GWRRA TEXAS DISTRICT. Get Ready To Rally!

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1 GWRRA TEXAS DISTRICT FRIENDS FOR FUN SAFETY KNOWLEDGE April 2013 Issue District Corner 2 OCP Certification Update 3 District Couple of the Year 5 Feelin Groovy Dance 7 Get Ready To Rally! We are less than one month away from the Texas Gumball Rally which will be held in Wichita Falls, Texas May 16th thru 18th. We are planning to have lots of different activities as well as our education classes and most of all have FUN! Get your motorcycles ready to take a nice beautiful ride and enjoy the scenic view to Wichita Falls. I guarantee you will meet some new friends and catch up with some old friends you haven t seen in a while. We look forward to seeing you in May. COY Coordinators 8 MEC Coordinators 9 Intl. Assistant Directors 10 Motorcycle Raffle Tickets 11 CHOY Coordinators 12 Riders Education 13 By the Book 15 Region H News 16 Region H Wing Break Flyer 18 Wing Ding Rider Ed Raffle Flyer 20 District Staff 23 Passport Events 24

2 Page 2 Bringing The Fun to Texas David Vidrine Texas District Director Clock is ticking for the Texas Gumball Rally Christina and I just returned from Region H s Convention in Marshall Texas. We both had a great time. We thank Bill and DeAnn Gray and the Region team for providing a lot of laughter and FUN this weekend. We definitely needed it. We wanted to congratulate Tim and Becky Dinnel, the new Region H Couple of the Year. They are from our sister District-Louisiana. Even though our Texas District Couple Mike and Robin Thacker did not get chosen, we know Tim and Becky will do an outstanding job representing Region H. Region H put on an great dance party Friday evening in downtown Marshall. It was great to see everyone in their beach attire. The greatest part of the dance was the Crazy Legs Contest. Mike Thacker your Assistant District competed and won the most colorful legs with those CRAZY socks! It was hilarious. Karen Frazier and Robin Thacker put their bikes in the bike competition and won! Robin won 1st place in 1800 custom. Karen won first place in open class. Christina and I are looking forward to seeing everyone at the Gumball Rally. We hope you will take the time to come and have fun. We have heard some people say It s too far to drive. Believe me it will be well worth the trip. Be safe and come and have some fun in May with us.

3 Page 3 Back In Time-Feelin Groovy Dance It s time to reminisce back in time when peace signs and rose colored glasses were cool. Let s bring out our platform shoes and bell-bottom jeans. Oh! Don t forget the suede vest. This party will start rocking on Friday, May 17, 2013 at the Texas Gumball Rally in Wichita Falls, Texas. The time will be from 7:30pm to midnight. It will take place at the host hotel-holiday Inn. You can decorate your table anyway you choose. We will be having a contest. All we ask is that you cannot have the following decorations per the hotels policies: No confetti or glitter of any kind No flammable items Here s some hippe slang: Chick - girl or woman Cool Cat Cool Guy Dig - Do you understand? Far-out - awesome Flower Child - A Hippie Groovy - Nice or neat Lay It On Me - Tell me or speak your piece Right On - exactly or I second that Shades - Sunglasses So we hope to see you chicks and dudes. It will be outta sight! Don t be square and forget your shades!

4 Page 4 Christina's Crazy Comments If you haven t registered for the Texas Gumball Rally, you haven t noticed we will be having a tour bus come and pick us up to head out to the Kiowa Casino on Thursday, May 16, The bus will depart from the host hotel, The Holiday Inn at 6:30pm. We will have beads and giveaways and we will be playing games on the bus. We will return back to the hotel at 10:00pm. We know we have some early birds who need their beauty sleep. So get on the District website and fill out a registration form to come and join us for casino night. Did I mention there will be a free buffet for all who come on the bus ALONG with $10.00 to start playing games or slots? We promise you will have FUN!!! PRIZES GIVEAWAYS

5 Page 5 READY SET GO! Check out the awesome pine car trophy we will have this year at the Texas Gumball Rally on May 16, The trophy will be given to the 1st place winner at the Chapter Pine Car Races at Opening Ceremony from 3:30pm to 5:00pm. Please remember to read the instructions for the pine car and the wooden ball you received. There are some specifications that are required per the MPEC Center. We look forward to seeing everyone at the Texas Gumball Rally. We have loads of fun packed for everyone. If you do forget to pack your fun, there are a lot of your GWRRA friends who will be there to share theirs with you.

6 Page 6 DISTRICT COUPLE OF THE YEAR Mike and Robin Thacker- Master Tour Riders 6751 & 6162 Getting Ready for Couple of the Year Selection at Region H Rally- Marshall Texas As I write this article, I have realized that there are only twelve days left until we compete for the Region H Couple of the Year. We are not worried at all because we have met all of the District Couples of the Year and we believe whoever is chosen to represent Region H will be the right ones for the job. From what I understand we will have Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Louisiana couples to choose from. We will miss David and Sherri McDonald from Kansas, Dang those jobs, getting in our way of having fun. Arkansas: Sam and Belinda Lister Louisiana: Tim and Becky Dinnel Kansas: David and Sherri McDonald- We will miss you guys. Oklahoma: Dan Scott and Cheryl Kleymann Texas: Myself and Mike On Friday, April 5th we will have our interviews in the morning during breakfast and between 10:00-11:30 we will be involved in the selection Process. The Couple selected to represent Region H for 2013 will be announced Friday evening at the Beach Party Street Dance in Downtown Marshall. Oh, I just thought of something. There is no way I am dressing in beach attire for the party just in case we have to have pictures taken. That would be a sight to see. We are really getting excited about this year s riding season. We are going to put a lot of miles on our bikes this year. Are ya ll ready to roll with us? Let s get our riding gear on and hit the roads.

7 Page 7 Having Fun At Region Rally 2013 Friends Having FUN

8 Page 8 TEXAS DISTRICT COUPLE OF TH E YEAR COORDINATORS Dave and Jean Simmons Attention 2013 Chapter Couples of the Year YOU ARE INVITED.. to a reception during our District Convention in Wichita Falls. We are encouraging all 2013 Texas Chapter Couples of the Year to gather with us Saturday, May 18th, at 9 a.m. in room 9 of the Ray Clymer Exhibit Hall. You will get to meet, and get acquainted with, the other Chapter Couples in our District. So, if you are planning to attend the convention, please make a note on your schedule to set aside an hour for this reception. We will be contacting each of you to remind you of this event and to get an idea of how many will be attending, but we wanted to give you a heads up so you can make plans to attend. We Continue With Our Presentation of 2013 Chapter Couples of the Year Lyle & Sheri Altes Chapter O Cliff & Gillian Allen Chapter R Glenn & Pam Tiffin Chapter A

9 Page 9 Texas District Membership Enhancement Coordinators Steve and Billie Fleming It s Rally-Vention Season! Gumball Rally-vention We are getting closer to the Gumball Rally in Wichita Falls and things are starting to come together for an exciting time. We are anticipating a great Convention and hope everyone is making their plans to join in the FUN. Chapter visits We made a trip to San Antonio to visit with the good folks of Chapter U. We were able to go on a ride with them and get our bike blessed after a very chilly start and then share some good groceries at Shorty s and a good dessert at the DQ. Ken, Connie and the rest of the riders sure made us feel welcomed. Thank you for a great time and fond memories. We must do that again soon. We made 2 trips to Beaumont this month. The first was to officially install their MEC, Byrdie Mosur at the Chapter Gathering. We had a great visit with the Chapter and A.V. and JoAnn have an awesome team there. We went back the next weekend for the first Rally-vention of the season and had a great time with the good folks in Beaumont. The food was good and the company was outstanding. Chapter J put on an excellent Convention and those who did not make it missed a good time for sure. We plan to make as many Chapter visits as we can just to say howdy and share the FUN with everyone while making new friends along the way. Friends for FUN, Safety and Knowledge! Don t forget to pack your FUN!

10 Page 10 CHRISTINA S CRAZY COMMENTS The Texas Gumball Rally will be having a Talent Show on Friday, May 17, 2013 from 2pm to 4pm at the MPEC Center. We are looking for our GWRRA friends who like to sing, dance or even want to be a comedian to come and participate in the Talent Show. So come and join the fun. We will have a sign-up sheet at a table at the MPEC Center. We are looking forward to having some fun at the Talent Show.

11 Page 11 How cool would you look on this bike! We are selling raffle tickets for the bike above. If you are interested: You don t need to be present to win It will have an open title which means if you are not interested in this motorcycle, you can use the title for something else such as a dirt bike, ATV or even a down payment for a Goldwing! The cost is a book of five tickets for ten dollars-what a great deal! If you are interested in selling tickets, please contact Mike Thacker (281) or David Vidrine at (281) We would sincerely appreciate any help in selling these tickets. We will be happy to meet you to drop them off or if you live outside of the Houston area, we will make arrangements to get them to you. Again, any assistance you can provide in selling these tickets will be greatly appreciated.

12 Page 12 Texas District Chapter of the Year Coordinators Billie Fleming and Robin Thacker DOUBLE YOUR FUN! It is just a short time until the Texas District Rally. It is going to be fun and exciting, and there will be something for everyone. This is a great opportunity for chapters to accrue points for the Chapter of the Year program by attending the rally and the seminars. There will be Rider Education, Leadership Training and Membership Enhancement Seminars. It may be hard choosing what to do first or you could just do it all. Some things to consider: Go to the Casino Attend seminars Catch a movie and relax Play games for participation tickets Race your pine car Do the Vendor Walk Do the Medallion Hunt Take Dance Lessons and be the next Arthur Murray Go to the Helicopter Mock Scene Go to the Couple of the Year Selection and cheer for the winner Go to the Chapter of the Year Awards Presentation Attend or participate in the Talent Show Watch or participate in the Amazing Team Challenge Sign up and enter in the Chapter Competitions Enter in the Parade Dress Competition for chapters and couples Enter your bike in the Bike show and the Light Show Dress as a hippie and win the Table Decoration Contest at the dance Buy tickets to win the Grand Prize, Motorcycle and 50/25/25 s Buy tickets for the Gas Card Tree and support the COY Program There will be a good time for everyone and the FUN is not over yet. The 2014 rally will be announced at closing. You will definitely want to get this on your calendar to attend. Be there and be among the first to know about more FUN events to come.

13 Page 13 RIDER EDUCATION Have Fun, Ride Safe, and enjoy the Knowledge Ricky & Karen Frazier, Texas District Educators Senior Masters: Ricky #6673, Karen #6674 Ricky: Karen: When a member reaches the Level IV it is an Honor and shows a real commitment to GWRRA and their Rider Education program. Each month we see may members working toward this designation and are very excited when we see the commitment and dedication that we saw when we presented the Level IV to Johnny Gaskill with Chapter Z. He was insistent that we take his picture with all his gear as he is committed to wearing ALL THE GEAR ALL THE TIME and feels everyone should be committed to this. We are here to help our members achieve this goal. Also, remember attendance to the Level IV Honor lunch at the Texas District Rally requires pre-registration. We do not like doing this but must order the food in advance of the Rally. DON T FORGET TO SIGNUP, WE HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE. NEW LEVEL IV MONTHLY SPOTLIGHT Johnny Gaskill Chapter Z We will be attending the Region H Rally and will teaching the new Motorist Awareness Division seminar. This seminar is a new requirement for Level III and Level IV and we will be obtaining our certification to be seminar instructors. We are also working on our certification to be instructors for CPR / First Aid. Once we complete these we will be available to teach CPR / First Aid and rider education seminars at your Chapter levels. If you want to schedule any classes contact us and we will setup a date. We continue to have fun while meeting our responsibilities per GWRRA s moto Friends for fun, safety & knowledge. As one of our friends once said, if YOU are not having fun YOU did not pack it and bring it with YOU. Our plan is to bring it with US where ever we go. Have Fun, Ride Safe, and enjoy the Knowledge

14 Page 14 By the Book By: Jack Wagner Region H Trainer Learn the Truth..Then Pass it Along By the Book articles are intended to help familiarize GWRRA Volunteer Leaders and Members with the policies, procedures, and information contained in the GWRRA Officer s Handbook (OHB). A copy of the Officer s Handbook can be found at the following Internet website: Achieving the Vision the Final Installment This is the final installment of our exploration of the GWRRA Vision statement. There are two elements remaining. GWRRA provides a culture which fosters Members with shared values, team concepts and camaraderie. This culture also provides its Members with opportunities for personal development and achievement. Does this particular element sound like it could be part of the foundation for GWRRA's motto Friends for Fun, Safety and Knowledge'? Friendships usually form when people with shared values begin to associate with each other, resulting in a spirit of familiarity and trust, which is the definition of camaraderie. Another definition of camaraderie is the experience of good fellowship fun? And what results in more satisfaction than a bunch of friends working together as a team to accomplish a shared goal? The last element of the GWRRA Vision is an all encompassing statement of how GWRRA leadership functions to grow the Association. GWRRA s Divisions work harmoniously as a team to increase the membership base by creating an atmosphere that provides fun, promotes safety, heightens knowledge, and by offering a full range of desirable services and benefits for its Members. Divisions, now known as Programs, include Rider Education, Leadership Training, Membership Enhancement and Operations. Operations consists of the Directors and Assistant Directors who are the leaders (cheerleaders) of the team. Rider Ed and Leadership Training function to promote safety and heighten knowledge while Membership Enhancement focuses on the FUN not to say that participation in Rider Education and Leadership Training can't be FUN too. Another part of this Vision element involves the Member benefits, which are too numerous to detail here (check out Benefits under the Members tab of These Program teams all work together in an effort to make membership in GWRRA the best experience it can be keeping current Members and attracting new ones. A vision statement is a goal for the long term. It is an idealistic or aspirational planning tool describing lofty goals which may be unlikely to be attained. For Paul, Shirley and the others who developed the vision statement, these may have seemed like oversimplified goals in support of the mission to become the best motorcycle association of Friends sharing in FUN, improving the Safety of motorcycling and giving the Members Knowledge they can use every day. However, what may have appeared to be simple, have sustained our Association for over 35 years and will assuredly lead us into the future. Learn the Truth Then Pass It Along Jack Wagner Region H Trainer

15 Page 15 REGION H NEWS Bill & Dea Ann Gray Region H Director, GWRRA Operation H - No Winger Left Behind! RALLY the Troops! Finally! Spring has sprung and rally season is upon us. LET S RIDE and catch up with old friends. While you re are at it, find a new friend and invite them to join the fun. A few dates to put on your calendar: April 4th, 5th & 6th - Region H Convention, Marshall, TX April 19th & 20th - Louisiana Convention, Lafayette, LA May 17th & 18th - Texas Convention, Wichita Falls, TX May 24th & 25th Arkansas Convention, Harrison, AR July 3rd 6th WING DING 35, Greenville, SC District, Region and National websites have flyers and registration forms. Links can be found at Chapter rallies, anniversaries, dinner rides, etc. are filling calendars as well! We encourage you to take advantage of these opportunities not only for the enjoyment of riding but for the camaraderie. Be safe, have fun and we ll see you somewhere! Region H Team Region Directors Bill and Dea Ann Gray Director@gwrra-h.org Assistant Region Director Garry and Phylis Van Buskirk ADirector@gwrra-h.org Assistant Region Director Membership Enhancement Coord. Couple Coordinators Patch Princess Jere and Maurine Pyburn MED@gwrra-h.org Treasurer/Chapter of the Year Coord. Ed and Ann Nahl Educator, Webmaster, Sam and Anita Belinoski Educator@gwrra-h.org Webmaster@gwrra-h.org Motorist Awareness Coordinators Larry and Brenda Penepent mad@gwrra-h.org Trainer Jack Wagner trainer@gwrra-h.org Couple of the Year Tim and Becky Dinnel COY@gwrra-h.org Medic/First Aid Coordinators Greg and Cassima Dean MFA@gwrra-h.org Vendor Coordinators Jim and Ruby Seale Vendor@gwrra-h.org Newsletter Editors Robert and Voleta McClure newsletter@gwrra-h.org

16 Page 16 NATIONAL Chief Executive Officer/Chairman Of the Board/Founder Paul Hildebrand Director Jere Goodman National Team Chief Operating Officer Melissa Eason Marketing Director Ed Price International Couple of the Year Greg and Renee Dempsey

17 Page 17 GWRRA Texas District Rider Education Raffle $10.00/Ticket benefiting TX Dist. Rider Ed Program 1 st Place Prize Brinkman Vertex Gas Grill Value $ nd Place Prize Riding Gear for 2 Value $ Dicke Safety Reflective Rain Jacket 1XL & 1Lg HJC is33 Helmet 1XL & 1Lg Cortech Gloves -1XXL & 1 Med 3 rd Place Prize - $ Cash Drawing to be held at closing ceremony at Texas District Convention Wichita Falls, Texas, May 16th 18th, 2013 NEED NOT BE PRESENT TO WIN

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20 Page 20 Operations District Director David & Christina Vidrine Assistant District Directors Mike & Robin Thacker Treasurer Diane Shults Entertainment Coordinator Kenny Shults Vendor Coordinators Kenny Shults Rider Education Educators Ricky & Karen Frazier Leadership Training Leadership Trainer OPEN Membership Enhancement Membership Enhancement Coordinators Steve and Billie Fleming District Activities Coordinators Phil & Annette Lockler Couple of the Year Mike & Robin Thacker Couple of the Year Coordinators Dave & Jean Simmons Newsletter Editor Christina Vidrine Webmaster Tom & Dawn Sprague Chapter of the Year Coordinators Billie Fleming Robin Thacker

21 Page 21 If you have an article, news, or other item of interest that you would like to be included in this newsletter, please it to by the 20th of the month Save the Date (Passport Events) Louisiana District Convention April 18-20, 2013 Lafayette, LA Visit website at: Texas District Convention Texas Gumball Rally 2013 May 16-18, 2013 Wichita Falls, MPEC Center Visit Website: Arkansas District Convention May 23-25, 2013 Visit Website: Wing Ding 2013 July 3-6, 2013 Greenville, SC Visit Website: Oklahoma District Convention October 3-5, 2013 Visit Website: Kansas State Convention September 13-15, 2013 Abilene, KS Visit Website: Friends for Fun, Safety and Knowledge