What s Inside This Month... Officers/Staff 2-3 Director s Corner 4 Membership Enhancement 5 Rider Education 6 Calendars 8-9 GWRRA Events 10 Featured Articles 11-13 Birthdays/Annys 14 Rally Flyers 15-16 Chapter Z Monthly Gathering (second Wednesday of the month) Meet at the Golden Corral 4021 Spencer Hwy., Pasadena, TX Dinner and social hour at 6:30pm; meet at 7:30pm Chapter Z Planning Meeting (Last Monday of the month) Planning Meetings begin at 7:00pm, but come early for visitation and to eat. For the month of April, 2016, our Planning Meetings will be held at: Las Palomas Mexican Restaurant 14614 Wood forest Blvd Join us at our next gatherings: April 13 Chapter Gathering April 25 Planning Meeting May 11 Chapter Gathering TBD (Holiday) Planning Meeting Chapter Z Jump-Off (Unless otherwise stated in calendar) All rides depart from the AMC Gulf Pointe Theater, south side parking lot at I-45 and Beltway 8 1
Chapter Z Officers and Staff Chapter Directors Greg and Kris Johnstone 281-864-5368 gjohnstone1@msn.com Asst. Chapter Directors This could be you! Chapter Educators Ken & Connie Robbins 713-914-7501 krobbins@sbcglobal.net Treasurer Fay Eger 409-925-5672 egerfn@earthlink.net Membership Enhancement Coordinator Johnny Gaskill 832-654-6229 j2gaskill@sbcglobal.net Ride Coordinator Johnny Gaskill 832-654-6229 j2gaskill@sbcglobal.net Phone Tree Coordinator This could be you! Couple of the Year Who will it be? Newsletter Editor We really need some help! Webmaster Ken Robbins 713-914-7501 krobbins@sbcglobal.net Texas District Staff Texas District Directors Mike & Robin Thacker txdd@gwrra-tx.org 281-686-8892 Asst. Texas District Directors, Newsletter Editor & Webmaster Tom & Dawn Sprague tmsoragye48@gmail.com 858-755-6071 Texas District Educators Randy & Kathy Reese txed@gwrra-tx.org Texas District Treasurer Diane Shults TXTreasurer@gwrra-tx.org 713-562-3994 Membership Enhancement and COY Coordinators Steve & Donna VanGilder dvangilder@satx.rr.com 210-391-9495 Texas District Trainers TxTrainer@gwrra-tx.org Chapter of the Year Coordinators TxCOY@gwrra-tx.org Cliff & Gillian Allen 214-886-5798 Entertainment Coordinator entertainment@gwrra-tx.org District Vendor Coordinators TxVC@gwrra-tx.org Couple of the Year 2015-2016 Randy & Kathy Reese TxCOY@gwrra-tx.org 512-251-2017 2
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Hello ZOO Group March was a good month. The weather is really giving us some great opportunities to ride GWRRA id providing us with a lot of opportunities for FUN. Rally season is upon us and I hope that you can find time to attend a few of them, weather it s a Chapter, District, or a Region rally you are sure to have fun At least 2 of our participants are off on the 40 to Phoenix, an annual event that travels across country to make a stop at the GWRRA home office. I cant wait to hear about the journey. I have already seen a few pictures and it certainly makes me want to be there. One day. April has a lot to offer and I hope to see you at some of the many events going on in our Chapter and the area around us For those planning on attending the District rally if you have not already done so make your reservations soon, Hotels are filling up. There are a lot of great things planned for this event and you are sure to have a good time Several of us have already met and begun designing our Horse for the opening night festivities. Come out to the races and cheer us on. See you soon in the mean time, ride safe, ride often and represent with pride. Greg and Kris 4
This month I would like to share an out going message from Steve and Billie. They have stepped down as Region MEC so they can focus on their role as the Region assistant directors Wow! Where did the time go? It only seems like yesterday that we received a call asking us to consider placing our names in contention for the Region Membership Enhancement Coordinator position. Now we have just finished our 3rd Region Rally and what a ride it has been. Billie and I are so blessed to have such wonderful friends and team members to work with. We could not possibly list within the constraints of a newsletter all of the people who have helped us along the way, nor can we possibly put into words all that is in our hearts and the depths of gratitude that we feel towards each of you. You made being the Fun ambassadors for Region H a truly wonderful memory that we will cherish the rest of our lives. We were honored to be selected as the 2014 MEC of the Year at Wing Ding last year and followed the very first MEC of the Year in 2013, Tim and Becky Dinnel who are also from Region H. These honors were bestowed upon us, but the credit must go to the members who have supported every effort we have made for the Membership Enhancement Program. Although our tenure is through as your Region MECs, we will still be around to support the next MEC and provide whatever assistance that we can. This has been the most fun job we have ever had with GWRRA and will always treasure the memories we have made with you. Now it is time for someone else to provide new ideas and bring their flavor of fun to our Rally and throughout the Region. We look forward to seeing each of you along the way to our next destination and remember. Don t forget to pack your FUN! Steve and Billie Fleming Assistant Directors Region H Johnny Gaskill Chapter Z Membership Enhancement and Ride Coordinator 5
A Few Notes on Safety Safety is Just a State of Mind By Ken Robbins TX-Z Safety is a state of mind we all must be in when operating a motorcycle. From the time we think about going on a ride and choosing a route that may be more bike friendly to when we arrive back home and put it on the kickstand. GWRRA has taught us form the start that safety is number one. We thoroughly check the motorcycle out before every ride. We wear safety gear designed to help lesson injury in case of an accident. Riders and co-riders attend classes and seminars to learn about first aid, CPR, accident scene response, group riding, and many other skills so we are prepared to mount a motorcycle and enjoy that exhilarating feeling and sense of freedom we all enjoy. When we go for a ride whether around the block or across this great nation of ours our focus is safety. Being watchful of the surroundings, road conditions, weather, members in the group if group riding to see that we all maintain a safe and enjoyable ride. One of the things that sold me on GWRRA was the attention to safety. It is discussed in our meetings, before every ride, at rallies, and in the monthly publications. Yes SAFETY IS JUST A STATE OF MIND that keeps us safe and helps to make every ride and enjoyable one. Ken Robbins Texas Chapter Z Chapter Educator 6
Chapter Caps $10 Chapter T-Shirt $10 Chapter Polo Shirts $25 Chapter Long Sleeve Shirt $25 Contact: Greg or Kris Johnstone 281-864-5368 gjohnstone1@msn.com Visit Chapter Z s website for information and details on upcoming events and rallies www.zoogroup.org 7
F April 2016 April 2016 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 LA District Rally LA District Rally 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 14 Mystery ride Valentine s Day 9am JO 7 8 9 10 Gathering at Golden Corral; 6:30pm to eat; 7:30 mtg. 15 16 17 18 19 20 11 12 13 Gathering at Golden Corral; 6:30pm to eat; 7:30 17 18 19 20 21 14 15 16 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Mystery ride 9am JO 22 23 11 12 13 Sweetheart ride w/chapter C. J-o at Buceee s @ 9:30am 24 25 7:00pm. 28 29 7:00pm. Planning Ride for Kids Planning mtg. mtg. @ Burger Las Tex, Palomas 6918 Humble Civic Center Spencer, Pasadena. 26 27 28 29 30 8
May 2016 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Mother s Day 9 10 11 Chapter Gathering 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Memorial Day 31 9
April 6 13, 2016 40 to Phoenix http://40tophoenix.org. April 9, 2016 May 14, 2016 Chapter O Bluebonnet Rally. Details: http://www.goldwingaustin.org/ page7.html LA-M Mud Bug Rally Details: http://www.chapterlam.com/images/2016- May 19-21, 2016 TX District Rally. Details: http://www.gwrra-tx.org/news/2016registration.pdf May 26-28, 2016 AR District Rally Harrison, AR. Details: http://www.argwrra.org/ Flyers/2016_AR_District_Rally_Flyer.pdf Sept. 18-19, 2016 KS District Rally Hutchinson, KS. Details: http://www.gwrraks.com/kansas- Sept. 29 Oct. 1, 2016 OK District Rally Muskogee, OK. Details: http://www.gwrraokla.org/newconvention.html Oct. 8, 2016 Chapter T T Fest. Details: http://centexwings.org/t-fest/ Oct. 15, 2016 Chapter H Wings in the Park. Details: http://www.gwrra-txh.org/rally.htm Aug. 31 Sept. 4, 2016 Wing Ding 38 in Billings, MT Details: http://wing-ding.org/ This information is provided for the convenience of Chapter Z members. Please visit www.gwrra.org or www.gwrra-tx.org for additional information. 10
March 22, 2016 By Greg Johnstone On the 22nd of the month we had scheduled a Mystery ride. Now some of you might ask, what is that? Well frequently we will add a ride to the calendar and not have a predetermined destination in mind. What we do is leave it up to the riders who show up that day as to where they want to go, how long they want to ride or what they want to see.. These rides usually turn out to be a lot of fun and today was no exception. We had 4 bikes arrive at the jump off and after a little discussion we decided a Bluebonnet ride was in order and the national Forest seemed like a good place to go. The four of us loaded up and as we usually do we headed off for the most indirect route we could think of, in fact there were several suggestions as to which roads we should be sure to hit. After about two hours of riding we ended up in Cleveland at the Love s truck stop on 105 and 59. Somebody made the comment they we should pick a spot for lunch. I am not sure who said it or if they were even serious about it but we heard Yankee Tavern. Everyone agreed that it had been some time since our last visit there and we were game, lets go. So that s exactly what we did, loaded up and off we went, a couple people in the group suggested some specific roads we wanted to hit and that s exactly what we did. It was kind of coo; when we arrived, there were only 2 other bikes in the parking lot and we were able to park right in front the tavern, as you can see from the picture on the right. of The food was as good as we remember and the service was good (another couple ordered a potato and it came out quickly). More importantly we got to spend some time visiting with some good friends, one we had not seen in a while. Here we are ready to roll. From left to right Jason, Greg, Johnny and Butch 11
March 25, 2016 By Darlene McAlexander On Friday March 25th Chapter Z took a road trip to Gonzales, TX to view and experience the moving Vietnam Wall. Those in the ride were profoundly moved of the viewing. This wall is in the shape of a reverse "V". It lists all the men by year they died in the conflict. AS you walk the wall you feel the loss of men who gave it all and lost the opportunity to live free un this country to have jobs, homes and families. I felt this loss as my first husband is in the wall. He is still listed as MIA on June 30, 1970. His son was born in Oct of the same year. It is important we not forget all the men who "gave it all" that we might be free. To the right is a picture of his name on the wall. Mitchell Olen Sadler, Jr. Continue on page 13 12
Continued from page 12 March 25, 2016 By Darlene McAlexander On the way home we decided to venture our to McMahon Texas, home of the famous Whizzerville Hall. Known for having the best pizza in the state of Texas. If you have not been there make it a destination in the future you will not regret it. 13
Happy Birthday Clark Hill 04-06 Anniversaries None that I am aware of Congratulations to everyone! 14
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