MUDBUG NEWS Friends for fun, safety

And knowledge

CHAPTER DIRECTORS

ROBERT & JOAN PARTIGIANONI

CHAPTER GATHERING FIRST THURSDAY OF THE MONTH AT CAT-

FISH HUT DERIDDER, LA AT 6:30 PM

www.chapterlam.com

MAY 2015

Hello Mudbugs,

As I write this article, thinking back over the few month and I just

smile at some of the fun we have had. We did the District Rally,

yes it is now called a Rally and no longer a Convention. As al-

ways lots of fun from the District Staff, who make an attempt

every year to come up with something different with FUN in

mind.

We also got to go to the Region H Rally which was held in Mar-

shall, TX. Jack Wagner was promoted up and announced his suc-

cessor which is one of the Louisiana Region folks from Chapter D

in Monroe, LA. That person who is now the new Region H Direc-

tor is Jim Berry. The Rally had many things to do and classes to

take. Joan and I both gave individual classes to be graded so we

could become Senior Instructors. We both passed so now

waiting for the paperwork to go through.

We now prepare for our Mudbug Rally which will be on 16 May

2015. We have been told that there are at least 4 Chapters from

Texas that will be coming over to our Rally. Putting on this Rally

is not easy or cheap as our two menu items of Crawfish and Bris-

ket both cost lots of money, but it is all worth the work and mon-

ey to give as much fun for a Chapter Rally as possible.

Robert and Joan Partigianoni

Chapter Director, Chapter LA-M

Spring is here

New members come in and want to ride but may not have experience with group riding. Some of these new members may have never owned a Goldwing before, and for some, the Goldwing may be their first motorcycle ever! Safety and Training come to the forefront as these new members are in-troduced to your chapter and group rides. How will you address this influx of new members? Our plan and recognition of these peoples’ needs will determine the growth and safety of our chapter. This is the perfect time of year to hold Group Riding Seminars and Road Captains Courses to pre-pare us all. This not only will indoctrinate our new members and keep them safe, it will also encour-age our experienced members to get more involved and help new people along. Training new peo-ple in the basics of Team/Group Riding, remind your experienced members of these ba-sics, We encourage our veterans to step up to the challenge of leading group rides. Let’s take ad-vantage of the tools we have available to us by getting certified in these courses and passing this important information on . With spring comes better riding weather and a corresponding increase in members and amount of riding. This is the time to assess members’ abilities and skills (new members and experienced alike). Is there a need for skills enhancement? Are people rusty after the long winter? Are the BIKES rusty after the long winter? Maybe there is a need in for Maintenance seminars, emphasis on T-CLOCK, Parking Lot Practices, or referral to MSF courses. How many times have we seen co-riders who are riding “just for their riders’ sake?” They may not be enjoying the ride and may not be dressed or prepared properly as Team members while riding. Are these new members seeing themselves as co-riders or cargo? This is the ideal time for a Co-Rider Seminar to stress the importance of having an extra set of eyes on the road with your Riders. Take advantage of this resource, and train all our members accordingly. We can talk about the various aspects of Team/Group riding from a safety standpoint, but the social aspect is another side to Team/Group Riding. The involvement of new members and prospective members in chapter activities is a social aspect of Rider Education that often goes unnoticed as a by-product and/or necessity of Team Riding. As opposed to being an individual or couple just out for a ride, they are now ‘Members of The Team’ with specific responsibilities and a role within their chap-ter rides. This social aspect of Team Riding fosters ownership within the Chapter, draws new mem-bers into the chapter, and keeps current members involved. Team Riding and Training are more than an issue of Safety; these activities also help with Member Retention and Recruiting! With the new riding season come new opportunities to start or re-start our Rider Education efforts with new members and old. Whether it’s presenting material to someone who is new to riding or re-visiting the key points of Team Riding with your veteran chapter leaders, Spring is the perfect time to get started. The rides are going to happen and the new people will come in during spring and sum-mer. It’s up to the Educators and Officers to ensure that these people are exposed to Safe Motorcy-

cling practices and guidelines.

CHAPTER EDUCATORS

ROBERT&JOAN PARTIGIANONI (t)

CHAPTER M AND

DISTRICT MOTORIST AWARENESS

COORDINATORS

MICKEY & MARY SEARELS

As Motorist Awareness (MA) Coordinators, our main goal is to enlighten the mo-toring public about not only us, but all motorcyclists on the road. we conduct ed-

ucational events for the public.

"One Person at a Time" in making the public more aware of us.

Each and every time you speak with someone, be it at a dentist office, doctor’s office, gas station or grocery store, you have just conducted a Motorist Aware-ness event and the folks you speak with are your participants. That, my friends, is the "One Person at a Time" philosophy. Even though we have Directors and

Educators filling the positions of MAC in our chapters, we all should take every opportunity to make that connection with the public and re- port it on behalf of our chapter. Very seldom have I heard the "One Person at a Time" terminology

use at a Chapter Gathering, , what it stood for, and how it benefits not only Chapter M, but all motorcyclists. Please, let us all step up, and start reporting those Events/ Participants that we never thought meant anything. And to each

of you, I send my thanks and appreciation for doing your part to promote motor-ist awareness.

The reality is that EVERY month is Motorcycle Safety and Motorist Awareness month. Don’t get us wrong, we are very appreciative of the fact that Federal,

State and Local Governments set aside a month each year to get the message out to the public that not only do we exist, but realize it, accept it and above all;

“Share the Road” with us. For us who ride, it is a part of our everyday reality

Each of us has a vested interest in Motorcycle Safety and Motorist Awareness because it directly affects us; the Motorcycling and Triking enthusiast.

We also believe that every one of us has a story to tell of an incident, close call or, heaven forbid, some thing even worse that makes this very personal. Be-

cause of this we are all a part of the story, we need to take it further and make each and every one of us a part of the solution. Chapter M is“Kicking it Up a

Notch” when it comes to Motorist Awareness (MA).

Thank you all for your Continued Support

Mickey and Mary Searels

District Directors

Red & Brenda Roussel

Hello Wingers,

We attended the Region H Rally and had a great time. We would like to congratulate Steve

and Carolyn Cotton for being selected the new Region H Couple of the Year. Also, would like

to congratulate Jim and Reba Berry for being selected Region H Directors, I’m sure they will

do a great job. Oh! By the way, they’re from LOUISIANA.

Also, want to congratulate Chapter K for winning first place in Banners and scrapbook.

Great job again, that’s why you were Chapter of the Year, participation means everything.

For those who attended the Louisiana Mac Day, thanks for attending and representing

GWRRA. This shows the importance of our Motor Awareness Program, helping to educate

the public on motorcycle safety.

We’ll be attending the Texas Rally on April 30th, May 1st and 2nd, hope to see you guys their

having fun and participating. Would like to congratulate Robert and Joan Partigianoni for

being certified as Senior UT Trainers, great job.

Don’ forget on May 16th, Chapter M is putting on their Mudbug Rally. It’s a great fun day

plenty games and friend and mudbugs.

At the end of May, Arkansas will have their Rally in Harrison Arkansas. Great riding, it will

be on May 21st, 22nd and 23rd.

Until next time have fun, attend seminars and ride safe.

Red and Brenda Roussel

LA DD.

Hello Louisiana,

May 2015

We want to start off by congratulating Chapter LA-K for becoming the new “SILVER

LEVEL” 2014 La. District "CHAPTER OF THE YEAR". They are the "best of the best"

Chapter from our District for the year 2014. What an honor! GREAT JOB and once

again…CONGRATULATIONS from the La. District Team!!! With this honor came the

CHOY Traveling trophy, which the 2013 Chapter of the Year, Chapter M, turned over to

them, a very nice “Hand crafted, Laser engraved, personalized wooden wood plaque from

Woodwing Art (Thank you Mitch and Marie Kilgore – Woodwing Art Owners).

We hope that all the Chapter Directors are getting on board with the Chapter of the Year

Program and have a “Chapter of the Year Coordinator” already working on competing

for next year’s honor. If you don’t "PARTICIPATE" you won’t even have a chance to win

this prestigious award. The “CHOY” program has three levels, which are “Bronze”,

“Silver” and “Gold”. Even if your Chapter does not win they will be still be recognized at

next year’s La. District Convention for the level they achieved. We will make your Chap-

ter feel special too!!!

What are you waiting for? The Chapter of the Year 2015 Program Guide and Score Sheet

can be found on GWRRA's webpage www.gwrra.org under the "Officers" tab/"MEP" or

"Officers Connection" page. If you have any questions regarding the Chapter of the Year

program let us know, by e-mailing us at med@gwrra-la.org.

We would also like to congratulate Mickey and Mary Searels from Chapter LA-D and also

the La. District Motor Awareness Coordinators, for becoming the new 2015 La. District

Couple of the Year. We know they will represent Louisiana very well!

Becky and I would also like to congratulate Jan Kerbow from Chapter LA-O for receiving

the 2014 Chapter Membership Enhancement Coordinator of the Year Award, a very nice

plaque, from Woodwing Art. Jan always completed her ARL contacts and sent in her re-

ports in on time, along with the “CGAR” (Chapter Gathering Attendance Report). She’s

also a Membership Enhancement Seminar Presenter for the District. Great Job Jan!

The Louisiana District is very lucky to have Chapter MEC’s in all 11 of our Chapters.

They all are doing a great job, which made this year’s award difficult to choose just one of

them. With that said, we would like to say a special “Thank You” to each of them! They all

are hard at work trying to retain our members and bring in new ones. Let’s all help them

to GROW Louisiana!!!

Hope to see everyone down the road. .

Be safe everyone and let's all help to GROW Louisiana!!!

Tim and Becky Dinnel

La. Asst. District Director/District MEC

Tim and Becky Dinnel

La. Asst. District Director/District MEC

District Webmasters

Fritz & Johnette Beter

Hurricane Season

Here in Louisiana hurricane season is right around the corner. So that means it is time

to get your disaster / evacuation plan together. Not just for a hurricane but for any

place that you may live in this great country of ours. You may have a home disaster plan

and even a business plan but, what about your technology disaster plan?

For ones that live on the Gulf Coast, we may have to evacuate because of a hurricane.

Here is our technology plan and how we will keep working even if we have to leave home.

This plan can work for a home or business also.

Make a list of everything that you will need to keep working. Computers, laptops, moni-

tors, keyboards, mice, external backups and even small printers. If you have the capa-

bility, forward your phone to a cell phone or another location where someone will answer

it. If you have a small business and have to relocate, you still need to conduct day to

day operations.

Do you have all of your data backed up in multiple places, local and online (The Cloud)?

External hard drives and local network drives are very inexpensive these days. Backing

up data is very easy to do on a local drive connected to your PC. The software on the

drive will do it for you once you connect and set it up. This drive can be taken with you

if you are forced to leave your location.

Backup #1

Network backup for your home or small business is simple. We use the Western Digital

network storage but you can use the brand that you like. It is as simple as plugging the

device into your network router and following the instructions to set it up. Now anyone

on your network will have access to the data and your data is backed up in another

place. This drive can also be taken with you if you are forced to leave your location.

Backup #2

Online backup (or the cloud), is your data backed up on some else’s secure server. There

are some free services out there but for large data or a small business this is also an-

other option to store data and have it backed up on a daily basis. The means if you are

forced to leave your location, you can access your data from anywhere in the world as

long as you have an internet connection. This also a good way for your family or employ-

ees to have access to the data 24 / 7.

Backup #3

We hope this has been helpful and as always, you can call or email us with any questions

you may have. We will do our best to answer them or find an answer for you.

Fritz & Johnette Beter

Louisiana District Webmasters

504-469-3178

By The Book

Gold Wing Road Riders Association Jack Wagner Region H Trainer

What If I Don't Go to Your Church?

Within GWRRA there are guidelines and there are policies. While these words are often used interchangeably, they are completely different. A guideline is something that provides help and assistance for use within certain boundaries. A policy implies more structure and less ability to change. We don't have many true policies, but those we do have primarily ex-ist for a reason – to retain Members. For that reason GWRRA has a policy on religion that must be adhered to. The policy states “GWRRA is purposely designed to be free of religious persuasion and cer-emony. This is not because the Association is opposed to religion, but religion is, and should be, a personal choice. No Member should be compelled or forced by virtue of their attend-ance at a GWRRA function to participate in a religious ceremony that may be in conflict with their own beliefs. If for some reason it is determined that prayer is appropriate, make it a moment of silence so everyone in attendance can offer their thoughts in their own way. If worship services are offered at GWRRA functions, they should be announced in advance and denoted as optional on the event program and staged in a separate location for those who want to attend.” If you were attending a Chapter gathering and forced to participate in a religious ceremony that was in direct conflict with the way you believe, how likely would you be to return? When I was conducting one of the early Officer Certification Program (OCP) classes, I had a Member tell me they were very happy we were stressing adherence to the policy on reli-gion. They had the reputation of always being late to Chapter gatherings. They went on to explain the reason they were habitually late was because the Chapter gathering always be-gan with a prayer. The Member then told me they were Atheists and rather than make a scene, always arrived late enough to be confident the opening prayer was over. No one in the Chapter knew of their belief and the Member didn't want to make it known for fear they would be ostracized or made to feel unwelcome. Its fortunate they felt that strongly toward the Chapter, otherwise they assuredly would have abandoned the Association. We definite-ly do not want to run anyone off just due to their religious belief. Aside from being the right thing to do, the policy needs to exist, because discriminating against anyone based on their religious belief is against the law. The more you know, the better it gets!

Jack Wagner Region H Trainer

CHAPTER LA-M Friends for fun, safety

and knowledge

www.chapterlam.com

CHAPTER EVENTS

30 APR-2 MAY TEXAS DISTRICT RALLY IN TEMPLE TX.

7 MAY –CHAPTER GATHERING AT CATFISH HUT DERID-

DER AT 6:30PM

9 MAY- “POP” GOINS COLOR RIDE TO MARKSILLE. DE-

TAILS WILL BE GIVEN AT GATHERING

12 MAY– RALLY PREP AT STAN & LISA FLETCHERS AT

6:30 PM CHILI AND HOT DOGS TO BE SERVERED

15 MAY– SEMINAR GIVEN AT MICKEY&MARY’S FEL-

LOWSHIP HALL PLEASE BRING SNACK FOODS 6:30PM

16 MAY- “MUDBUG” RALLY AMERICAN LEGION HWY

112. TIME 6:30AM FOR CHAPTER M AND DOORS

OPEN AT 8 AM

21-23 MAY ARKANSAS DISTRICT RALLY IN HARRISON

May 2015

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MAY BIRTHDAY

29 MAY-ROBERT PARTIGIANONI

ANNIVERSARIES

12 MAY-MICKEY&MARY SEARELS

14 MAY-TOM & NEVA REED

29 MAY– TOMMY&SANDY

WOODS

2015 MAC Rally GWRRA Chapter LA M

CHAPTER M STILL HAVING FUN

AND MAKING MEMORIES

SANDY HILL CAFÉ

ON CORNER OF HWY 10

AND HWY 467

Leesville, La

19189 Lake Charles Highway

De Ridder, La 70634

Toll Free: 800-519-0311

Tel.337-463-8110

Fax:337-463-8523

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General Manager

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