region
to pick just one winner to go forward for the National competition.
Check with your District to see when your packet is due to them.
We also taught a seminar concerning all of the entities of the
Membership Enhancement Division, with a deeper look into the Area Report.
We challenged those present to take at least one thing they heard
back to their Chapters and put it into use in the coming month. We
would like to thank Bob and Cathy Singley, the Mississippi MEC, for all
their dedication to the Mississippi members and their hard work at the
rally. It was very evident in all MEC areas. Now
before we close we would like to tell you about one more GREAT thing going
on in Region “A”. The September 2008 Growth Management Report shows
that Region “A” continues to grow.
Thanks to each and every one of you who either recruited a new
member or encouraged an expiring member to renew. Your hard work and
dedication is paying off! Thanks!!
Bob
& Karla
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Region "A" Couple of the Year Coordinators
International Couple of the Year 2007-2008
Jake & Joanne Jacob
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Well, 2008 is sure flying by! The rally season is winding to a close and
soon Chapter and District officers will be immersed in year-end reports
and officer conferences. As the Region Treasurer, I (Joanne) have a vested
interest in your chapters being prepared for year end. To that end, I will
have financial information at the Region officers meeting in early
December for District Treasurers/Directors. This will include information
on the revised 990 Form instructions and the e-postcard most Chapters file
yearly with the IRS. So I look forward to seeing you all at Ft. Bagby. Bob
Shrader wants Chapter and District Financial Reports in our hands earlier
this year. I am fully in
favor of that because it gives us more time to review them and ensure
their correctness before we communicate to National.
As always, I’m available to help you! Jake and I’ll be at the
Alabama and Florida officers’ conferences in early 2009 to assist the
District Treasurers in any way we can. On
the Couple of the Year front, now is the time chapters are looking at
their membership and selecting a Chapter Couple of the Year. It’s so
important for every Chapter to have a Couple of the Year. Ask any of us
who have done it (and most of you are included in that group) and I bet
you’ll hear how much fun and how rewarding the Couple of the Year
program is. Encourage your chapters to select a Couple, even if that
couple does not want to participate in your District selection process.
We’d love to have more couples in the District selection processes, but
the first step is getting Chapter Couples. So please encourage your CDs to
select a Couple. We know there is at least one (probably more) deserving
couple in every chapter or we wouldn’t have any chapters! Happy
Thanksgiving to all! Jake & Joanne |
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Bob & Cathy Singley
Region "A" Couple of the Year
2008 - 2009
|
On
a beautiful sunny fall day, October 4th, we had the chance to
visit with AL-W, the newest chartered Chapter in Alabama.
The occasion was their Renaissance Theme Chapter Kick-off Party at the home of Mack and Renee McInnis in Semmes,
Alabama. We had a
day of merriment as we visited
with friends from Alabama, Florida and Mississippi.
We ate so much food we could hardly breathe and played many of the
games. We played a new game
(for us) that included two people, a blindfold and clothes pins.
It was hilarious, but I recommend you play it with your spouse.
It’s a very close-up and personal game, and you’re in for a lot
of laughs and POINTS!! We
want to thank the Chapter Director, David Sumerlin and his wife Rita and
all of the participants of Chapter AL-W for a fun filled day.
This Chapter has so much enthusiasm, it’s contagious.
The
Mississippi Rally, October 16th, 17th and 18th
closed out the Region “A” Rally season for 2008.
Gregg and Pat Harbison did an outstanding job putting on their
first District Rally. All the
Staff and Chapter members worked hard to ensure that their guest had a
great time. We are so excited
and are looking forward to next year’s Rally in Tupelo, Mississippi. One
of the highlights for us at the rally was getting a chance to meet and
visit with the International Couple of the Year, Ken and Rita Moffitt from
Stockbridge, Michigan. We
hope to see them again soon and have more time to visit with them.
We think they are an amazing Couple and are a lot of fun to be
with. Another
highlight for us was, as Mississippi District Couple of the Year
Coordinators, presenting the new 2008-2009 Mississippi District Couple of
the Year, Doug and Wanda Moak of McComb.
We are excited for them as they begin their journey as the new
Mississippi District Couple of the Year. We
hope to see you soon as we continue to have fun
on our journey as the Region “A” Couple of the Year. Bob & Cathy |
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We
have a Classified Section on
the Region "A"
Site where
you
can post your items,
with a picture, that you have for
sale.
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