GAZETTE
Carolina Wings ● NC H2 ● Durham, NC ● April 2015
GWRRA
Ray & Sandy Garris, Ex. Dir.
Region N (Appalachian)
Mike and Angie Mitchell, Dir.
NC District
Bob & Dorothy Richards, Dir.
NC-H2
Don & Susan Harden, Dir.
GWRRA
Region N
NC District
NC-H2
Friends for Fun, Safety and Knowledge
Chapter Social April 16 at Mayflower Restaurant, 3742 SW Durham-Chapel Hill Drive in Durham.
Dinner 6:30, Gathering 7:30
Chapter Team
Directors
Don & Susan Harden
[email protected]
919-801-1759
Ways and Means
Rex & Diana Temple
[email protected]
919-528-0503
Assistant Director
Gary Harris
[email protected]
Couple of the Year
Open
[email protected]
Ride Programmer
Gary Harris
919-971-0345
Welcoming Committee
Educators
Sid & Terry Chambers
[email protected]
Membership Enhancement Coordinator
Dan Eakright
[email protected]
Treasurer
Terry Chambers
[email protected]
919-598-7843
Care Bear
Vanessa Battle
[email protected]
919-368-1281
Fun Coordinator
Dale Hyde
[email protected]
Special Events
Charles Glosson
[email protected]
336-213-7896
On the Foldover
There was brisk business going
on, on the trading floor at the
Swap Meet. Deal were struck,
money made games played and
loads of money made. It was
great fun for all.
[email protected]
Newsletter Editor
Webmaster
William Prince
[email protected]
252-528-9462
Chapter of the Year Coordinator
Blanche Dean
[email protected]
Chapter Mascots
El Toro & Sophia Winger
[email protected]
On the Cover
It was a long, hard winter. That
didn’t matter to the most enthusiast riders, but for we who are
more restrained, it meant walking by our bikes when it wasn’t
too cold in the garage and giving
it hopeful looks. Now that it’s
getting warmer it’s finally time.
Many of us have planned our
happy excursions, and some of us
have already taken our 2015 inaugural rides. HAPPY TRAILS.
Chapter Directors
Don & Susan Harden
W
e are entering another
riding season. I have already enjoyed several
beautiful days in which I was able
to ride my bike to work and back
home. Riding to work no only
saves me gas money but it also
seems to help set the mood for
the rest of the day. It is amazing
what a wonderful ride first thing
in the morning can do for your
soul. We have scheduled a maintenance day to be held at Gary
Harris’s house on May 2nd starting at 10 AM. Lunch will be provided by the chapter and Gary’s
grill for all that attend. This is an
excellent day to get the bike
tuned up and ready to roll for another summer of riding adventures.
This past Saturday I ran up to the
local big box store to purchase a
new grill. The old one had had it
and it was time to replace it so
that we would have a way to cook
the chicken, seems like chicken is
about the only thing we ever eat.
One the way I saw a couple of
large groups of motorcycles out
for a ride. By large group I mean
30 or more bikes most of them 2
up but they were all Harleys, not a
Wing in the bunch. This made me
think about the good old days
when we would have group rides
and a large number of Goldwings
would show up for a ride. What
happened? Where have our riders gone? When we have a chapter ride now days we are lucky if
we have 6 bikes show up and lost
of the time it seems like 3 has become the magical number. What
has happened that has caused so
many of our members to no
longer enjoy a nice beautiful
country ride with friends? I do
love riding with a large group and
the fresh air, the sunshine, the
feel of the country road while listening to my favorite music. I
hear a lot of folks talk about our
ageing members and when I go to
events the number of trikes seem
to be out numbering 2 wheelers
but where are all the trikes when
we have a group ride? I miss my
friends that share the love of riding our Goldwing’s together. I
wish I knew what those Harley
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folks are doing to get their members out in such huge numbers.
They are doing something right
that we are missing out on.
I do want to thank everyone that
attended our Swap Meet for coming out and supporting our event.
I also need to thank all of our H2
members that put so much time
and effort in to the event and for
working so hard. You guys are
great and thank you so much.
Please check the new ride calendar for April that was emailed out
on March 23rd and join us for our
next chapter ride. If you have
some favorite rides or places that
you would like to see on the ride
calendar just get with me and let’s
get it scheduled.
Ride Educators
Sid & Terry Chambers
Rider Education and You
A
lthough the weather did not
cooperate for our 2015
Swap Meet, it was still a
very successful event. Attendance
was down a little from last year,
but the amount of fun, friendship,
and knowledge did not diminish.
The Chapter staff thanks everyone
who helped with the Swap Meet. I
would especially like to thank Tom
and Carol Scully from Chapter E in
Cary for presenting the Co-Rider
and Motorist Awareness Seminars.
Sixteen GWRRA members attended the Co-Rider Seminar and 6
members attended the Motorist
Awareness Seminar. Although no
H2 members were able to attend
either of these seminars because
we were all working, almost 12%
of the Swap Meet participants
were able to attend a seminar.
Rider Education is still important
to our members. In that regard,
H2 members should attend these
seminars when they are offered at
other chapter and district events.
And best of all, they are all absolutely free!
During the past few weeks, I have
been preparing for my third “40 to
Phoenix” ride. Although it is a
month later than previous years,
there are a lot of different weather
conditions that can affect and influence this ride. One of the best
investments that I made for the
first ride was the purchase of
Gerbing heated jacket liner, pants,
gloves, and insoles. I hate being
cold. Last year, it was 16 degrees
when we left from Moriarity, New
Mexico. But I was toasty warm.
However, back in December and
January, I noticed that my jacket
and left glove were not heating up
properly. I decided to let Gerbing
make the repair. Although the
heating strips have a lifetime guarantee, the connectors only have a
one year guarantee. They made
the repairs for a very reasonable
charge and everything works great
now. Although it may be warmer
going out, my return route will be
farther to the north through Nevada, Utah, and Colorado. Higher
elevations can mean cooler or
even cold temperatures. But I will
be ready for the cold weather. I
have a saying that I use a lot. It is
better to have it and not need it
than to need it and not have it.
My preparations also include making sure that my Gold Wing is
ready for a 6,000 plus mile trip.
Even for a trip like this, T-CLOCS
still works great before, during,
and after the trip. If you have ever
replaced the air filter on a GL1800,
you know that it not a simple process. The maintenance schedule
says it should be replaced every
12,000 miles. Since this process is
labor intensive, it is not cheap
when your favorite motorcycle
shop does the work. I like to do the
most of my own maintenance and
decided early on that I would install a K&N filter when I first replaced the stock air filter. The
K&N can go up to 50,000 miles plus
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it can be cleaned, re-oiled and reused over and over. As part of my
motorcycle preparation, I cleaned
the filter even though it had only
been about 25,000 miles since I
last cleaned it. Although it was
only moderately dirty, I did discover the remains of 6 bumblebees
on top of the filter. I sure I would
have remembered riding through a
bunch of bumblebees! Like previous trips, I will change oil when I
get to Phoenix. After all is said and
done, my riding gear and motorcycle are ready for another long distance ride.
But there is one other part that
needs to be ready for the challenges of riding a long distance. Of
course, that would be me. Am I
mentally and physically ready to
make this ride? My pre-ride checklist says yes, but being ready
means being ready for each second
of the ride. Motorcycle riders must
be in control of their machine at all
times. To do otherwise could be
disastrous for you and me. Stuff
happens out there on the road that
you cannot predict. Murphy’s Law
cannot be repealed or ignored.
That is why I firmly believe in taking rider courses to help me be
ready for whatever comes my way
on the road. Is Rider Training for
you? My old saying still holds true:
It is better to have it and not need
it than to need it and not have it.
International
Anita & JR Alkire
Deputy Directors
The Year of the Healthy Chapter
T
here is definitely a theme to this Insight and it’s focused on the most
important area of GWRRA, the
healthy Chapter. The reason the Chapter
is so important is because that is where
the Members live and play. The Members come and visit the Districts, Regions
and even International at their events,
but the weekend rides, the social gatherings, the education weekends and even
parking lot practice all happen at the
Chapter level. For some time now we
have heard about concerns, so we are
addressing them from different sides in
hopes that you’ll find something that you
can take away and put into action. So I
don’t really think out of the box because
I have yet to find the box so I’ll just say
here are some interesting thoughts for
the health of a Chapter. It’s a bit long but
I hope you’ll read it to the end and find a
thought or two that you can use. I want
you to think for a few minutes about
your financials. No don’t stop reading,
this will be fun! Is the ending balance of
your financial for 2014 about the same as
2013? Maybe you can even look back
further and find this to be true. Ok, now,
what are your expenses for the year excluding any costs associated with your
annual fundraiser? Now that you know
what you need for money for a year, can
you raise that money without doing a
fundraiser? Could you raise the money if
you reduced or eliminated the
“registration fee”? Our Members are
telling us everyone wants in their pocket,
so it brought me to question the Chapter
finances and why we are doing some of
the things we are doing. A fundraiser
becomes a major event and we do it for a
few reasons: raise money; social gathering; and most importantly having FUN,
but they are a lot of work and maybe we
need to think of another way to accomplish those for reasons that aren’t the
way we’ve always done it. Am I challenging your thinking yet? Ok, let’s tackle
another concern that I have been asked
several times how to overcome. On the
Chapter TEAM/staff you have folks who
have done the same thing for years. They
do it the same way all the time because
whether they know it or not they have
become stale in their enthusiasm for the
role they think they love to hold. So at
your next business meeting, hand out an
index card or slip of paper and ask each
person to put their name and then the #1
and #2 “job/task” in the Chapter they
would love to do if they weren’t doing
the one they have. Gather the cards up
and review them. When you’re ready, no
more than by the next meeting, announce the TEAM/staff changes based
on what they want to do. It may leave
some opening so ask them to go out and
find someone new to take their old job.
They are now moving on so there shouldn’t be hard feelings which are what we
all worry about. Next thought, do you
use an agenda when you have your
monthly gathering? Is it the same one
from last month and the month before?
Agendas are great tools, they keep you
on track and make certain that you cover
what you need to, BUT is your agenda
boring??? So mix it up, let someone else
run the meeting, get your MEC to have a
fun game in the middle of the gathering,
have a guest speaker, put on a skit,
maybe even a Rider Ed skit on group riding, but make certain that you are having
fun! Remember that new Members come
to your monthly gathering and it’s your
only opportunity to make a great impression so they want to come back. So make
certain you have greeters and that new
person sits with someone who will “help”
them through the meeting and have
FUN! So where do you get the Members
to do some of this stuff? The easy and
usual answer is to tell you to go out and
recruit BUT I’ll share another idea. We
have this tool called the ARL, Area Report
List and we get a full list every quarter
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and monthly we get updates. I believe
this is a shared activity by the entire
TEAM not just the MEC. Take your ARL
and print out a sheet for each person on
the TEAM. Their task is to contact the
households on that list and ask them a
couple of questions. After they introduce
themselves on the phone, yes - phone,
tell them you have a couple of questions
and it will take just a few minutes of their
time. Here are some questions that you
can use but before you decide on the
ones to use know what outcome you are
looking to achieve. Are you trying to find
out why they have never come to a
Chapter event? Why they used to come
but don’t anymore? Can you invite them
to the next event of the Chapter? Can
you stay in touch with them and keep
them up to date? Are they on your email
distribution list for the Chapter so they
get information about upcoming events?
Do they receive your newsletter? Would
they like to receive your newsletter? So
with that, you might start with “I’m calling to find out if you’ve heard about our
Chapter?” “Would you be interested in
joining us at our next event?” “I’m calling
because we haven’t seen you in a while
and we’d like to have you join us again.”
You can make up a script to use, just remember it’s just a guide to help someone
organize their thoughts. Here’s the point,
if we were to bring into the Chapter all
those folks who have joined GWRRA and
we have never seen in our Chapter, we
could grow our Chapters handsomely.
The sad truth is that only about 25% of
the GWRRA membership engages with a
Chapter. That means we have 75% who
are just waiting for your phone call and
that invitation to come out and have fun,
play and ride! We owe it to them and our
Chapters to get those folks involved! I
hope that one or more of these ideas are
something you can use to improve the
health of your Chapter and you’ll experience the very best year ever!
Regional
Jim & Beverly Rambo
Region N Trainer
Changes Ahead
I
f you were to accuse me of being the little boy crying wolf
when I write of changes that
are developing in the Gold Wing
University, I’d have to plead Not
Guilty. If you remember the morale of that Aesop’s Fable, the little boy had been tricking the villagers into thinking that their
flocks of sheep were under threat
from a nearby wolf. But when the
wolf actually showed up, none of
the villagers paid any attention to
the cries of “Wolf” thinking that
the little boy was lying again. I’ve
been writing about the constant
progression on changes that have
been taking place within the Gold
Wing University. So far, most of
those changes have been well received. For instance, the change
that eliminated the need/ requirement for Senior and Master University Trainers to write original,
suitable for publication, articles in
order to qualify for recertification
was almost universally welcomed.
Over the past few months I’ve
shared the development of a new
recognition program with you that
we created here in Region N. The
Gold Wing University Trainer of
the Year has been launched and
the District Trainers are ready to
receive nominations for that recognition. I think that I may have
mentioned that the structure of
the Gold Wing University will be
undergoing some changes as well.
One of the beneficial things that
will be coming as a result will be a
single, revised and updated, combined handbook for all of the programs. That would include Operations, Rider Education, Training,
and Membership Enhancement.
BUT one of the best, and most significant changes, will be that nothing will be rolled-out or published
until all of the details have been
thoroughly worked through. And
for me…that is a MAJOR positive
change. The anticipated date for
that project to be completed is in
mid-2016. Other areas being revised include the Seminar Library,
the Horizon Program, Officer Certification Program, and methodology in which training is conducted
within the Association. In looking
at the Seminar Library we all recognize that several of the seminars are out-of-date, have duplicated information which actually
Page 6
may or may not be in agreement
with each other. Over the next
few months ALL of the seminars in
the library will be reviewed. Some
will be taken off the shelf. Some
will be rewritten and revised. And
a NEW group of seminars added.
As Joe Price, Director of Training,
stated, “We each have a choice to
be one of three people in the
midst of change: 1) make things
happen; 2) watch things happen;
or 3) ask, 'what just happened?”.
I’m so happy to be working with a
group of District Trainers who are
in that first group, Making Things
Happen. We’ll be talking about
these changes and others that are
in the pipeline during our LTP
Breakout Session at the Region N
Operations Meeting March 7th.
But enough of all that…let’s go out
and TCLOC our bikes and get
ready to do some riding!
District
Susan & George Huttman
NC District Educator
O
ne of the most difficult
tasks for a GWRRA chapter
director is maintaining the
balance between what it means to
be GWRRA member and what it
means to be a chapter participant.
It is not always easy to promote
the Association while representing
those who call their chapter
“home”. It can be more difficult
when the distinction between the
terms “GWRRA member” and
“Chapter participant” are blurred
and individuals consider their
home chapter a private “club”.
Every person with a current membership card is a member of the
Gold Wing Road Riders Association paying monetary dues for
their individual, family or associate membership. No one pays
dues at the chapter level and any
member of GWRRA can take part
in the activities at any single
GWRRA chapter, multiple chapters or, if one chooses, no chapters at all. A chapter’s success can
be measured in different ways.
Having participants engaged in
volunteering for positions and
projects helps everyone feel included and takes a lot of the burden off the chapter staff. This can
make it possible for the director
to take care of their responsibilities without the undue pressure
of covering vacant staff positions.
Another benefit of participant
support is the higher level of visitation to other chapters which in
turn brings more members to
their gatherings and events. The
club mentality however, can detract from the enjoyment both
your chapter participants and
other GWRRA members experi-
Page 7
ence as a chapter’s circle tightens
and begins to exclude. When a
chapter’s participants become territorial the results can be hurt
feelings, decreased member retention and in some cases, a chapter closure. So, what can a director do to avoid negative chapter
reputation? Start by creating an
atmosphere of community. Make
each of your chapter participants
feel valued for their support and
encourage them to share ideas.
Think about the GWRRA philosophy and how it can be demonstrated during your gatherings
and events. Seek the advice of
your area’s Assistant District Director. Consider attending Leadership Training seminars or contact
your District Trainer to bring Leadership training to your chapter.
Offer activities of inclusion to connect with visitors and promote
partnerships with neighboring
chapters when planning rides and
events. Sharing what you enjoy
with others can only strengthen
the bonds you share as GWRRA
members and produce an upbeat,
active and thriving chapter with
participants who welcome all
members and visitors with genuine enthusiasm. Your NC District
Leadership Training Program offers a full set of seminar choices
to boost participant interest to
take on a more active role in
chapter life and better understand
what “Friends for Fun, Safety and
Frances Averette
1
Sid Chambers
1985
Tom Wilson
10
Charles Glosson
20
None
This
Month
Larry Dean
23
Terry Chambers
1985
Linda Jackson
1999
William Prince
2012
Randy Jackson
26
Page 8
Riley’s Bike and Trike
510 W Center Street (HWY 70) Mebane,
North Carolina 27302
(919) 304-4580
Sunday
Monday
Apr 16
Chapter Social
6:30/ 7:30.
Mayflower
Seafood Restaurant, 3742
Chapel Hill Blvd
Apr 12
Operations
and Planning
Meeting
5
6
Tuesday
Wednesday
1
2
Friday
3
Birthday, Fran- G High Point
ces Averette
D Greenville
V Statesville
Cancelled
7
8
C2 Smithfield
12
13
14
Operations and
Planning Meeting
X Wake Forest
B2 WinstonSalem
P2 Forest City
Z Rocky Mount
19
20
21
O2 Hickory
D2 New Bern
E Cary
W Eden
L Gastonia
Birthday,
M Salisbury
Charles Glosson
26
27
Fourth Sunday
Breakfast
Birthday,
Randy Jackson
Thursday
28
R Thomasville
15
29
4
G2 Waynesville
Y2 Monroe
9
10
11
A Greensboro
T2 Albemarle
Birthday, Tom
Wilson
L2 Mooresville
X2 Wilkesboro
U2 Laurenburg
16
17
18
F2 Garner
E2 Elizabeth
City
22
Saturday
23
M2 Hendersonville
Q Wilmington
24
25
N Burlington
Birthday, Larry
Dean
Y Morganton
S2 Sanford
I Asheville
30
Apr 26
Fourth Sunday Breakfast.
9:30am Silver
Spoon Restaurant. 5230 N.
Roxboro Rd.
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
May 21
Chapter Social
6:30/ 7:30.
Mayflower
Seafood Restaurant, 3742
Chapel Hill Blvd
May 17
Operations
and Planning
Meeting 3 PM
Gorman Christian Academy,
3311 East Geer
Street
May 24
Fourth Sunday Breakfast.
9:30am Silver
Spoon Restaurant. 5230 N.
Roxboro Rd.
May 18
Bike Maintenance Day
9:00am 4051
Cedar Hill Rd.,
Haw River
3
4
5
6
C2 Smithfield
10
11
12
Operations and
Planning Meeting
X Wake Forest
B2 WinstonSalem
P2 Forest City
Z Rocky Mount
Anniversary,
Vanessa Battle
17
18
19
O2 Hickory
D2 New Bern
W Eden
E Cary
L Gastonia
M Salisbury
24
25
26
Fourth Sunday
Breakfast
31
R Thomasville
Thursday
Friday
1
20
7
8
9
L2 Mooresville
X2 Wilkesboro
U2 Laurenburg
14
15
A Greensboro
T2 Albemarle
Birthday, Robin
Higgenbotham
Birthday, Danny M2 HendersonBowland
ville
Q Wilmington
21
22
H2 Durham
F2 Garner
E2 Elizabeth
City
Birthday, Terry
Chambers
Anniversary, Sid
& Terry Sanders
27
2
G2 Waynesville
Y2 Monroe
G High Point
D Greenville
V Statesville
13
Saturday
28
N Burlington
16
23
Y Morganton
S2 Sanford
I Asheville
29
30
The Open Road Calls
Upcoming Events in April
April 10
Second Friday Dinner Ride
7 PM
Smash Burger
2608 Erwin Rd.
April 12
Operations and Planning Meeting
Cancelled
April 18
Y2 Open House
9 AM
Iron Horse Motorcycles
1600 W Roosevelt Blvd, Monroe
April 12
Schroader’s Honda Open House
220 Mitchelle Dr.
Henderville
April 23-25
TN District Spring Fling
Camp Jordan Arena
323 Camp Jordan Pkwy
East Ridge (Chattanooga)
April 26
Fourth Sunday Breakfast
Silver Spoon Restaurant
5230 N. Roxboro Rd.
April 16
Chapter Social
6:30/7:30
Mayflower Seafood Restaurant
3742 Chapel Hill Blvd.
Page 15
GWRRA-NCH2
c/o William Prince
1149 Shasta Court
Creedmoor, NC 27522