Greetings! 

 

It has been wonderful hearing from many Members about their stories of visiting and living in a variety of countries. I will gather those stories and share some of them next month. This month is the perfect time to remember how grateful we are for all our blessings; Thank you for sharing them with me. Obviously, in the USA, it is time for Thanksgiving, and I must apologize as last month was Thanksgiving for our friends in Canada. For myself, I am so thankful for my family, friends, health and memories of all the great times and opportunities I have had! Yes, there have been many challenges, but even they have led me to great choices, which have given me more opportunities! So, this month I am remembering all my choices, opportunities and friends who have helped me be who I am today....THANK YOU!

 

We are also grateful for all the Officers and volunteers who have served and are serving GWRRA. We are very fortunate in this Association, number one to have had Paul & Shirley establish GWRRA, but secondly to have people believe in their principles and motto, "Friends for FUN, Safety & Knowledge", like all of the former and current Officers and volunteers. People like Bob Merriman, JB Hamilton and June Agee, who have passed away, Roger Losornio, and Gene Wagner, and Jim Hodge, just to name a very few. All of these folks helped make GWRRA what it is today and are still volunteering in a variety of positions.  Obviously, there have been tens of thousands of men and women over the years who have volunteered to take a variety of positions from Chapter Directors to Rider Educators to Newsletter Editors to Ride Coordinators to Wing Ding volunteers to countless other positions. GWRRA would NOT be the organization it is without these folks! THANK YOU ALL...!  

 

Just as an example, Jimmy Hodge, Life Member, who is retired and lives in a small town in Mississippi, started as a CD (AR, Area Rep., actually), and became State Director, Regional Director, and was Operations Director for a time. He still participates and contributes to his local Chapter, District and Region! He also, for those who do not know, is the person who is the the head of The Prayer Warriors, a separate group from GWRRA that answers prayers from 1000's of Members and non-members around the country. He is on Facebook writing incredible stories about his trips to GWRRA Conventions and events, answers emails to anyone who writes him, helps his community and has a huge family that he loves dearly, especially his wife Margie! Thanks Jim for all your years of service to GWRRA!   

 

In reading your newsletters, I see that many of the rallies have been up in attendance and folks are having a great time. Even with the bear I read about in the Region F newsletter, there were great times had by all! (Ask Anita :) Region A's attendance was up and their vendor show was well attended. We also received a great article from Terri Kozlowski, Chapter Director, GA-D, see below. You also see a wonderful article from Anita & JR Alkire, Region F Directors. A theme between them....?    

 

Below, you will see a new Rider Education article from Joe Mazza, and our contributing Member, Gene Hanselmann on his thoughts about helmets. I also want to thank Ben Robinson, who submitted his story of a GWRRA Member who assisted him at Wing Ding!

    

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! 

 

And don't forget to check out our coupon offer at the bottom of each Wingin' It, where you get at least a 15% discount each month on a featured GWRRA Official Product. Also, 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.   

 

I want to thank you again for sending in the articles and stories you see below. It is so important that you, our Members, keep supporting this newsletter. We hope to receive more items to add to this e-newsletter, like Travel Tips, Packing Tips, Best Road Trips, Best Motorcycle Routes, Maintenance Tips, Couples Travel Tips, most useful products, innovative products, best websites, you name it!! We are hoping to get more articles, stories, Gold Book stories, etc., so your newsletter reflects our Members' input! Please send them to me here and feel free to ask me any questions in this regard. And don't worry if you are not a great writer, we have wonderful editors here to make any article sound great! As our Association tries to reflect your desires, more riding, riding activities, more Member/Officer input...we promise to do our part, so we too, ask for your efforts...with input! The best newsletters are those that contain your content! Thanks for all your continued support!

 

Ride safe and FIND-A-FRIEND!

 

FRIENDS FOR FUN, SAFETY & KNOWLEDGE!

 

Ed Price

 

 

Editor, Wingin' It
In This Issue
Joke of the Month
Looking for YOUR Articles
Inspirational Quotes
GWRRA & Facebook
Quotable Quotes!
Your Opinion Matters
Rescue Plus Reminder
Region F Article
Rider Education Article
Chapter Article-GA-D
"Helmets!"-Member Article
GWRRA Member to the Rescue
Featured Member Benefit
Operation H-Region H Article
GWRRA Benefits
Quick Links
Join Our Mailing List
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Joke of the

Month 

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 Down With The Ship!

A soldier who lost his rifle was reprimanded by his captain and told he would have to pay for it.

"Sir," gulped the soldier, "suppose I lost a tank. Surely I would not have to pay for that!"

"Yes, you would, too," bellowed the captain, "even if it took the rest of your life."

"Well," said the soldier, "now I know why the captain goes down with his ship."  
  

Remember, send me your best, clean jokes here

Looking for

Articles

Remember, we are looking for articles for YOUR e-Newsletter! 

 

Travelogues, Member

and Officer profiles, Chapter activities, your stories about how joining GWRRA has positively affected your life, etc.

 

And don't forget those great Gold Book stories.

 

Please send your stories to me here .


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Inspirational

Quotes

 

"Adversity reveals genius, prosperity conceals it." 

Horace

    

"The price of greatness is responsibility."
Winston Churchill 

 

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Quotable Quotes!
Here are some quotes sent in by our Members!


If you have some you'd like to send to me, send them here!

Saddlebags can never hold everything you want, but they CAN hold everything you need.
~Author Unknown

 

People are like motorcycles; each is customized a bit differently. 
 ~Author Unknown
 

 

Catching a yellow jacket in your shirt at 70 mph can double your vocabulary.
 ~Author Unknown

 

These were sent in by  

Tom Hendricks 

2012 GWred 

Your Opinion Matters!

 Remember to check out GWRRA's Homepage at  www.GWRRA.org 

 to let us know your opinion of a variety of subjects in our polls. 

  

We'd like to give you the results of the last survey we have posted on the home page.

  

 "What is your favorite section of Wing World magazine?" 

 

 Product reviews, 17%--(65)

 

 Readers rides, 25%--(96)

 

 Trike tracks, 10%--(38)

 

 Work bench, 45%--(175)

 

 Words from your Director, 4%--(16)

  

Total Votes---390   

 

We always have a current GWRRA topic. To let us know your opinion,  

Check it out!

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REGION F ARTICLE
submitted by
Anita and
JR Alkire 
 

Region F Directors

 

 

What makes a good Chapter? What makes a good Chapter Director? I would imagine that all of us has wondered that a time or two in our life with GWRRA. It's a complex question with many answers, but it is those Chapters and those Chapter Directors that tap into that right spark, that right TEAM, that will make Chapter life everything that you thought it should be.

 

So what can your role be in this process? Support for the Chapter TEAM is the easiest and sometimes the hardest way to show your support. When things are going well it's easy to get behind the Chapter and enjoy the fun. It's easy then to show our support by participating and we participate because it's FUN! So the hard part is when your Chapter doesn't seem like it's having FUN anymore, that is when it needs your support the most. What can you do? Come up with ideas, things you'd like to do and then if you aren't comfortable doing it alone, get someone to help you. Whether it's putting on your favorite ride; planning a mystery dinner, like "Who's coming to dinner?" READ MORE

Rider Education Article 
submitted by

Joe Mazza

Assistant International Rider Education Director 

Bikers and Veterans


I just finished reading the book "No Easy Day" written by one of the members of Seal Team 6, that bravely dispatched Osama Bin Laden or as the Seals referred to him, UBL. Why am I mentioning this in an article about motorcycles, you ask? Because it reminds me of a recent ride our home chapter, FL1-A Tampa, took to the Veterans Hospital in Tampa, Florida.


Chapter A has an annual ride to this hospital so our participants, some of them veterans themselves, can pay tribute to and honor our physically and emotionally injured veterans. We park and clean our bikes and trikes and then the nurses bring the vets down to admire them. We provide hats, food, dessert, music and company. We are told by Tina Prince, the head nurse, that many of these heroes don't leave the confines of their rooms for months at a time but will come down and mingle with us.


While we were there, a local Harley club did a drive around for the vets. There must have been 40 bikes patriotically adorned that rode by honoring these broken warriors. We were all happy to see them and applauded as they rode by.


Motorcycle organizations and clubs throughout this great country of ours, including the Gold Wing Road Riders Association, have been conducting rides to benefit our veterans for many years. It is my belief that we can't do enough for them when they return home after serving our country, so that all of us can continue to enjoy our freedom. The charity rides we all do for our veterans, disadvantaged children and adults, and our communities, are enormously satisfying to us all.

  

One such ride is the POW/MIA Recognition Ride which was held August 18 this year. This is an annual ride that starts at Woodland Park High School in Woodland Park, Colorado. The ride travels Rt. 24 from Woodland Park to Cripple Creek, Colorado. The origin of the ride can be traced to Jim Wear who, along with 14 other "chopper" riders, rode into Colorado Springs in 1988 as a sign of patriotism. Since then the ride has evolved into thousands of bikers riding to honor our POW/MIA veterans who sacrificed so much, including their lives, for our country.

  

How proud we, in G.W.R.R.A., are to be a part of an organization that does its best to give back to those who give so much.

  

                                                                                                             

Every Chapter D Member Has a Part to Play

submitted by

Terri Kozlowski

GA-D, Chapter Director

 

Yes...I mean YOU. YOU and every other Member of GWRRA has his or her part to play in their Chapter. Whether you are an Officer, TEAM Member, Chapter participant...you have a very important role to play in making the Chapter successful and FUN!

 

What role you want to have in helping the Chapter be successful and FUN is completely up to you. Do you want to truly and humbly serve the Members of the Chapter as an Officer - a commitment to the success of the Chapter now and in the future? Do you want to help support the Operations of the Chapter as a TEAM Member each month? Or do you want one of the most important roles in any Chapter, being an ACTIVE Chapter participant? Which one are you and how can you help?

 

The most FUN and successful Chapters have a lot of ACTIVE Chapter participants. Chapters should fill the calendar each month so that there are ample opportunities for each Member to participate. We need to ride to exciting places...we need to help out by participating in charity events...we need to break bread together...we need to award silly chicken hats...we need to have Rider Education events...we need to hold seminars...we need to attend FUN days...we need to attend rallies and conventions... we need to do overnight trips....we need to do day rides....we need to have ice cream together...we need to go on Plaque Attacks.... Are YOU participating in all the FUN activities your Chapter puts on the calendar for YOU? There should be enough activities on the calendar for your Chapter to see YOU at least once a month...right? If you are not participating, please let your Chapter know what they can do for you to join in on all the FUN! We do not want you on the sidelines, we want YOU to have as much FUN as the rest of us are having.

 

Another way you can help to make the Chapter successful is to be a friend to all the Members of the Chapter, especially the newer Members, or Members you do not yet know. At most of the gatherings we should have visitors or guests. Did you, a Chapter Member, greet them? Did you, a Chapter Member, offer to sit with them or have them sit with you? Did you, a Chapter Member, thank them for coming to the gathering? Did you, a Chapter Member, invite them back? Yes, the Chapter TEAM is doing this too (it is part of their job) but it is just as important, if not more important for you, a Chapter Member, to make the visitor feel welcome. The more comfortable they feel from the beginning with all the Members of the Chapter, the more likely they are to participate with this very friendly group of motorcycle riders.  

 

We all want to have FUN. We all want the Chapter to be successful. And we all have a part to play in that success. What are YOU doing?

 

 

"HELMETS"

submitted by 
Gene Hanselman
Member #135067, Chapter OH-B
 
"Helmet Laws Suck," That's just one of the many bumper stickers I've seen in protest of wearing motorcycle safety helmets. I'm not writing this story to bore you with never ending statistics or dry facts about how wearing a helmet will greatly improve the chance of saving your life, or serious injury, should an accident occur while riding your bike. The first few months of 2010, Wing World magazine addressed those issues in full. I believe everyone over the age of 12 should know and recognize that as a fact, however, I also think everyone realizes that hitting a semi or tree head on, going 60 mph will surely lead to ones demise, helmet or no helmet. I'm just going to share my own feelings about wearing helmets and the laws.READ MORE
 
GWRRA Member to the Rescue!

submitted by 

Ben Robinson

GWRRA # 321169

Pottstown, Pa.

 

After the closing ceremonies of Wing Ding 34 my wife Pat and I headed home to Pottstown, Pennsylvania. We had planned on stopping at the end of Ohio, or into PA. We were cruising along at 70 MPH when I heard a loud pop. I asked my wife if she felt any vibration in the rear. She said she did not. I slowed down and started to feel some vibrations, and heard a lot of noise.

 

I have a TowPac trike kit on my bike. The left tire on the trike kit blew out. It was about 12:05 Saturday night and we were about 2 miles from the last exit in Ohio. Since the main bike tires were good I could still roll. I took it slow and got off at the Youngstown exit. The first 2 hotels we went to were full, but we were able to get a room at the 3rd motel about a quarter mile away. Needless to say, I had a restless night thinking about where I was going to get a 12 inch tire on a Sunday.

 

I checked the phone book for recreation vehicles and trailer companies. I did not expect car tire stores to have a 12 inch tire. In the morning I used the computer in the lobby of the motel to check the hours of the locations I found in the phone book. They were all closed on Sunday. That is when I pulled out the Gold Book. The first person I called was not home. On my second call I got hold of Bill Davis of Youngstown, Ohio. I explained my situation to him, then I gave him the data off the blown tire.  

 

He called around to see if he could find a tire for me. He found one at a tractor supply store about 20 minutes in the opposite direction of me. He went and picked it up, came to the motel and helped me get the wheel off. He had a lug wrench and jack to get the bike high enough to get the wheel off. We then took the wheel and tire to Pep Boys to have it mounted. Since I had a card from Pep Boys in PA., they did not charge me for the service. Bill took me back to the motel. We had the wheel back on and were ready for the road by 1:15 Sunday afternoon. Bill would not take any money for his help. He only took the price he put out for the tire.

 

The rest of the trip home was hot, but uneventful. My wife was really grateful because she was worried about missing a day from work if we had to wait until Monday to get a tire. It shows the value of the Gold Book - Never leave home without it.

 

I also must add that Bill had people coming over to his house for a cookout that day. Since his wife works for a fireworks company, she worked the 4th of July. This was their holiday celebration. We are really grateful that he gave up his time to help a fellow Gold Winger in their time of need. 

 

 

Featured Member Benefit of the Month

 

Gold Wing Road Riders Association (GWRRA) is pleased to remind you of two Member Discounts in our Benefit Program.

 

 

 *VPI Pet Insurance: VPI Pet Insurance provides healthcare coverage for your dog, cat, bird, hamster or other exotic pet. As a Member of the Gold Wing Road Riders Association, you'll receive a 5% group discount on your VPI policy. Plus, owners of multiple pets are entitled to receive additional discounts! With coverage from VPI, your pets are protected if they are injured or become ill. VPI policies are easy to use and reimburse you for eligible veterinary expenses related to surgeries, hospitalization, X-rays, prescription medications and more. Best of all, you're free to visit any veterinarian, anywhere in the world. Benefits only valid in the United States only. For more information call 877-PETS-VPI or click here today!   

 

   

    

  

Operation H - No Winger Left Behind!
GWRRA IS NOT FUN ANYMORE!

WHAT?? Did we just say that? No, but we heard it from a Member recently. Our first question was WHY? Do you not enjoy riding anymore? Have you met your quota of friends? Last question: "WHY DID YOU JOIN GWRRA?" Now this got them thinking. The answer was "friends asked us to join!" They added that this began a journey of some of the most memorable times in their lives. Scrapbook after scrapbook of memories! "What changed?" I asked. "GWRRA is asking too much of its Members and taking the fun out." I said "GWRRA is asking the same thing today as it did when you joined. They want you to have fun with friends and ride safe! You still have the option to get as involved as you want or simply ride and have fun." Before long we were all smiles and here is another example of leaving NO WINGER LEFT BEHIND!
       
What is GWRRA?? It is you, it is us, it is all Members from

around the world. Some with titles, most without, but first and
foremost, we are all MEMBERS of the largest single marquee motorcycle
organization in the world (we love saying that!)  As Officers, and I'm
speaking of Chapter Directors, District Directors, Region Directors and
so on, it is our responsibility to help provide opportunities for everyone to have fun and be a safer rider. We all ride what everyone
knows as the ultimate luxury touring motorcycle (we love saying that
too!) Let's enjoy it every chance we get, be safe and share your
experiences with others! Oh yes, and leave NO WINGER LEFT BEHIND!

Bill & Dea Ann Gray
Region H Director, GWRRA
Cell: 918-231-9371

GWRRA Member Benefit Discounts!
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