With this being the August issue, you can imagine July was a very busy month. The staff at the Home Office and the Officers were extremely busy getting ready for Wing Ding 34, which turned out to be a success! Yes, it was hot and humid, but everyone there had a great time!

 

And as you may have heard by now, we have a new Director of GWRRA, Jere Goodman. His announcement by our President, Abel Gallardo, and message from Jere himself, are below, so please read them both. I want to congratulate Jere and Linda on their new position and wish them well. Having worked with Jere on many projects in the past, as well as on the Event Management Team, I know he will do a great job for GWRRA.

 

I also want to say "Thank You" to Mike and Lori Stiger for their dedication and service as our Director for the past two and a half years. Mike and Lori have done an excellent job in focusing on new programs, Chapter and Team development. Their efforts and improvements to GWRRA are to be commended...well done Mike & Lori!

 

As you may recall, we asked you to let us know in last month's Wingin It, "If you participated in Chapter Life ... and if not, why not?"  I appreciated so many responses. In all we received 41 responses, as of this writing; 63% said they did not participate and 37% said they did participate in Chapter life actively.

The reasons for not participating varied from No Chapter in my area; to no time work weekends/holidays; to too much chaos/cliques; to Chapter politics; to not enough riding; to prefer riding alone; to no contact from the local Chapter, etc.

The reasons for being active included; great social activities, excellent ride calendar, awesome Rider Ed programs, felt welcomed (like family), etc.

As you can see, we had a varied response, before I continue, I'd like to explain that everyone who responded is still a Member of GWRRA. The survey was certainly not scientific and was a small sampling compared to the number of actual Members who read Wingin' It and even the actual number of Members in GWRRA. But it is a good sampling none the less and gives us an idea of what you, our Members, are thinking.

As with any group of people, it depended on which Chapter they attended, as to whether the Chapter had an active ride calendar or not, whether the folks wanted/needed the social aspect of GWRRA or not, and if they were close to a Chapter or not, as well as the persons own personal needs and wants, and our Officers' training, as to whether they could keep "politics" and cliques to a minimum or not.

Being a former Chapter Director, I can tell you that "politics" happens any time you get three or more people together. Everyone has their own opinion and way they want/expect to see things run, but it takes a special Officer to be able to minimize the effect on the group. GWRRA has always focused on Officer Training to assist our Officers in this regard and always will. GWRRA has an entire division devoted to developing and training our Officers on many aspects of GWRRA life, especially being a Chapter Director. When there are issues at the Chapter level, we would hope that you, our Members, would let us know. That is where the District Directors & Trainers, Regional Directors & Trainers come in to assist. Please let them know when there are any issues in your area before you decide to stop attending, or worse, quit GWRRA. There are systems in place to address issues...Please write me here with your comments and thoughts about this topic, so we can continuously make GWRRA and your experience better.

We understand that Chapter life is not for everyone and that is OK. GWRRA has something for everyone, as commented by those who are still Members and take advantage of our many benefits and programs. But, we are always looking for new programs and ideas to bring in new Members and keep existing Members involved, so please write me with your ideas!

One more comment on my part about the feedback I received. Of all the comments I received, I only received 2-3 with suggestions on how to make things better. It's OK to complain about problems and let us know so we can address the issues, it is far better to offer a suggestion or two on how to make things better. Just a thought! When people get in the mindset of wanting to become part of the solution instead of just the problem, then everyone...and the organization moves forward.

The new Wing Ding 35 website is up and running, so check it out and get registered for Greenville, SC. It is one of my favorite cities and I will see you there! We are looking for articles about riding to Greenville or great rides in and around the Greenville area. Let's share your knowledge of the area! 

 

Please read below about a few new GWRRA Member benefits...Red Roof Inn and Motel 6! Check out the information below to read all about them and to find out how to link directly to their information.

And don't forget to check out GWRRA's Home Page, www.gwrra.org for all the latest and greatest news, events, and Member benefits at GWRRA's benefit page.   

 

Don't forget about GWRRA's 35th Anniversary Cruise coming up quickly. Check out the side ad for all their information and link. It is going to be a great time...and we will see you on board! Register now before all the cabins are gone!

 

We hope everyone is enjoying your FREE e-newsletter, Wingin' It, as another benefit of GWRRA; we are always looking to make it better also. I'm still in need of more articles to make each issue interesting to our Members. It has been suggested that we publish more rider tips about the Gold Wing, riding in general (i.e. packing, best tires, accessories, etc.) and best trips, so please send me yours here! And don't worry if you are not a great writer, we have wonderful editors here to make any article sound great!   

 

Ride safe and FIND-A-FRIEND!

 

 

Ed Price

 

 

Editor, Wingin' It

  Surgery & Salary! 

A mechanic was removing a cylinder head from the motor of a 100,000 mile Gold Wing motorcycle when he spotted a well-known heart surgeon in his shop.

 

The surgeon was there waiting for the service manager to come take a look at his bike when the mechanic shouted across the garage, "Hey, Doc, can I ask you a question?"

 

The surgeon, a bit surprised, walked over to where the mechanic was working on the motorcycle. The mechanic straightened up, wiped his hands on a rag.  

 

"So Doc, look at this engine. I open its heart, take the valves out, repair any damage, and then put them back in, and when I finish, it works just like new.  

 

So how come I get such a small salary and you get the really big bucks, when you and I are doing basically the same work?"

  

The surgeon paused, smiled, leaned over, and whispered to the mechanic...

"Try doing it with the engine running"

 

Loren Doppelt

Palatine, IL

Remember, send me your best, clean jokes here! 

Check out GWRRA's Facebook page and sign up to follow us! It is easy!!