|
Friends for
Fun, Safety, and Knowledge |
||
|
Mike Wright GWRRA President
(800) 843-9460 mikew@gwrra.org |
Jere & Linda Goodman NE Region Director (908) 874-5698 (voice) (908) 874-4126 (fax) |
Dick (Richard) Norton NE Region Rider Educator (315)
342-7438 safewing@nycap.rr.com |
|
Dottie & Ed Bahrenburg NE Region Trainer 607-648-4351 |
Tony & Shelly Van Schaick NE Region Newsletter Editor (315)
342-7438 avansch1@twcny.rr.com |
Wayne & Cathie Ketenheim Medic First Aid CPR/FA
Coordinator (814) 255-3032 |
|
Mort & Ruth Smith NE Region Public Relations (610)-264-8469 |
Allan & Suzanne Waer NE Region Recruiter (570) 833-2414 |
Open NE Reg. COY Coordinators |
|
David & Lynn Van Dresar NE Region MAD (814) 587-6525 |
Frank Germo NE Reg. Asst. Rider
Educator (856) 667-5417 |
Mike & Julie Walters NE Region COY 2004-5 (856) 461-0388 |
|
Joe Sweet NE Reg. Web Master (410) 879-5035 joe.sweet@netzero.com
|
Northeast
Region website at http://sky.prohosting.com/regionb/
|
Lori Goens NE Region
Treasurer (973) 875-8070 |
|
Beep! |
||
M A K
E - A - D I F F
E R E
N C E
Hello Everyone,
Please be advised that one
additional year will be added to the Chapter Director's tenure beginning in 2005. This additional year has been
suggested by many of you as a way to give existing chapter directors more time
to implement their programs and to also diminish the difficulty of finding
replacements. If you currently have situations where you can use this additional
year right now, please do so.
In summary, a Chapter Director's
term of office is three one year renewals and if promoted to Senior Chapter Director,
two additional one year renewals making a total of 5 years in office. This
change is in process of being added to the Officer Guidelines.
Tax Season -
Filing IRS 990 and UBI!
It is that time of year again, Tax
Filing Season, and we must be sure that everyone is aware of what is required
and what needs to be done to satisfy IRS and State requirements for the
treatment of income. We have included a link to GWRRA Finances that covers the
subject in detail. We have also included a link to an article on Fiduciary
Responsibility and last but not least, an attachment [available from your
District Director] that explains the "what, why, when, where, etc. of
taxes.
The link to the IRS Discussion is:http://www.inbradio.com/demo/slideshow/GWRRA_IRS_Finances_files/default.htm
Attached
[sent to all District Directors] is the Fiduciary Responsibility article - which
used to be called Chapter Finances - the Good, the Bad and the Ugly. The
original article can be found in the Motorcycle Sounds archives at: http://www.gwrra.org/officers/articles/article_Mike1102.html
There is no easy way to get
around this issue and I do want everyone to know that IRS is currently
conducting an audit of one of our Districts. In the past IRS has audited
chapters and I'm just as certain as I can be that they will being conducting
more audits as time goes one, chapters, districts and regions.
Please do not fall into the trap of
short cuts or incomplete reporting as it will only come back to haunt you. Give
the Accountant "all" financial information and "all"
revenue streams as well as expenses. Include EVERYTHING, raffles, rally income,
bike raffles, etc. Do NOT and I repeat, DO NOT EXCLUDE ANYTHING FOR ANY REASON.
If you have any questions, please
let us know however, distribute this information upon receipt to your DD's,
Chapters, etc.
Mike Wright
President and Executive Director
New National Staff
Effective January 1st,
Donnie & Charlotte Mardis of Hatton, Alabama are the new GWRRA Couple of
the Year Program - National Coordinators. They are part of Chapter AL-K, where
they serve as Assistant Chapter Directors, and are the Membership Enhancement
Division District Coordinators for Alabama. At Wing Ding in 2002 they were
International Couple of the Year Candidates, representing Region "A".
They are responsible for overseeing the GWRRA Couple of Year Program. Donnie
& Charlotte will be coordinating the International Couple of the Year
Selection Process at Wing Ding in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Also effective January 1st
, Robert "Lumpy" & Diane Lumpkin of Tucson, Arizona are the new
GWRRA Fun Activities - National Coordinators. They are Life Members of the
GWRRA and have held numerous positions, including Arizona District Directors.
The "Fun Activities Guide" is available on the web-site. It is
especially designed for use by Chapter Activities Coordinators. You can expect
to see Lumpy & Diane presenting FUN seminars at Wing Ding in Fort Wayne,
Indiana.
More information is available from the GWRRA-MED Web-Site
at: http://www.gwrra.org/regional/med/
Steve
Johnson
GWRRA National Director Membership Enhancement Division
GWRRA Returns to Fort Wayne, IN
Come celebrate Wing Ding XXVII with
the rest of your GWRRA friends and family! The event will be held from July 4 -
7, 2005.
NEWS FROM THE REGION
From the Region Director
Friends◦Unity◦NE Region
Considering that it is 8 degrees as I am writing this, I guess we
can say that winter has arrived, at least here in New Jersey. I just came back
from a National Sales Meeting in Orlando with a low of 42 degrees. Watching
fireworks at Disney under a heater was an interesting experience. That aside, a
happy February and Happy Valentine’s Day to all.
International
recently announced an increase from 2-3 years on the Tenure for Chapter
Directors. Some of the CD’s were concerned that we would force them to stay a 3rd
year. Relax, we are a volunteer organization and do not force anyone. Now, we
may do a little arm twisting on occasion, but the arm heals quickly. All
kidding aside, this is excellent news as it will allow a new Chapter Director
to learn during their 1st year without being a “lame duck” during
their second year. This is a positive move that will be of tremendous value to
our Chapter structure.
I understand that
Winterthing went very well and my congratulations to Fred Haynes & the
Maryland District for kicking off the year in style. Sorry I missed the event,
but I had the opportunity to work a trade show that weekend in Boston…lucky me!
The weekend was extra special as I also had the flu! Linda felt bad for me, so
she had the flu too!
You will notice
that International has a new theme… “Make A Difference.” This is a theme that is applicable to all of us, because each of
us has within ourselves the ability to “Make A Difference.”
I will keep this
short as our first major snow event of the year is due to arrive shortly. The
best way to protect your back during shoveling is to find someone else to
shovel.
Be well, ride
safe, and visit a Chapter! GO EAGLES!!!!!
Sincerely, Jere & Linda Goodman
Northeast Region Directors
BEEP! BEEP!
Rider
Education
Happy January everyone
Ahhh January, cold, snowy, slippery,
don’tcha just love it? YUCK!!!
Happy New Year to you all. I hope 2005 will
bring with it all the best riding, and all the safety chrome your trusty
motorcycle can hold. Along with that I hope you’ll all make use of the many
safety courses that GWRRA has to offer. These cold winter days are a perfect
time to schedule a Medic FA course, a CPR or First course through one of your
local fire departments or rescue squads, or how about a Co-Rider course?
Winter
brings skiing, snowmobile riding, sledding and tobogganing, ice skating, well,
you get the idea. Winter also brings with it the chance of you getting
Frostbite, Hypothermia, and Carbon monoxide poisoning.
Frostbite: Your hands, face, ears, and nose are
the easiest targets for frostbite. That’s when your skin and underlying tissues
freeze. Your skin may turn gray or yellowish, or in severe cases, may become
waxy or pale. If you think you may have frostbite go inside and remove tight
clothing. Call for medical help and thaw the affected area in warm water for
about 20 to 40 minutes or until help arrives.
Hypothermia: This condition can occur when you are
exposed to frigid temperatures for so long that your body loses more heat than
it can produce. Some of the warning signs are shivering, cold pale skin, slow
breathing, clumsy movement, disorientation, and slurred speech. To treat
hypothermia you need to warm up. Get inside and call for medical help, change
into warm dry clothes and cover yourself with blankets.
Carbon monoxide poisoning: Carbon monoxide (CO) is
a colorless, odorless, and tasteless toxic gas. It is produced by common
household devices like gas hot water heaters, stoves, and dryers. Also
fireplaces, wood-stoves, and cars. Symptoms of CO poisoning include headache,
nausea, vomiting, and unconsciousness.
Make
sure your furnaces and water heaters are not cracked or malfunctioning, and
that chimneys are not blocked. Never leave a vehicle running in your garage.
You should also install CO detectors on each floor and near your gas burning
appliances.
I was talking with Howard Fingerhut (NJ DE)
a week or so ago and he told me about his Districts web site, in particular the
Rider Ed portion. The man is organized.
He has spent a lot of time incorporating and arranging a host of topics
relating to Rider Ed. I recommend that if you have some time, check it out,
especially if you are a new Chapter Educator. Need some ideas for your next
newsletter? You might come up with some after you look at this site. Just
remember to give credit where credit is due.
I
really don’t mean to slight anyone else’s web page because I’ve seen some
really great ones, I just thought I’d pass this one along today.
Have you heard that the Northeast
Region is holding a Fun Shop on
April 2, 2005? It has probably been mentioned elsewhere in this newsletter but
I want to mention it from a Rider Ed. Point of view. There will be 3 Rider Ed
seminars during the day 1 of which will be Road Captain (minus the ride
section) and 1 will be the Co-Rider seminar. We’re still thinking about the 3rd
one. On Sunday morning April 3rd there will be training to become a
Leadership Training Instructor or a Rider
Education Seminar Presenter. So here’s your chance to become a
certified seminar presenter. I’ll be there, will you?
Dick Norton
Northeast Region Educator
Medic First Aid
Hi All Wingers
Wow
it's half way thought February and no snow but one of these days we will wake
up and have to wade though it up to our knees. We have 4 classes lined up so
far and will get more so if your Chapter would like to have a class get in
touch with me and I'll get it lined up.
We need some more CPR/FA instructors so if any of you that now hold a CPR card
and would like to become a instructor let me know so we can get a instructor
course up and running.
Larry Stiles will giving a instructor trainer course at Wing Ding in Ft. Wayne
this year, so if any of you that are CPR/FA instructors that would like to
become a trainer let Larry Stiles or myself know.
Drive safe out there and have fun.
Wayne & Cathie Ketenheim
Northeast Region Medic First Aid CPR/FA
Coordinators
In
February, the Focus is on the Heart!
Isn’t it amazing how fast the New
Year is flying by? It seems like we
just celebrated the arrival of 2005 and already February is here.
In February the focus is on the
Heart! It is the month when we celebrate
Valentine’s Day with cards, flowers, and heart-shaped boxes of chocolate. It is also the month that the American Heart
Association kicks off the “healthy heart” program. And, it is the month to focus on what is at the Heart of GWRRA.
This January, Ed and I traveled
through the snow to the Maryland District Winter Thing in Ocean City,
Maryland. This is an event we try not
to miss! It makes a great Winter
Get-Away for those of us from the snowy north.
But, it also reawakens the knowledge of what is at the very “heart” of
GWRRA.
At the Heart of GWRRA is its’
members. It is the members who keep the
enthusiasm and passion flowing through the organization. It is the members who keep the organization
strong and provide new ideas, new programs, and new energy. It is the members who keep the organization
healthy, vibrant and alive.
Also at the heart of GWRRA is its’
volunteer leaders. These leaders are
dedicated to the motto; Friends for Fun,
Safety, and Knowledge. GWRRA
volunteer leaders work tirelessly with their staff to make sure that each and
every member at the heart of the organization is appreciated and having
FUN!
It is the challenge of GWRRA
leadership to engage the heart of the organization. Nourish the development of the members and support their
emotional and intellectual growth.
At
Winter Thing, we laughed so hard we cried, we learned from some great
instructors, we rekindled friendships…and we experienced the warm heart of
GWRRA.
Don’t forget the FunShop NE Training
Day!
Leadership Training, Rider Education,
Motorist Awareness Division
April 2, 2005
Binghamton, NY
Register by March 8, 2005
For a flyer, email wingin-it@stny.rr.com
Dottie &
Ed Bahrenburg,
Northeast
Region Trainers
COY CORNER 2004
Hi All,
Just want to pass on some great information from National
concerning the “Couple of the Year Program Guidelines”. Our new Couple of the
Year Program Coordinators, Donnie and Charlotte Mardis along with suggestions
of others, have updated the previous 2002 version.
There are two major changes and a few others in the
“Couple of the Year Program that is worth mentioning:
To view the new guidelines
please go to the COY portion of the Membership Enhancement Division Web-site at
http://www.gwrra.org/regional/med/coy.html or contact me and I will send you a copy.
Mike and I are always available, so please feel free to
contact us with any questions.
A
Room full of COY’s
Mike and I recently visited Chapter
PA-Y and what a great group of people!
They are lively, funny, and very friendly. They had 72 men, women and children, even Santa was there. You can tell they are having so much fun and
I found it to be contagious. Their
hospitality was beyond what words could say, so I will put in one word “AWESOME”. We had so much fun and felt so at
home.
I am not sure if PA-Y planned it, I
think they must have made a call out to all present and past COY’s because the
room was packed with them:
(I hope I didn’t forget anyone). If I did I am so sorry, I was just so
excited when I was there visiting that sometimes I have a tendency to forget
things (don’t tell anyone).
It was one of the greatest
opportunities I ever had. To be in a
room full of those couples that help make GWRRA what it is. Was like being a kid in a candy store, but
better!
Thank you PA-Y …you have a great
chapter…you are fun, enthusiastic and friendly, you make your visitors feel at
home! It’s no wonder why you are happy
and growing!
See you next month,
Mike
& Julie Walters
Northeast
Region COY 2005
Membership Recruiting and Retention
5
Heart Bar Earners
Dan Kenney, from Mechanicsville, Maryland has recently earned
recognition in the Find-A-Friend recruiting program by convincing at least 5
new Members to join in the fun we have in GWRRA. People like Dan are doing us all the favor of finding new friends
for us to meet in the future. More members increase our clout when we try to
retain or increase membership benefits. Everybody wins! We all work together
for a common goal. This means 5 more new Members to share with as Friends for
Fun, Safety and Knowledge.
Public Relations
OUR
2004 GWRRA YEAR
Can you believe it, the year 2004
has come to a close, seems like just yesterday we were saying this about
2003. Ruth and I had a wonderful fun
packed GWRRA year with visits to many chapters as well as picnics, dances,
parties, and attending 5 District Rallies.
Folks if you are not getting out there and doing some of these things
you are missing out on one of the greatest fun filled times of your life.
The endless group of people you meet
is worth every minute of it. There is
no way that you can go to these affairs and not meet people. Its so easy all you have to do is walk up to
someone and say hello and how are you.
The next thing you know you’ll be sharing stories about each other’s
life. That’s right. Its that easy. Next
time, try it and you’ll see for yourselves.
First let’s talk about visiting
chapters. Of course distance plays a
part in these visits but if you plan you can make it work. Its always fun to see how things are done in
other chapters and to be able to break bread together and just sit and laugh
and have fun. You’ll find that chapters
have personalities just as people do.
You may find a different way of doing some things in your own
chapter. Then of course there are visits
from these chapters to your chapter. It
is just one big happy family. We enjoy
these visits and look forward to doing them.
Some of our most fond memories come from these visits and will stick in
our minds forever. The same goes for the dances and parties.
Now lets talk about the District
Rallies. As I mentioned earlier we were extremely happy to be able to attend 5
District Rallies in 2004. The first was
the New Jersey Rally called the New Jersey Beach Party held in North
Wildwood. It was held at the boardwalk
so you could go swimming in the Ocean, lay on the beach, walk on the boardwalk,
ride your bike along the New Jersey Shoreline up to Atlantic City to try you’re
luck or just stick around the motel and
converse with the people. We had a
wonderful fun packed weekend with our N.J. GWRRA friends and will be attending
again next year.
The second District Rally we
attended was the New England District Rally which was held in Gorham, New
Hampshire. For this rally all six of
the New England Districts get together and held one large rally which works out
very well. The town of Gorham is in the
northern part of New Hampshire close to the Canadian border with all of its
north-country beauty. This is moose
country but unfortunately we didn’t see one.
It was a great rally with GOOD food.
Next was the Maryland-Delaware, which is a combined rally due to
Delaware’s size. Its very difficult to
run a District rally when you only have a few chapters from which you have to
draw your support. By joining with
Maryland they were able to have a very nice rally which we greatly
enjoyed. The District Director of
Delaware got married at the rally as all their GWRRA friends celebrated with
the new couple. Like we told you every
District Rally has something different to present. You never know.
The next District Rally was
Pennsylvania, our home state, of which we are on the District Staff and help
plan and present. It was likewise a
great rally with its many vendors, hat contest, light parade, slot car race,
great food and banquet. Due to good weather the members were able to ride
through the Lancaster area which is famous for the Mennonite-Amish people who
populate this area living their religious lifestyle. This rally was a little
different for us as we are volunteer staff so we worked our way through this
one to help our GWRRA friends enjoy our PA Rally.
The last rally for us this year was
the Virginia District Rally which has come to be known as the RALLY IN THE
VALLEY. This rally is in October in Salem
Virginia and draws quite a crowd as it is the last rally of the season in our
area and people want one more blast before calling it quits for the year. With their many vendors, bike show, good
food, great entertainment, light parade, etc, it’s a very entertaining
rally.
We hope that by reading some of our
experiences for the year 2004 we can build some excitement in you folks out
there to sit down and take a look at what you might be able to achieve for the
upcoming year of 2005. We hope that you
will sit down and plan a GWRRA year for yourselves that will allow you to enjoy
this organization as we have, because that’s what its all about ENJOYMENT. So check your part of the country for what
it has to offer and start planning. Oh
yes, don’ t forget about adding “WING DING” over July 4th in Fort
Wayne, Indiana.
Please ride safe and check out all the “knowledge” on the
MED website at: http://www,gwrra.org/regional/med
Mort & Ruth Smith
International PR Newsletter Editors; N.E., Northeast Region, PA.
District PR Coordinators
NE
Region & District Web Pages
Northeast Region B at .............. http://sky.prohosting.com/regionb
Connecticut at ......................... http://www.gwrra-ct.org
Maine at .................................. http://www.geocities.com/gwrramaine/index.html
Maryland at ............................. http://sky.prohosting.com/regionb/maryland
Massachusetts at .................... http://www.gwrrama.org
Delaware at ............................. http://www.homestead.com/ gwrrade/index.html
New Jersey at .......................... http://www.gwrranj.org
Pennsylvania at ....................... http://www.gwrrapadist.org
New York at ............................ http://www.tier.net/~gwrra/district/nydistrict/htm
Rhode Island at ........................ http://www.gwrra-ri.org
Vermont at .............................. http://users.adelphia.net/~trikeinvt/index.html
If yours isn’t listed, drop a line at avansch1@twcny.rr.com
and we will ensure it gets recognition!
Remember
the District Events in our Region count towards the Visit-A-District program
for visitation bars.
2005 Events:
Feb. 3-6,
IL District Winter Warmup, Bloomington, IL
Feb. 4-6, VA District Wingless Weekend,
Williamsburg
Feb. 11-13, OH District Cabin Fever, Columbus,
OH
Feb. 18-19, MI District Wingless Weekend,
Lansing, MI
Mar. 17-19, FL District Rally, Kissimmee, FL
Mar. 19, Region D Fun Shop, Ft. Wayne, IN
Mar. 31-April 2, AL District Rally, Mobile, AL
Apr. 2,
Northeast Region "Fun Shop
NE", Binghamton, NY (LTD, Rider Ed, MAD)
Apr. 7-9, LA District Rally, Lafayette, LA
Apr. 21-23, TN District Rally Wing Fling,
Pigeon Forge
Apr. 22-24, KS District Campout, Fall River, KS
May 5-7, SC District Rally, Myrtle Beach, SC
May 5-7, MO District Rally, Branson, MO
May 12-14, TX District Rally, Wichita Falls, TX
May
21, WI District Dust Off, TBA
May 19-21, Region N Rally, Maggie Valley, NC
May 19-21, AR District Rally, Bismarck, AR
May 20-21, IN District Spring Wing Warmup,
Bloomington, IN
May 26-30, Region F/CO District Rally,
Montrose, CO
June 9-11, OK District Rally, Stillwater, OK
June 11-12, UT District Rally, Price, UT
June 16-18, GA District Rally, Hiawassee,
GA
June 16-19, OR District Rally, Tillamook, OR
June
17-18, WI District Rally, Cable, WI
June 17-19, OH District Rally, Ashland, OH
June 17-19, WY District Rally, Green River, WY
June 24-25, NE District Rally, Grand Island, NE
July
4-7, Wing Ding, Ft. Wayne, IN
July 20,
Ride to Work Day
July
21-23, New England Districts Rally (ME, VT, NH, MA, RI, CT), Bethel, ME
July 22-23, Tri-State Jamboree (MN, ND, &
SD Districts) Rochester, MN
July 28-30, WA District Rally, Lynden, WA
July 29 - Aug. 1, Region J Rally, Chemainus, BC
Aug. 5-6, MI District Rally, Midland, MI
Aug.
11-13, NY District Rally, Watertown, NY
Aug. 12-14, NM District Rally, Taos, NM
Aug. 21,
Heaven’s Riders Day
Aug.
25-28, PA District Rally, Lancaster, PA
Aug. 25-27, KY District Rally, Paducah, KY
Sept. 2-4?, CA District Rally, Bakersfield, CA
Sept.
8-10, NJ District Rally, Mt. Olive, NJ
Sept. 8-10, Region A Rally, Helen, GA
Sept. 22-24, NC District Rally, Wings Over the
Smokies, Fletcher, NC
Sept. 23-25, KS District Rally, Winfield, KS
Sept. 23-25, AZ District Rally, TBA
October 6-9, VA District Rally in the Valley,
Salem, VA
Oct. 13-15, MS District Rally, Biloxi, MS
Oct. TBA, Region H Rally, TBA
TBA,
Region L Rally, Moncton, NB
LET US KNOW WHERE YOUR EVENT FITS IN FOR 2005-6
Saturday, April 2, 2005…
8:30
AM - 5:00 PM
Keynote Address: Bruce Malson, National
Director
Motorist Awareness Division
Seminars, Games, Skits, Raffle, 50 / 50
Friday Night Networking & Hospitality Room
Sunday, April 3, 2005, Training will be offered for
those interested in becoming a Rider Education Seminar Presenter or Leadership
Training Instructor
Binghamton Regency Hotel
& Conference Center
Binghamton, NY
Room cost:
Double $69, Triple $79, Quad $89. Reservations: call 1-800-723-7676 and mention GWRRA before March 8, 2005
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rider:
_______________________________ GWRRA
#: ____________
Co-Rider:
_____________________________GWRRA #: ____________
Chapter
& District: ____________________________________________
Address:
_____________________________________________________
Phone:
_______________________ Cost (#
attending x $5 =) _________
(#) ________ will attend
Sunday LTI or RE Seminar Presenter Training
Send registration &
check (payable to GWRRA Region B) no later than March 8, 2005 to: Dottie
Bahrenburg, Northeast Region Trainer
P.O. Box 448, Chenango Bridge, NY 13745
Questions: email wingin-it@stny.rr.com or by phone
607-648-4351
Schedule of Events
Friday, April 1, 6-9 PM April Fool’s Day, Get-together and be
FOOOOOOlish!
Saturday,
April 2 8:30 Registration & coffee
8:45 Welcome & Directions for
the Day
9:10 Choice of seminar A, B, or C
10:10 Break
10:50 Choice of seminar D, E, or F
11:50 Lunch (on your own)
1:00 Keynote Speaker: Bruce Malson,
Motorist Awareness Division
2:00 Short Break
2:10 Choice of seminar G, H, or I
3:10 Break
3:30 Choice of Seminar J, K, or L
4:30 Closing Remarks, Announcements,
Evaluation, 50/50, Tire Raffle etc.
Sunday, April 3 9
– 12 Training to become
Certified as a Leadership Training Instructor (LTI) or Rider Education Seminar
Presenter
Seminars:
A Focus
on Retention
B Dealing
Effectively with Conflict
C Rider
Education (Co-Rider)
D Safe
Writing Skills
E Road
Rage
F Motorist
Awareness Division Overview
G Smart
Moves
H Increase
Chapter Participation
I Rider
Education (Road Captain Seminar)
J Fun(ny)
Life of a Chapter Director
K Newsletter
Seminar (Bring a copy of your newsletter for Peer Review )
L Rider
Education (TBA)
