GWRRA Chapter NE- W Region E Scottsbluff, NE. March 2015 Inside This Issue 1-3 Directors’ Dialogue 3-4 THINKING ABOUT…. 5 . Calendar of Events  Chapter Directors : Steve & Jennie Knode  Ass’t Directors: Steve & Amy Hodges  Treasurer: Phil Kelly  Ride coordinator: Phil Kelly  Newsletter Editor: Sheryl Mc Lean  IOY: Tom Casselman  COY: Greg and Rendy France  Chapter Educator: Michael Olson If you didn't attend the Cabin Fever Weekend, you missed a good time. We always have a good time and while it's a haul to go from the West Coast to Norfolk in the winter, it's really worth the trip. This year Chapter W came home with the cash. Sherry started us off by being drawn to go pull a ticket that had the amount she won and pulled out $20. Before she could sit down they pulled her number again and won ANOTHER $20. Michael did his part winning $20 and my number was picked and I was fortunate enough to pull the big prize ticket and won $100. Like someone in crowd said, it helped pay for the gas we've been buying driving back and forth to Kentucky so much over the last few months. Then there was a contest where we listened to 83 songs from TV shows and had to identify what TV show it was from. Yours truly was able to come up with the most correct answers and won a decorative, lighted wine bottle. There were some business items that came up, primarily concerning the District Rally in Sioux Falls next June. One thing we need to do at this rally or any rally, really, is to reserve your room from the block of rooms usually available. Meeting rooms and other perks are many times provided for free IF we meet the quota of rooms determined by the hotel. A block of rooms is then set aside for us. Failing to meet the quota results in the hosting division having to PAY for those meeting rooms, etc. So you may save a couple of dollars using other hotel booking sites but you risk costing the District or Region a lot of money if they have to pay for the meeting rooms. Also, I did not volunteer our Chapter for a specific time on the Registration desk at the District rally since so many of us are going to Reno and will only have a day, or two at the most, to repack and ride to Sioux Falls by that Thursday. Those of us who do make the trip should offer to help out a Chapter working Registration if they are shorthanded or maybe need a break Speaking of Kentucky earlier, we have a contract on a place now. We will be moving in to a house with a farm near Eddyville, KY, which will be about 50 minutes from our youngest daughter and her family, and about 4 1/2 hours from our oldest daughter and her family. We have 6 months to close which will give me time to sell the farm and our house so anytime after the farm sells we could be moving. 2 Director’s Dialogue Con Our future "Ol' Kentucky Home" Our Birthday party has been set for Sunday, April 12 at 10am at the Knights of Columbus Hall and we'll have the Knights do the cooking for us, again. That worked really well last year, giving everyone a chance to enjoy the party. And even though we don't make as much money as when our folks did the cooking, I think it's worth it. So mark your calendars. We'll be talking about it a lot more as time gets closer because we still have a lot to do between now and then in order to make this a successful party. But before we have our party we have Chapter B's party coming up on March 21. They are moving to a new location and will start at 9:30am but they've assured me that if we can't get there until 10am we'll not be too late to eat. Personally, I don't think we should take the chance so let's try to get there on time. I'm sure there will be several of us going and we'll discuss this more at our next Get Together this month, which is on the 15th. Jennie and I missed the last Get Together and with Assistant Chapter Directors Steve and Amy Hodges out of town, too, Chapter Educator Michael Olson filled in and ran the meeting. At the meeting Michael presented Ross and Donna's COY pins. He also covered a safety item "Stay Awake, Stay Alert, Stay Alive". Door prizes were given out and a 2 liter bottle of lemonade was won by Tom Casselman, cookies were won by Steven Ransom, a can of Honda spray polish was won by Rendy France, Sherry Oliver won a micro-fiber cloth and a second cloth was won by Donna Jimenez. The GRAND PRIZE, 2 boxes of Snickerdoodle cookies was won by Michael, who shared them with all…at least that's what Michael's notes say. 50/50 winners included: Michael won $5 and Tom Casselman won $8 with $13 going to the Chapter. 3. Supper Rides for March will be: March 12th - El Torrito (next to McDonald's in SCB) March 26th - Prime Cut in SCB Our next Get Together is on March 15th at El Charrito at 1pm Other monthly events include: March 15 is Michael's birthday, on March 20th Jennie and Steve McLean will have birthdays, March 25th Tom Dredla celebrates a birthday and on the 27th the McLean's are celebrating an anniversary. Congratulations to all of you. Steve Knode Thinkin about Lightning is the MOST UNDERRATED weather hazard. On average, only floods kill more people. Lightning is most often seen in thunderstorms. In fact, lightning is what makes thunderstorms. Lightning makes every single thunderstorm a potential killer. Forecasting when and where lightning will strike is not yet possible and most likely never will be. In the United States, lightning routinely kills more people each year than tornadoes or hurricanes. Only lightning can strike outside the storm itself, and is the first thunderstorm hazard to arrive and the last to leave and knows no boundaries. Since lightning is so unpredictable no one can guarantee an individual or group absolute protection from lightning. However, knowing and following proven lightning safety guidelines can greatly reduce the risk of injury or death. While no place is 100% safe from lightning, some places are much safer than others. Buildings that are NOT SAFE (even if they are "grounded") have exposed openings. Convertible vehicles offer no safety from lightning, even if the top is "up". Other vehicles, which are NOT SAFE during lightning storms, are those which have open cabs, such as golf carts, tractors, and construction equipment. The safest location during a thunderstorm is inside a large enclosed structure with plumbing and electrical wiring. If lightning strikes the building, the plumbing and wiring will conduct the electricity better than a human body. If you are using any electrical appliances or plumbing fixtures (INCLUDING telephones and computers), and a storm is overhead, you are putting yourself at risk! If no buildings are available, then an enclosed metal vehicle such as an automobile, van, or school bus makes a decent alternative. If you are inside a vehicle, put the windows up, and avoid contact with any conducting paths leading to the outside of the vehicle. Lightning can strike as far as 10 miles from the area where it is raining and many people are unaware of how far lightning can strike from its parent thunderstorm. If you can hear thunder, you are within striking distance. Seek safe shelter immediately. Remember this lightning safety rule...When thunder roars, go indoors and stay there until 30 minutes after the last clap of thunder. DON”T wait for the rain to start before seeking shelter, and don't leave shelter just because the rain has ended. Thinkin about Con. There is NO SAFE PLACE outdoors during a lightning storm. If stuck outdoors on a highway, you could find a highway overpass and park the bike and get as high as possible from the road, high enough to be out of any water, on the embankment between the highway and the bottom of the bridge. At the same time, do not touch the metal of the bridge. You are trying to get away from metal and water conductors. Lightning can be as hot as 54,000°F (30,000°C), a temperature that is five times the surface of the sun! Water and metal are excellent conductors of electricity. The current from a lightning flash will easily travel for long distances. The average lightning bolt carries about 30,000 amps of charge, has 100 million volts of electric potential. These amounts can burn through ANY insulator (even the ceramic insulators on power lines!) Besides, the lightning bolt may just have traveled many miles through the atmosphere, which itself is a good insulator. Article by Don Francisco, IL-A Levels Program Up-date Greg and Rendy France received their Level II patches and bars; Steve Ransom received his Level I patch and pin at the February chapter meeting. Remember: Stay Safe - Ride Safely, Michael Olson Chapter W Educator The Events for March are as follows: March 12th - El Torrito (next to McDonald's in SCB) 6pm March 15th - El Charitos 1pm March 26th - Prime Cut in SCB 6pm Officers Cell Phone #’s Steve Knode 308-631-2911 Steve Hodges 308-631-4139 March 2015 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28