Well, the New Year is off and running!  It’s 2012 already and our various District officer meetings get underway in January.  Members of the Region “A” staff will attend each meeting to act in a support role and to be a resource to the District staff.  We enjoy these meetings, as it is a great opportunity to interact with the District and Chapter officers in a meaningful way prior to the start of the rally season in March.  We look forward to seeing you sometime during January.

       Speaking of officer meetings, our Region “A” officer meeting was held at the Lakepoint Lodge, December 3^rd and 4^th.  We had to pleasure of hosting some 85 Region and District staff volunteers.  Lots of important information pertaining to the operation of GWRRA and its components was imparted to the attendees.  We discussed Region and District goals and received reports from the Districts on their current state of affairs.  Much productive interaction took place with all areas being covered: Operations, Rider Ed, Leadership Training, Membership Enhancement and Finance.  We thank all those dedicated officers who made the trip to Eufaula, AL and gave up a weekend to participate.

       We were informed by Ray and Cindy Erickson, our Region Motorist Awareness Coordinators just prior to the officers meeting in Eufaula that they wanted to step down.  Ray and Cindy have continuously served GWRRA in a volunteer leadership role for the better part of 15 years.  They have been hard workers and continue as officers in their home chapter, AL-M.  Nan and I appreciate their dedication to Region “A” while serving as Motorist Awareness Coordinators.  During their tenure, our reporting to National was always on time and thorough.  We hope to see Ray and Cindy remain active on the GWRRA circuit in the future.

       Our new Region “A” Motorist Awareness Coordinator will be Gene and Betty Knutson, formerly the International Director of Rider Education.  We are indeed fortunate to enlist the services of such a talented and experienced educator and leader.  We welcome Gene and Betty to the Region staff and look forward to the great talent and energy that they bring to any task they undertake.  Nan and I have had the pleasure of riding and socializing these folks and believe they will be a fantastic addition to the Region staff.  The formal announcement of their appointment was made at the Region “A” officers meeting in Eufaula, AL in December.

       The Districts respective officer meetings begin this month (January) with Florida leading off on the weekend of the 7^th and 8^th.  Next is South Carolina on the 14^th, Alabama on the 21^st with Mississippi also on the 21^st (and 22^nd) with Georgia rounding it all out on the 28^th.  Nan and I will attend as many as possible, but due to over lapping dates we will attend Alabama instead of Mississippi.  Other members of the Region “A” staff will also be in attendance.  We’re not there to take over or run your meetings but only in support of the Districts efforts and to be a resource if needed.  We look forward to working with the District Directors and their staffs to make these business meetings as productive and enjoyable as possible.  

       Jesse Sammons, the District Educator for South Carolina passed away at his home on  December, 21 2011 .  Keep Sue and the Sammons family in your prayers.

       Lastly, we’d like to mention that the last two months Growth Management Reports (October and November) received from the Home Office have shown dramatic improvement in both recruitment and retention in Region “A”.  We know that this is the direct result of the hard work of our volunteer leads (particularly the Membership Enhancement folks at the Region, District and Chapter levels) that have done their best to recruit new members and keep the ones we already have.  With all the down months we have experienced in 2011, I don’t want to make any premature predictions, but we THANK all you great officers and staffs for the outstanding work you have done to address this important matter.  Please keep on contacting those new and prospective members; it’s working! See Bob & Karla Greer's article about new recruitment initiatives from the ME Coordinators.

       We look forward to seeing you at your District officer meeting in January, 

Bob & Nan

       Friends, 2012 is here so during the first part of the year we usually have a considerable amount of new Chapter Directors taking their first steps in GWRRA leadership managing their respective Chapter.  The new CD will be busy setting up shop, selecting Staff Members, reviewing places to hold their Gathering and in general trying to pull together old and new Chapter Members. 

       The first several months of being the new CD is probably the hardest part of the job as he/she will be pulled in many directions at one time and will need as much help as possible.  So, if approached by the new CD, please lend your help and support because it takes more than one person to keep a Chapter functioning.  You may not think you are qualified to serve in a Chapter position, but please don’t let that stop you from giving it a try. 

       GWRRA is blessed with having some, if not the best, education available for any position one might be selected for.  After all, being a working part of a Chapter Staff is really fulfilling and it helps the Chapter function in a beautiful way.  So, if asked, step-up and give her a shot.  Of course volunteering is extremely helpful as well. 

       There are many Chapter functions where a volunteer can help even if you don’t want to be part of the Chapter Staff.  So, come on and become part of the CD’s new Staff or be part of his/her volunteer force............your support and service are really appreciated.

       Just received notification that Jesse Sammons past away last night 12/21/11 suddenly while at home.  Jesse Sammons was the South Carolina Rider Educator and was assisted by his lovely wife Sue.  What a terrible loss for the Sammons Family, South Carolina and Region ‘A’.  Jesse always had a smile on his face and thoroughly enjoyed presenting Rider Ed classes.  He seems to be in his element when talking Rider Education.  Sympathies to Sue, the Sammons Family and to the South Carolina Staff.  May Jesse Rest In Peace.

Jim & Sue 

What’s Shaking in 2012?

       We just want to mention a few things that will be happening in the MEC world in 2012.

FIND YOUR NEAREST CHAPTER - Ed & Linda Johnson, International Directors for the Membership Enhancement Program wrote the following article in the November 2011 issue of “Insight”.

      In order to help New and current Members locate a Chapter near them, there has been a new feature added to the GWRRA website. This new feature will enable anyone, wherever they may be, to locate a GWRRA chapter.

      To find a Chapter, go to the International website. On the right hand side of the page, locate Find Your Nearest Chapter. Click on the box and then enter your zip code or mailing address. A map will appear indicating the Chapters located in your area. When you click on the red indicator(s), the Chapter Director’s name, town, telephone number and email address will appear.

       NEVER PAY DUES AGAIN –I hope you have read Mike Stiger’s, Director of GWRRA, article in the December 2011 issue of Wing World.  I happen to think this is very exciting.  There have been some changes made to the current Find-A-Friend Program.  Here are the basics.  For more details read Mike Stiger’s article or the December 2011 issue of “Insight” which can be found from the GWRRA Home Webpage.

      For every five (5) new memberships (households) you recruit, your will receive a gift certificate with the equivalent value of a Family Membership - $55.00. You must recruit new members only, not renewals. Each membership (household) counts as “ONE” regardless of the number of Family Members in the membership.  Gift Certificates are non-transferable and will have a one year expiration date.  Members have the “option” to redeem certificate(s) for any of the following:

GWRRA Membership Renewal          GWRRA Official Merchandise

          Wing Ding Registration                      Chapter Charter Fees

     There are a few more details to this program, which are all listed in the references above.

REGION & DISTRICT RECRUITMENT CONTEST

       Chapter Recruitment Contest: The top three Chapters in each Region that recruit the highest percent of new memberships in 2012 (based on the Area Run List), will win a Find-A-Friend plaque and have FREE Charter fees for the next year!

       District Contest: The District in each Region that recruits the most new memberships in 2012 will win a Find-A-Friend trophy. All District winners will be featured in an article in Wing World & E-newsletter (Wingin’ It). A picture of each District winner will be featured on GWRRA's web page, and each will be recognized and have special seating at Wing Ding.

       Region Contest: The Region that recruits the most new memberships in 2012 will win a Find-A-Friend trophy. Region winner will be featured on the cover of Wing World magazine, have an article in Wing World, E-newsletter (Wingin’ It) and have a page in the Gold Book. A picture of the Region winner will be featured on GWRRA's web page, and they will be recognized and have special seating at Wing Ding. GWRRA will provide Find-A-Friend hangar tags, Find-A-Friend information recruiting cards, and Find-A-Friend inserts that explain the program to help your recruiting efforts. If you would like recruiting materials, all you have to do is e-mail customerservice@gwrra.org or call Customer Service. They will be more than happy to send these great recruiting tools to you. In addition, you will be able to download the following from our Find-A-Friend website (www.gwrra.org/FAF.html): website ads, Chapter newsletter ads, printable Find-A-Friend applications, Find-A-Friend hangar tags, Find-A-Friend information recruiting cards and Find-A-Friend inserts that explain the program.

       This time of year there are usually lots of changes to Chapter Team Members.  Please be sure to complete and turn in GWRRA Officer Change/Appointment and Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for any Membership Enhancement Coordinator (MEC) that assumes these new duties.  Remember, they are not an officer until the paperwork has been submitted.

       After these new MECs are appointed, be sure to present them with a Certificate of Appointment.  A fillable generic Certificate of Appointment can be found on Officers’ Connection.

Bob & Karla 

       Happy New Year!  Yes, another year has gone into the history books.  We’ve had some changes in the training world and the fun isn’t over yet.  The GWRRA Target Training will soon be hitting the streets with what we all hope to be very positive results.  Please be sure and let everyone know that this training is not required; it is there to help those that want, or are in need of additional help in doing their respective jobs.

       Sharon and I hope that Santa was good to everyone.  For all we know there may be some new Gold Wings cruising the neighborhoods.

       Be sure and get your annual training schedules completed and published to your respective web sites.  Once that is completed, you’ll want to do some advertising of your training events.  Members won’t come if they don’t know about it.  If you have a class that will be conducted near your district border with another district, be sure and extend a courtesy invite to the members in the neighboring district.  After all, the training curriculum is the same throughout GWRRA and shouldn’t make a difference where the members come from to attend a class.

       Last but not least, we want to thank all our District Trainers for a very productive year in training.  It couldn’t be done without you.  Besides, when you do your job well, it makes us look like we know what we’re doing!  We thank you for that.

Dave & Sharon