The annual District Officer Meetings have just concluded throughout Region “A”.  Nan and I were able to attend both Florida’s on the 10^th-11^th of January then made the trek to Myrtle Beach, SC over the weekend of the 17^th to attend the South Carolina District meeting.  We always find these occasions to be enjoyable in their own way; while its mostly business, it is a chance to socialize with folks we haven’t seen since the rally season concluded last year.  Because of weather and items we have to bring, these are usually car trips.

       Our Thanks to the members of our fine Region “A” staff who attended the other District Officer Meetings in the Region.  They will provide reports elsewhere in this newsletter.

       We’d like to congratulate the Florida District staff for hosting an excellent CD Conference at the Radisson World Gate Resort in Kissimmee.  They had some 275 chapter officers and staff in attendance.  A wide variety of valuable ideas and GWRRA procedures were presented in a fun but informative format.  The delegates seemed to enjoy themselves and the Florida District served a great lunch on Saturday.  They also ran a Hospitality Suite during the Conference.  We had the opportunity to speak with many of the Chapter Directors and their staffs while attending the Conference and those we interacted with expressed a positive attitude about what they got from attending.

       The following weekend, Nan and I drove (very cold weather) to Myrtle Beach, SC to attend the South Carolina District’s Officer Meeting.  It’s a long drive from central Florida (about 500 miles) but the trip was well worth it.  As usual, our South Carolina District Director, Carl and Donna Blackston hosted a great event.  Their meeting was held at the Springmaid Beach Resort, which is also the site of the South Carolina District rally in May.  Attendance was excellent as was the level of enthusiasm and participation by the attendees.  We had the opportunity of presenting Carl and Donna along with their South Carolina District MEC Charles and Kathy Coleman with a letter from the Executive Director (Melissa Eason) congratulating them upon the occasion of the District’s notable achievements in Recruitment and Retention.   Nan and I had a great time and thank Carl, Donna and their staff for holding an informative and useful Officer’s Meeting.

           Speaking of Recruitment and Retention, Region “A” continues to lead the way nationally with several consecutive months of positive growth.  We are genuinely proud of the accomplishments of the Districts in the Region for all their hard work in recruiting new members and hanging on to the ones we already had.  In the last Growth Management Report, Region “A” had a positive growth rate of 3.29% which quite an accomplishment!  The Region staff doesn’t obtain these numbers; they are the direct result of a diligent pursuit by our Districts and their Chapters of maintaining and growing their respective membership bases.  Great job, folks!

       Our Region “A” rally schedule kicks off next month (March) with the Florida District rally in Kissimmee.  We hope that many of you attend and participate.  Nan and I will certainly be there because we always enjoy the District rallies.  We know that Ed and Jeanette Carr have planned a great event that will be lots of fun.  They’re raffling away a new GL 1800 Gold Wing while offering a good selection of vendors, games and all the things you’ve come to expect at a good rally.  Come on out and support the Florida folks and they’ll return the favor for your event.

       We realize that it’s a long way off, but Wing Ding in Tulsa, OK will be here before you know it.  Region “A” will again have the responsibility of staffing the ticket sales concession.  If you are planning on attending Wing Ding this July, please give some thought to giving us a hand with this task.  It’s all inside work, is basically fun and gives you the chance to meet lots of nice GWRRA members from all around the country.  It works out to be about a 4-hour tour of duty for which you get a real neat Volunteer Badge and an invite to the workers ice cream social after closing ceremonies.  If you think you might be interested, please drop us an e-mail so we can add you name to the list we are compiling.  Thanks!

       Nan and I look forward to seeing you on the road at a GWRRA event somewhere soon!

Bob & Nan

       Hello Region 'A' Family.  Dang, January 2009 has slipped by us and February '09 is staring us in the face.  Got a few rides in on the nice days during January and looking for some more nice riding days in February.

       During January, the Region 'A' staff is really stretched thin supporting all the District Officer Conferences going on in each District.  At each District Officer Conference we have a Region 'A' staff member in attendance as a supporting member.  This year Sue and I covered the Georgia and Mississippi Officer Conferences and what a super time we had during each conference.

       The Georgia District Conference was held 01-10-09 and lead by Georgia District Directors Bill & Betty Livingston in conjunction with the Chili Willie Ride-in which was fantastic.  Mother-Nature cooperated with very good riding weather this year and I didn't freeze my whatever off.  After stoking up on the hot chili and cookies from the goody table, the Officer Conference was called to order and each Georgia staff member shared very valuable GWRRA information with the Chapter Director's and their staff members.   The presentations generated several question and answer sessions and I believe each Chapter Director and their staff members left the conference with some new valuable view points to help them improve their Chapter gatherings. Sue and I thoroughly enjoyed the Chili Willie and the Georgia Officer Conference.  Thanks for inviting us.  Did I mention the chili was prepared by the Georgia District staff and I must say it was excellent.

       Cold weather but no snow like last year during the MS Officer's Conference.  A little freezing rain Friday night, but what the heck?  The MS Conference Saturday 01/17 was simply outstanding.  A tip of the helmet to MS Directors Gregg and Pat Harbison along with their able Staff in presenting a well planned and informational Chapter Director's Conference. 

       The MS Conference was filled with excellent presentations by all the MS Staff Members in each of their responsible areas.  Much discussion was generated during the Conference among the delegates and I feel everyone left the Conference with the feeling of "SUPPORT" from the Mississippi Staff and the Region 'A' Staff. 

       Congratulations to Gregg and Pat and their Staff for the difficult decision on moving the MS District Rally from Biloxi to Tupelo.  I know that took "brass-ones" since the rally has been anchored in Biloxi forever.  I believe that decision will bring new adventures and many delegates to the new rally location. 

      By the way, the MS District Staff prepared the evening meal at the closing of the Saturday session and I must say the chili-dogs along with all the trimmings was simply bodacious fiddles fit for any hungry Conference delegate.  Did I mention the many deserts of home-made cakes, cookies, brownies, etc.  My favorite was the fantastic brownies.

      Sue and I arrived home late Sunday evening after the 6 hour ride, but it was all worth it and had some super fun with the Mississippi GW Family.

Jim & Sue 

       The 2009 riding season is upon us and I’m sure that everyone is just itching to get out on the highways.  Not only is the weather changing, some of our chapters’ leadership is changing as well.  Now is a good time to encourage our members, and new chapter leadership, to participate in some of the great training opportunities being offered throughout the region.

       Region "A" is gaining in reputation, not only in Leadership Training, but in Recruiting & Retention.   This is a T.E.A.M effort, so shake the bushes and provide some encouragement to all our members to participate in our training programs.  After all, the more you know, the better it gets!

Dave & Sharon

       A new riding season has been kicked off with rides like the one Chapter “Al-A” makes every January 1^st.  Hope your chapter has made a New Year’s ride without incident! Without incident is what we all wish for each time we straddle our ride. There are so many obstacles just looking for a chance to tag us. As you know, you can’t drive for the other guy or gal, so you have to trust that they make the right decisions while sharing the road with you. Even though we can’t make those decisions for our fellow drivers we can make them aware of us.

       Riders Ed teaches us how to control our own equipment while looking out for the Motorist.  Motorist Awareness teaches the motorist how to do the same while looking out for the Motorcyclist.  Since we motorcyclist are the minority on our busy roadways, we are not seen as much by the motorist, thus lending to many accidents. We must educate our Motorist so that we can continue to enjoy our sport as well as use as second transportation to and from our work places, etc.

       We now have another presentation available to us at the National GWRRA site. By the time you read this you will probably be aware of this. If not, try the National -GWRRA.org web site or let your district MAD Coordinator help you. You can also contact me at – MAD@gwrra-regiona.org. Many thanks go out to Charles & Nancy Mallett our National Mad Directors. “Share The Road” is a product of Michigan Rider Education, with special thanks to Dan Dulyea and Bruce Thayer.

Ray & Cindy  

We recently had the opportunity to attend both the Georgia and Alabama District Officer’s Meetings.  We found them very informative and educational, especially for all the new officers.  We want to commend Bill & Betty Livingston as well as Roy & Anita Fosnight and their staff’s for two great, organized and well managed meetings.

After talking with other Region “A” Staff members who attended the other District Officer’s Meetings in Florida, Mississippi and South Carolina, we discovered that there was one theme that was common to all of these meetings within Membership Enhancement. 

“Every Chapter Needs A Membership Enhancement Coordinator”

Although this was said in different ways and with different amounts of emphasis, every District in Region “A” made this known to all present.  

Some of the many benefits of a Chapter Membership Enhancement Coordinator are:

1.                Allows the Chapter Director to concentrate on other areas of Chapter

          Leadership. 

             Chapter Directors have more than a plate full of things to do to ensure  they have a thriving and FUN chapter.  This is just one area that can be delegated to someone else.

2.               Ensures that each and every brand new member to GWRRA is personally

          contacted as soon as they join to invite them to Chapter functions and get

          them involved in the FUN.

3.                Ensures that each and every member with expiring dues is contacted.  

             There may be members on the Area Report that are not recognized as regular participants of a chapter.  This may be because no one has every told them that there is a local chapter.  As you call all of these members with expiring dues to invite them to Chapter gatherings, their responses may shock you and many will attend your next event. Remember, Retention is the MEC’s Number 1 Job

4.                Ensures that all visitors are welcomed and given a New Members Orientation

         Guide.  

            You don’t have to reinvent the wheel.  This New Members Orientation  Guide has been recently updated and is available for download and printing from the National MED Page. Making sure that someone from the local chapter sits with, talks to and explains what is going on at a gathering will make visitors feel welcome and an important part.

We recently took a poll within Region “A” to discover that currently approximately 50% of all Chapters within Region “A” have a Chapter Membership Enhancement Coordinator. The amount of training and dedication of these MECs will become more and more apparent as we continue to watch Retention Numbers improve.  

         We sincerely believe that if you tell someone what is expected of them, they will meet your expectations.  Chapter MEC’s need to be trained and told what they are expected to do.  For a complete list of Membership Enhancement Duties and Responsibilities at all levels of GWRRA, from the Chapter to National, click on the MEC Duties and Responsibilities link on the Region “A” Membership Enhancement page.

Bob & Karla

       We started 2009 traveling. We attended the Florida District Officers Meeting in Kissimmee, FL on January 10^th, This was probably our 6^th Florida Officers meeting since we’ve served in various capacities (Jake is ACD and I’m the new PR person for our chapter, FL1-A). We always learn something new and hopefully impart some of our experience to new officers!  Kudos to Ed and Jeanette Carr and their staff – well attended, informative weekend!

       We went to Montgomery, Alabama the weekend of January 17 to attend the District’s Snowball event and then teach a seminar on Chapter Finances.  Alabama selects their District Couple of the Year at Snowball and we helped judge the selection process, along with Bill & Dian Gulley, former Alabama DDs, and Bob and Karla Greer, Region “A” MED Coordinators. The three couples, Steve & Tammy Hollingsworth (AL-B), Jerry & Liz Neisen (AL-W) and Claude & Gayle Roark (AL-Y) were all excellent couples and any one of them would have made a great District Couple of the Year. Since only one could be chosen, Steven & Tammy Hollingsworth will be Alabama’s District Couple of the Year! Congratulations to all three couples – you’re all winners in our book!

       We are looking forward to 2009, but we will not be able to go to as many districts as we have in the past. When we were International Couple of the Year, our employers were extremely flexible in allowing us time off. Now that we’re back to being “nobodies” (J) we have to adhere to our normal vacation schedules and while that’s generous, it isn’t enough time to get to everyone’s events. We hope you understand! We’re only a phone call or email away if you need anything.

       Thanks to Florida and Alabama for their hospitality. We have heard from other Region staff that Mississippi, Georgia and South Carolina also had very successful Officers Conferences so Region “A” is off to a great start!

Jake & Joanne