May Newsletter
Hello!
Where do I start? I guess the best place is at the beginning of the month-April.
We started out the month enjoying a visit from out oldest daughter & 3 grandchildren. I was on the go from Monday thru Wednesday! One thing can be said is that I had not slept that good for a long time! If you have not been to Pump It Up in Roanoke or Amazement Square in Lynchburg I can highly recommended!
Wish we could had been there bowling with you all but we felt we needed to make a quick trip to Ohio to visit Julie’s family. I think this was the first Easter we have not spent in Virginia. Sounded like you all were defiantly having a good time at the bowling alley for the Members Choice outing for April when I called to check in. Just wanted to make sure you all were not missing us too much! What did we do before cell phones?
Margaret, Don, & Fred visited chapter V for pizza before their meeting and Lee & I were there for the meeting & T Clock. Afterwards they grilled hot dogs and served all the fixins complete with potato salad, baked beans, & delicious desert! All of it was very tasty! Thank you chapter V for a great meal! The weather was yucky but the rain did manage to hold off until we got home. That was my first ride this year. I kind of hated going home but it was that or get wet!
Thank you ALL for you help with the Annual Open Bike Show. From the set up to the clean up your help is very much appreciated more than you know. The team effort you all put in was very valuable. We were disappointed that the attendance was down from last year but there were so many activities going on in the area and other GWRRA chapters. It’s really hard to pick a date for a community activity in November when you have no idea what other things will be going on at the same time. I still think the location was great!
Thank you to our committee members-John & Patsy, Bryan & Debbie, Dexter & Linda, and Angie & Billy! Even though we had a few bumps in the road at the last minute I don’t think anyone really noticed except that our District Director was not there to man the dunking booth since he was recovering from 3 broken ribs. We especially want to thank the members of Chapter K that attended! Thank you for your support! Regardless of the attendance it was a good day to make some new friends & spend with our GWRRA family! Whether you participated in the bike show, played games, or just visited we’re glad you were there!
I’m really looking forward to Larry’s Member Choice ride for May. Hope everyone has it on their calendar!
Until next time Ride Safe!
Lee & Julie Montgomery
“Friends for Fun, Safety, and Knowledge”
MAY is Motorcycle Awareness Month. Please pay attention to all of your surroundings on a bike or in a car.
2009 WING DING SITE NAMED - GWRRA National has announced that Wing Ding 2009 will be held at the Expo Square in Tulsa, OK. The theme will be "Cruising to the Pow-Wow." Visit the www.gwrra.org to keep tabs on arrangements.
Rally in the Valley® 2009 – The theme this year is “Hollywood Comes to the Valley”. Lets
put our thinking caps on and be deciding on out costumes. October will be here be here before we know it.
Well, this week, for the most part, has been like summer rather than spring. Seems like we went from winter into summer. Bobby and I have not been doing all that much but, hopefully, he will be feeling better soon and we can do some riding. Yah!! He did ride the motorcycle down to have it inspected which was really good for him. He had not been on the bike since last August. We are looking forward to summer and riding if at all possible. He has had a good week this week. Thanks for your prayers. We really enjoyed the bike show this past weekend. As always, you guys and girls are terrific to be around. Seems like the dunking booth had quite a bit of activity. The weather cooperated really well too. It was nice. Hope we made some money. Hope Bob can ride his bike next year.
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NOTHING BEATS SPRING. This one's true no matter where you are. There's always something special about the beginning of a new riding season, and a new one is upon us. On the riding side, you can start planning your season with the calendar of events, including the '09 state of AMA Grand Tours. Americade will be held in Lake George, NY, on June 1-6, 2009. Some of our chapter are planning on attending this event. Suggestion from AMA magazine, May 2009 issue. DO something this year you've always wanted to do, whether it's ride coast-to-coast, race a vintage motorcross or rebuild that old motorcycle. Just do it. The road (for trail, or track) is calling your name. See you there. (AMA magazine, May 2009 issue.)
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BUY A BIKE, GET A TAX BREAK. (Motorcyclists Benefit from Economic Stimulus Bill). Thanks to language added to a major economic stimulus bill that President Obama signed into Law, you might save some money on your next motorcycle purchase. The AMA, acting in conjunction with other stakeholders, worked diligently to get motorcycle provision put in the bill that would allow anyone buying a new motorcycle to deduct the sales and excise taxes on his or her 2009 tax return. "This move will provide much-needed relief to riders, as well as to those who sell motorcycles," said AMA Vice President Ed Moreland. When it appeared that motorcycles were going to be overlooked in this bill, the AMA and the Association's members, along with Harley-Davidson and others, took our case straight to Capitol Hill and persuaded lawmakers that this was the right decision." Prior to the actions taken by the AMA and others, the deductions only applied to the purchase of a new car or light truck. "We want to thank all motorcyclists who took the time to contact their elected officials," Moreland said. "This represents a community-wide effort to elevate motorcycles as a recognized and viable means of transportation in America." (AMA magazine, May 2009 issue.)
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Two bikers are pulled up to a stop sign. One looks up and sees a funeral procession starting by. He pulls the bike to the side of the road, gets off, stands by its side, takes off his helmet, and bows his head. The procession passes by the intersection, and the biker puts on his helmet, gets back on the bike, and starts it up. The other biker comes over and says, "That was touching. I didn't know you had it in you." The first biker responds, "Well, I guess it was the right thing to do - after all, I was married to her for 40 years."
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Lee Montgomery
Member’s Choice
May Larry & Joanne
June Bob & Lil
July John & Patsy
August Bobby & Pat
September Tony & Vickie (Picnic)
Bits & Pieces Just for you………………
Hope everyone enjoyed the bike show…………just glad it’s all over. The crowd didn’t seem at large as in the past, but I think the weather had a lot to do with that. It was just too hot to be outside. Everyone was probably inside enjoying the cool.
We’re all looking forward to Larry & Joanne’s outing on the 23rd. I guess we’re stilling meeting at the Hardee’s in Salem (West Main/Wildwood Road) about 9:00. Taking a ride and then ending up eating again at the pizza place on Bent Mountain. It always seems like we start our ride at a restaurant and end our ride at another restaurant. Just shows we like to eat.
Again several Chapter Positions are still open….. Chapter Couple, R & R, Historian/Scrapbook, Photographer. If anyone would like to volunteer for these, please see Lee or Julie…
Hope everyone is checking out the web site………www.salemwings.webs.com
Until next time……….
CHAPTER DIRECTORS
FOR IMMEDIATE ATTENTION
We have become aware that representatives of an independent group of Goldwingers from the King, North Carolina area have formed and are calling themselves the Saura Mountain Wings. They have been in attendance at some of the North Carolina GWRRA Chapter meetings and have made statements that we feel must be corrected and clarified.
For those of you who are not familiar with King, it is a small community located approximately 15 miles from Winston-Salem. On October 21, 2008 we received a request from a representative of this independent group to obtain a GWRRA Chapter charter. Although we are always receptive to the idea of additional Chapters in the North Carolina District, a decision on the approval of any new Chapter must include not only consideration of the needs of the potential members of that Chapter, it must also weigh the benefits of that Chapter against any potential damage to any existing Chapter. A decision about this request for charter was made, with other considerations, in light of that potential damage factor. We also weighed whether there was a clear and pressing need for a new Chapter whose participants could just as easily be served by an existing Chapter. With a new Chapter in such close proximity to Winston-Salem Chapter B2 we saw a very real possibility that a new Chapter would cause harm to B2 by potentially dividing the loyalty from B2's participants. Our decision was based on the common sense that not only could B2 sustain an uncalled-for loss of participants, but the new Chapter may not develop healthily enough to operate on its own. We've seen a small number of other Chapters in North Carolina have to close down after just a few years for the very same reasons. When those conditions pre-exist it is not a wise decision to start a new Chapter.
Based upon the above and other factors, the North Carolina District initially denied a charter for the Saura Mountain Wings as a Chapter of North Carolina GWRRA, and principals of the group were informed of that decision on October 27, 2008. Since October, 2008 we have had further communication with the representatives of the Saura Mountain Wings group, and based upon those communications we have attempted to act in a positive manner by re-considering the charter request. However, even based upon the additional information provided to us we still did not, in good conscience, find a reason to approve the request for charter.
We have received reports, over the past several months that representatives of Saura Mountain Wings have visited established North Carolina GWRRA Chapters and have announced the existence of their group. They've announced at these meetings they were awaiting approval from the North Carolina District to charter their group. Even after personally asking the representatives to cease from making that announcement, they've continued to do so. We have also recently become aware that some members of the group are already wearing GWRRA vests on which they've attached a Saura Mountain Wings rocker adjacent to the 10" GWRRA logo patch. This leads people to incorrectly believe that the group is already a GWRRA Chapter. This indication is not the case, is in direct opposition to the GWRRA rules regarding the use of the GWRRA logo, and combined with the verbal announcements that the group is awaiting a Chapter charter is a misleading indication of an affiliation of their group with the North Carolina GWRRA. Although some, or all, of the Saura Mountain Wings group are members of
GWRRA, the group as a whole is not organized as a North Carolina GWRRA Chapter. GWRRA members are considered by the National Office to be "members" of all GWRRA Chapters worldwide, and are encouraged to freely and fully participate in any Chapter they choose, and the North Carolina District does not alienate any member from participating in any Chapter gathering or special event for which they choose. So, since the point in time when the request for the Saura Mountain Wings charter was denied, we have encouraged the members of that group to support the Winston-Salem Chapter B2, even if they also chose to continue attending and supporting their independent group. Anyone or any group is welcome to visit, and/or participate, in any existing GWRRA Chapter. If they wish to make announcements on behalf of their group, the Chapter Director is responsible to pre-approve those announcements. However, the announcements from a group which is not chartered by GWRRA that include or indicates that they are simply awaiting approval or charter is not acceptable, unless the North Carolina District Director informs the Chapter Directors otherwise.
We would appreciate you as the Chapter Director sharing the gist of this information with your participants, and should the occasion arise when members of the Saura Mountain Wings attend your meeting we ask that, if you give them the opportunity to do so, they only announce their gathering information and not any reference to the group being a GWRRA affiliate except by their individual membership. Please also be aware that the Saura Mountain Wings do not enjoy the tax-exempt status that other GWRRA chartered Chapters enjoy for their gathering and events, and the Saura Mountain Wings are not covered by the umbrella insurance policy that other GWRRA chartered Chapters enjoy.
Part of our responsibility as North Carolina District Directors is to help maintain the health and welfare of all of our Chapters, and with your assistance we will utilize decisions such as the above denial of charter to continue to do that. If any questions arise regarding this matter please feel free to contact us directly.
Thanks for all you do for North Carolina, and thanks for your attention to
this matter.
Dennis and Kathy Hull