The various District officer meetings were held throughout January and were quite successful by all measures.  Members of the Region "A" staff attended each and reported them to be both informative and enjoyable.  We thank the members of the various Chapter staffs who attended these meetings.  While some business functions can be dry, we found the presentations that Nan and I attended to be well worth the time invested; they were instructed in a “fun” as well as educational format.

       The Florida Chapter Conference was held over the weekend of January 9^th and 10^th in Kissimmee.  This was Bill and Gina’s first Conference since being appointed District Director in Florida.  Nan and I found the Florida event to be very enjoyable while imparting lots of good information.  A nice seated lunch was served to the attendees on Saturday afternoon and everyone seemed to have a great time while taking care of some important business.  Several new Chapter officers were appointed and some changes were made in the Florida District staff as well with long-time District Ride Educators Joe and Jan Mazza taking on the new role of Assistant District Director while Don and Judy Danbury take over the District Rider Educators position.  We congratulate Bill, Gina and the Florida District staff for a great job in meeting the expectations of GWRRA during their Chapter Conference.

       The Georgia District officer’s meeting was also held on the 9^th in Forsyth, GA hosted by Carlos and Dee Lozano.  Nan and I were not able to attend because of the conflict with the Florida meeting but ARD Jim and Sue Jackson attended and reported a highly successful meeting.  This was Carlos and Dee’s first officer meeting in their capacity as District Director and they were assisted by their able Georgia District staff.  The format of the meeting was new this year and proved to be very effective.  Thanks go out to Carlos, Dee and the Georgia District staff for their hard work in behalf of their GWRRA members.

       Over the weekend of January 16^th-17^th Nan and I attended the Mississippi District officer meeting at the Lake Tiak ‘O Khata Resort near Louisville, MS.  While it was a long drive from Central Florida, the trip was well worth it.  Gregg and Pat Harbison hosted a fantastic event, lasting a day and a half.  There was lots of great food and the Mississippi District staff did their best to make the time spent worthwhile.  We took the car because of the distance and weather (it was cold and raining the entire weekend) and were sure glad we did.  We were particularly pleased with the positive and enthusiastic attitudes on display by the various chapter staffs.  Our thanks to all the participants and to Gregg and Pat and their staff for a great officers meeting.

       As most of you are currently aware, the Home Office has developed and implemented a new Officer Certification Program.  This program was developed by the National Division of Leadership Training.  All Chapter and Assistant Chapter Directors, District and Assistant Directors along with Regional and Assistant Directors must successfully attend and become certified to hold office.  The idea behind this is to ensure that GWRRA Chapters, Districts and Regions are lead by the best-trained men and women for the betterment of all aspects of GWRRA.  If the Chapters, Districts and Regions are lead by well-trained officers, things will run smoother and the members at each level will enjoy the experience.  The Districts are already setting up training dates for the Officer Certification Program for their Chapters.  Members of the Region "A" staff will be getting certified in February.  We ask that you all approach this with a positive outlook; it’s going to be fun and informative so let’s take pride in becoming Certified Officers.  Thanks in advance for your cooperation!

       Lastly, if you have not yet submitted your Chapter and District financial reports, please due so as they were due on February 1^st.   If there is some extenuating problem, please let us know ASAP.

       We hope to see you at a GWRRA event soon,

Bob & Nan

       Hello Region “A”. We have breezed through January 2010 and February 2010 is here. Next thing you know it will be March 11-13 and the Florida District Rally will be in swing. Yep, got that one on my ride calendar. Always nice to ride to Kissimmee and feel the weather getting warmer the further South we ride on US 19. Look forward to seeing many of you and the new District Directors Bill and Gina Berry and their new staff during the Florida Rally.

       No sooner than we get home and the Irish-Get-Away March 19-20 in Dublin, GA will be gearing up and we always have a great time with the GA-A2 Chapter and the Georgia GW Family. 

       The Alabama District Rally April 1-3 in Huntsville (Madison), AL will be setting up give us all some bodacious fun “Bama-Style” and I hope you will join in on the fun. Roy and Anita Fosnight, the Bama District Directors, and their Bama Staff have set up some absolutely “good-times” that you don’t want to miss.

       You know the good thing about GWRRA and Region “A” is you can ride for a few hours and get to a GWRRA event where you can play with your old friends or make some new ones. Further, if it is a District Rally then you have chrome to look at and perhaps buy if so inclined. Many, many good things and good-times going on in Region during the Spring, Summer and Fall so come out and join in on some hob-knobbing, tire-kicking or perhaps even make some life lasting friends. It’s all here for you so come and join the festivities.

       Wow, as mentioned above January 2010 really breezed by, but the Region “A” Staff was out working hard during the month supporting the District Chapter Director Conferences in each District. The Region Staff was pulled in five different directions during January, but even thought we are a little thin in Staff we were able to support each District with representation. Sue and I covered the Georgia District Conference January 9, in Forsyth, GA. The Georgia District Director Carlos Lozano and the Georgia Staff did a commendable job presenting valuable information to each Georgia Chapter. The Chapter attendance was very good with the majority of the GA Chapters attending and supporting the Conference. We enjoyed being with the Georgia GW Family for that

Conference.

       January 16 had us in Charleston, SC with the South Carolina District Conference going full bore. The Conference was held at South Carolina’s next rally site and I have got to say they have hit a home run with this venue. Their theme is “Doin” Charleston Southern Style” and the site is the Charleston Southern University and this is probably the best venue I have ever seen for the SC Rally site. I recommend if you haven’t registered for “Doin” Charleston Southern Style” Rally and your hotel do it now. This location will knock your sockets off. There is a lot to see in Charleston.

       Oh yeah, back to the SC Conference. SC DD Charlie/Kathy Coleman and the SC Staff really had their “ducks-in-a-row” for this Conference. The information distributed and the presentations by Charlie/Kathy and the SC Staff was absolutely outstanding. The South Carolina Chapters really supported this Conference and it really showed with the interaction between the SC Staff and SC Chapters. It was also great to spend the weekend with the South Carolina GW Family.

       Hope to see you during the coming events and rallies.

Jim & Sue 

Great Start to a New Year

 
       First of all, I want to thank each and every member in Region “A” for doing his or her part in the GWRRA Chapter Contests. Region “A” recruited the most new members (83) and Florida Chapter FL1-A, Tampa, won the “New Member Recruitment” contest by recruiting 8 new members. Congratulations to all of Region “A” members and a great big special thanks to all the Florida Chapter FL1-A members.  As the winning chapter, the Chapter Charter Fee will be paid by GWRRA for 2010 and each and every member will receive $10.00 off their Wing Ding registration for 2010.

       As a reminder, there were three parts to the GWRRA Chapter Contest.  Two of the three have ended.  But the “New Member Year-long Recruitment” contest started on January 1, 2010 and will not end until November 1, 2010.  In this contest all GWRRA Chapters will, once again, be given the opportunity to see how many new members they can recruit.  The winning chapter will 1) Have the Chapter chartering fee paid for 2011, 2) Each Chapter member will receive 50% off their Wing Ding registration for 2011, and 3) The winning Chapter will receive the traveling trophy cup with engraved Chapter name plate for one year.

       We would like to bring your attention to the fact that the June Agee Memorial Newsletter Award has been renamed and updated.  It is now the Membership Enhancement Division Chapter Newsletter Award.  The guidelines for the award were updated in December 2009. http://med.gwrra.org/guides/NationalNewsletterguidelines-rev12-28-09.pdf.  The new guidelines can be found on the GWRRA MED Web Page

http://med.gwrra.org/newsletteraward/newsletteraward.htm or on the Region “A” MEC Web Page http://www.gwrra-regiona.org/RAmed.shtml.   Chapters submitting newsletters for this contest should send them to Kristen & Dennis Weston at national_newsletters@verizon.net. 

       We had the opportunity to attend the 2010 Georgia Officers meeting in Forsyth, GA on January 9, 2010.  Carlos Lozano, with the help of the entire Georgia District Staff, hosted an awesome Officer’ Meeting.  Dee was a little under the weather and stayed home to recuperate.  Get well soon, Dee! Some new and exciting information was passed on along with some great training given to the newer and new Chapter Directors and Chapter Staff members. 

       In closing, I would ask that you do two things as this New Year begins:  

1)                If your Chapter does not have a Membership Enhancement Coordinator (MEC), appoint one if you are the Chapter Director and if you are not the CD, talk to your CD about appointing someone to this important position.  But before a Chapter MEC is appointed, take a look at the Officer’s Hand Book (Sep09), Pages D-4 & D-5 for a list of duties and responsibilities for the Chapter MEC.  The Chapter Staff MEC should be someone that wants to do these things for the Chapter.  The positive results for the Chapter will be unbelievable.

2)                Take a look at your District’s Membership Enhancement Goals for 2010.  At the Region “A” Officer’s Meeting in October 2009, each District Director provided their Membership Enhancement Plan for 2010.  Sure, these plans will help the overall GWRRA membership numbers grow.  But, more importantly, if successful and the District MEC goals are reached or exceeded, every single Chapter that helped in reaching that goal will WIN.  Think of all the new and excited things that could be done in your Chapter if the Chapter participants increased.  You can find your Districts MEC Goals in the January 2010 Region “A” Newsletter.  This can be found on the Region “A” Web Page – Region “A” News – January 2010, then look at the Membership Enhancement Article.

       Don’t forget to check out your bikes real good and get all the maintenance done while it is still cold.  Hope to see you at the Florida District Rally in March. 

Bob & Karla 

The Officer Certification Program is not just

another leadership training class.

The OCP is Training for Our Leaders.

       This training is for all Operations Officers; Directors and Assistant Directors at all levels (Chapter, District, and Region) throughout GWRRA.  All class dates and locations for all regions and districts will be posted on the National GWRRA Website.  You may attend any OCP class at any location identified as all materials used are identical, and all District and Region Trainers have been certified to teach this program.

       Should you plan to attend this training in another district, please contact their trainer for registration requirements in that district.

       Spouses of officers are not required to attend this training.  If you signed a Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU), then you must attend.  Rider Educators may attend if they wish.  This certification program is free to anyone attending and is open to any GWRRA member.

       This training program falls under the auspices of the National Director, Leadership Training Division.  All questions, comments, and concerns should be directed to your District/Region Trainers. 

Dave & Sharon

Hellooooooooooooo, REGION A and the rest of the USA!!

       So how's your new year coming along?  Don't know about you all but we've been trying to get some of our training updated.  For starters, we'll be attending a Medic / First Aid class on 13 February.  We're gonna work in all of the training so that we will be refreshed by the time the true riding season is here; by then we will be all educated and ready for some fun.

       I've managed to get all of the yucky stuff out of the way too, like a couple of emergency oral surgeries.  Man, I am SO allergic to pain.  So, I should be good to go too.  

        It won't be long we can put away the Gerbings and ride with lighter jackets.  In the meantime, I'm hoping February will be a mild month.  We are looking forward to the upcoming conventions this year.  Fortunately, we don’t have to wait too long to visit some friends.  We are planning on heading up into Tennessee to join them for their Winter Event this weekend.  It's going to be a lot of fun.  We've been focusing on our chapter and spending as much time with them as possible before the new year's events start occurring.  We are now Alabama Chapter B's new Assistant Chapter Directors, so we've really got some exciting things to do this year.  Along with our new Chapter Directors, Marty & Lisa Knapp, we hope that we can enhance our chapter even more.  We've already got a great chapter, but we hope to get our folks more involved in educational opportunities as well as safe rider training and things that make us better GWRRA members.  Steven and I are very fortunate that we have been going strong since we joined GWRRA back in early 2006, and we feel we have some valuable experience that we can bring back to our chapter.  To be the Region Couple of the Year, we are so blessed to be exposed to even more great experiences and benefits of GWRRA.

       Well, I'm normally not a woman of few words, and Steven says I write better articles than he does, but I'm gonna keep this one short.  {please, please hold the applause!}.

       Don't forget to register for the Region "A" convention.  And just so you know, I'm not sharing my room so don't forget to get your room!  ;-) 

       So, take some good advice, make your first priority to register for the Region "A" convention.  After that, the rest is just as easy.  Just Do It!  We want to see you!!!!

       We hope you can join us!  You won't regret it cause FUN really is contagious!

Steven & Tammy