Staff Meeting January 15, 2009, at 7:00 p.m. at King’s, Rt. 19 N, Cranberry TWP. Come early to eat before the meeting.		Gathering January 22, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. Domenico’s Ristorante 20550 Rt. 19 N. Piazza Plaza Cranberry TWP., PA. (724) 776-6455 Meet in the back room. We can arrive as early as 5:30 p.m. to eat before the gathering.

Upcoming Events

Jan 17 (Sat) - 2009 Ride Planning meeting at the Coene’s at 9:00 a.m.
Feb 14 (Sat) - Anniversary Party. See flier for details.

Coene’s Considerings
By: Chris & Linda Coene

2009, it seemed so far away and then it seemed to be coming so fast, and now it is here. Chris and I both are pleased and anxious about our new roles as your Chapter Directors. We really are very honored by the faith that has been placed in us and a little nervous about keeping up with your hopes for us.

We think the best way to start the new year off is to set some of our ground rules as your directors.

First, never forget that this is YOUR Chapter. We are here to make sure things run as smoothly as possible and everything is done when needed. But never forget it is only to serve you.

Second, we will always listen. We may not be able to say yes to every idea or request, but we will listen, study, review and make decisions for the best of the majority of the chapter. But we will always be available and listen in earnest to everything everyone wants to tell us.
Third, we are available. We will meet with any of you at any time. By phone, internet, or in person, we will always meet with you to help find a solution to any issue that needs our attention.

Fourth, we are not the Chapter, you are. With this in mind, we want your help. We need additional staff positions filled as well as people to work on other committees that will be needed throughout the year. If you would like to serve on any activity, special occasion, etc. do not hesitate to let us know. Ideas, suggestions, physical help, it is all needed to make our chapter better and bigger than ever.

Our email is chriscoene@aol.com, our phone number is 724-776-2113 or 724-272-1276, and we will supply our address to anyone needing it. Keep in touch and I know Chapter D can be the best and strongest GWRRA Chapter ever.

Quote of the Month...”When we got into office, the thing that surprised me most was to find that things were just as bad as we’d been saying they were.” - John F. Kennedy

Christmas Dinner

This is the first Christmas dinner we’ve had in a long time where we didn’t have to fight snow going to or coming from the dinner. What a relief.
We had a great turnout and I think everyone enjoyed themselves. Thanks to Deb, Rich, Dar, and our Knights of Columbus hosts for decorating the room in the traditional Christmas atmosphere. And another thank you to Rich & Deb for providing the favors for the tables.

Ray Feather took pictures of each couple standing by a carousel horse that Rich & Deb provided. The pictures can be viewed and/or downloaded from Ray’s web site at http://web.mac.com/featherphoto/Site/Welcome.html.  After dinner, Deb gave everyone two of her infamous tests she is known to administer from time to time. One was on the “Frosty the Snowman” movie and the other one dealt with the Christmas holiday. Both appropriate for the season. Needless to say, yours truly felt like he was back in school and at the bottom of the class, again, with the number of correct answers to the tests. Reneé Beck and Dolly Blum won the Frosty quiz and Christmas quiz respectively. Good job ladies. Chris & Linda set up their audio equipment and we had Christmas music throughout the evening.

Linda Cochran, Glen & Cindy Young, and Dan & Beth Hildebrand handed out candy gifts to everyone. Unlike years past, I waited until we got home to sample the goodies. Thank you for the gifts ladies and gentlemen.

Phil presented Lois Schmitt with her Rider Level II certificate and Rich & Deb were presented with their 15,000 safe mileage pins.

Towards the end of the evening, Deb presented Chris & Linda with their “gold” Chapter Director wings for their vests and then announced she was done, her reign as Chapter Director had come to an end. Chris & Linda then introduced three children they adopted on behalf of the chapter for the upcoming year. Their names are Goldie, Wing Man, and Speedy. They will be available to anyone wishing to let them accompany you on your travels this coming riding season and to be in your vacation photos for the chapter’s scrapbook. They don’t eat much and don’t take up much room. They can safely ride in your trunk for quick access. If you haven’t surmised by now, our three adopted children are stuffed “nuts.” All three have been loaned out already and will be making their way to Aruba, California, and Florida. More on this at the January gathering.

We had a great gift exchange and some lucky people also got gifts from the “White Elephant” gift table. Gene & Nancy Montini won the “Snowman” Darlene Ammerman made for the Ride for Kids raffle. Ken Frederick won the 50/50 drawing and Connie Plowman, Reneé Beck, and Jim Hinerman won lottery tickets.

If you missed the Christmas dinner, you missed a good time. We’ll give you one more chance to have a good time at our anniversary party, February 14th, 2009 at the same location, the Knights of Columbus hall in Wexford. See you there.

Deb passes the leadership baton to Chris & Linda at the Christmas Dinner

Winter Invitation

Vince & Louise Duva extend an open invitation to stop in for a visit or short stay to anyone who will be traveling to Florida this winter. Their address is Lake Glenada RV & Mobile Home Park, 2525 US Rt. 27 South, Avon Park, Florida, 33825. Their cell phone number is 724-816-3509. Please contact Vince & Louise to make arrangements. By the time you read this, they will be enjoying fun in the sun. We look forward to their return in May.

Humor of the Month...A man in Jacksonville calls his son in San Diego the day before Christmas and says, 'I hate to ruin your day, but I have to tell you that your mother and I are divorcing; forty-five years of misery is enough.

'Pop, what are you talking about?' the son screams.

We can't stand the sight of each other any longer,' the father says. 'We're sick of each other, and I'm sick of talking about this, so you call your sister in Denver and tell her.'

Frantic, the son calls his sister, who explodes on the phone.

'Like heck they're getting divorced,' she shouts, 'I'll take care of this,' She calls Jacksonville immediately, and screams at her father, 'You are NOT getting divorced. Don't do a single thing until I get there. I'm calling my brother back, and we'll both be there tomorrow. Until then, don't do a thing, DO YOU HEAR ME?' and hangs up.

The old man hangs up his phone and turns to his wife. 'Okay,' he says, 'they're coming for Christmas and paying their own way.'

Thanks to Don & Linda Gibb for this month’s humor.

From Our 2009 Chapter Couple of the Year
By: Jim & Cathy Schantz

We have been married for 29 years. We have two beautiful daughters Aubrey (26) lives in Delaware and Jesy (21) goes to Clarion University. Our oldest daughter recently got engaged, but no date has been set as of yet. He is a wonderful young man from the Leechburg area and is currently working in Delaware as the editor of the Sussex Countian paper. I work full time for East Resources, Inc in Warrendale and Jim works as a heavy equipment operator with Local 66. We both enjoy the outdoors; hunting, fishing, biking, canoeing and kayaking. I think that is one reason why we enjoy the motorcycle so much because of our love of the outdoors. We joined GWRRA Chapter D in July 2007. Thanks to Ray and Mary. We are both looking forward to getting to know the rest of Chapter D. Please be patient as we learn faces and names to go with them. Just remember you have two names to learn Jim and Jim as we were introduced at our first Gold Wing meeting.

High Mileage Award

Time is running out for you to get your ending mileage for 2008 to Brownie before the anniversary party in February. If you haven’t already done so, please give Brownie Statler a call or send him an e-mail with your ending mileage no matter whether you stand a chance of taking home the High Mileage Award or not. Brownie does such a great job with coming up with some statistics for the entire chapter.
Brownie’s phone number is 724-375-4956 and his e-mail address is raghunt@comcast.net.

Anniversary Party - Feb. 14, 2009

Here’s another chance at having a good time with the chapter if you missed the Christmas dinner. Our anniversary party is scheduled for February 14th, 2009 and will be held at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Wexford; the same place where we had our Christmas dinner. It looks like Chris & Linda might have some surprises in store for us. Please contact Linda if you would like to help with the anniversary party. Details are on the flyer. Please send your reservations to Linda Eaves by January 31, 2009.

Ride Planning Meeting - Jan. 17, 2009

For those of you who would like to take part in planning our 2009 ride schedule, you are invited to the ride planning meeting January 17th, 2009 at 9:00 a.m. The meeting will be held at the Coene residence in Baden, PA., which is a couple miles from King’s in Cranberry and behind the Thornhill Industrial Park. If you need directions, please contact Chris or Linda Coene at 724-776-2113 or 724-272-1276 (Chris’ cell phone).
Please contact Chris or Linda to let them know you will be in attendance so they can plan accordingly.

From the Chapter Educator
By: Ross Brown

Last month I couldn't even spell edjukater. Now I are one. You'd think, a former director would know what the job entailed, but with my aging memory being what it is …. Sigh! Phil has done the educator job so well with such determination and dedication that to follow him is like a rookie QB taking over for Brett Favre or Terry Bradshaw. You just can't replace the greats. Fortunately the master will still be here to help the rookie. Phil, I'm counting on you, and counting on all of you to be dedicated to making your riding experiences safe, happy and fun. 
Happy New Year!

Marilyn’s Tech Corner for the Ladies
By: Marilyn Banks

Hi Ladies. Now that the Holidays are about over and we are looking toward a new year I have decided to do some real investigating into the workings of our Gold Wings. The first installment is about the wonders of the combustible engine. (Wow, doesn't that sound impressive??) When the Gold Wings were first made they had 4 cylinders but after a few years they increased to a 6 cylinder machine. What is a cylinder you might ask? Well basically it is an opening (a hole) in which a piston (rod) goes up and down to turn the drive-shaft, which basically turns the rear wheel. Really now, how technical does that sound? (I even had to look at diagrams and a video as to how this entire system works - yawn yawn.) So I guess the theory is the more cylinders the more power. Sounds just like a man to want speed and power to be part of his engine. It involves air, gas, and sparks but this month I am focusing on something else.

All on its own the cylinder and piston seems pretty simple but there is something very important you need to know about and that is "lubrication" - oil. It is very important for there to be the correct lubrication involved to keep the piston thrusting smoothly up and down the cylinder. Without the proper lubrication the sides of the hole can be scratched and damage to the cylinder could result, which could then require it to be bored out.

Anyway, at a recent gathering of some Wingers I asked two questions: What type of oil do you like and how often do you change it? All of the men were very forthcoming with their responses. Again, however, I will withhold names as to protect their privacy. Apparently there is more than one type of lubrication. We have the natural lubrication, the synthetic lubrication, and the partial synthetic/natural lubrication. If memory serves me well all of the men seemed to prefer the partial synthetic/natural lubrication. I really don't remember why they don't like the natural form but basically it doesn't give them the satisfaction they require. Then there was something said about the pure synthetic and I think it was too "slick" and could cause other problems - something about slippage?? Makes no sense to me but the men seemed to be in unity when it came to the type of oil preferred. The big difference came when it came to "how often" their oil needed replaced. Authorities have their own recommendations but some men prefer it more often and yet there was one man that was content to hold out and was satisfied less often. I guess it all comes down to usage. Some men followed the recommendations, a few men wanted it more often but one man was satisfied with once a year.!!

So ladies during these cold winter months when you think about it, you might want to ask your significant other what type of lubrication (oil) he/she prefers and how often he thinks it needs changed. It might make for an interesting Sunday afternoon.
Until next month… keep the communication lines open.

Rules for Our "Babies"

As those who attended the Christmas Party already know, I have officially made my first action as your new Chapter Director to adopt three small orphans. These little triplets love motorcycles and so will be spending a lot of time with various members of our organization. I will be keeping track of their locations and will be making sure they are available when needed. We ask that various members help out by showing the little ones a lot of fun and travel.

The three are named:
Goldie - our little Biker Chick who really loves to travel by bike and hopes to someday own her own Gold Wing. She is very easy going and will travel anywhere at the drop of a hat.
Wing Man - he is our little helper. He loves working on bikes as much as riding them. He will always be there for whomever he happens to be with at the time.
Speedy - he is our little speed devil. Forget the back country roads, they are OK with him but he loves the open road. He wants to see the world, and see it fast.

Now for the rules:
1) Call me whenever you would like to take custody for any time period, a day or a month.
2) You may take the little ones anywhere you wish. They are ready to travel anywhere; no passport is needed for them.
3) Take pictures whenever possible. The only rules are to have one of the critters in the picture along with any motorcycle, one of our Chapter Members, or at a national landmark. Please identify each picture as fully as possible. Then email us the pictures at chriscoene@aol.com. If they are prints, I will be glad to scan them and return the originals.
4) Be considerate of others. Return the little ones so others may have them accompany them also. We hope they will make most of the scheduled runs for this year.

We already have one of the babies in Florida right now. We have been promised pictures under palm trees and on the beaches. One went to New York City already and had pictures on the Statue of Liberty. We have promised them rides out west this summer, trips to the State Rally, Wing Ding, and various other special events, and possibly even a trip to China this Spring. Some members are going to take them to work when they have a "Take your Baby to Work" day to get pictures with them at work.

All pictures will be organized with details to form our 2009 Scrap Book for the State Rally this year so we need help to make it a great volume.
Thank You
Linda Coene

National News

NEW! GWRRA TRAVEL STORIES A new feature on the GWRRA Homepage! Each month Wing World magazine receives hundreds of travel stories from Members hoping to have them included in the magazine. As much as Wing World would like to publish every story, it's easy to see with that many submissions why they can't all be published. So, GWRRA has created another place for Members to have their stories read. It's called The GWRRA Travel Stories Page. The new page is located at www.gwrra.org at the bottom of the Homepage titled GWRRA Travel Stories. This will give you, the Members, another outlet to share your experiences with your fellow Gold Wingers. 

You must be a current Member of GWRRA to have your story considered for publication. Please submit only original Travel Stories to gwrratravelstories@gwrra.org. The stories should be no longer than two typed pages or no more than 1,000 words. You must include your full name and membership number at the top of the page. Your story will not be considered without this information. Due to space limitations and/or story content, not all submissions may be published. Please do not submit photos with your story, they will not be published. There will be a limit of five stories published each month and, at the end of the month, they will be archived for future reading.

Thank you for participating in the GWRRA Travel Stories page. Now, sit back, relax and happy reading and writing!

District News

"THE STONE AGE" from your District Director
Just a reminder that again this year as last year "To compete in any rally event, you must be fully registered for the rally.” EX: Bike Show, Light Show, Chapter Competitions, Hospitality Room and COY Competition. <No full registrations will be sold at the rally>

New Rally Logo for 2009
The new rally logo contest ended December 5th, 2008. The entries have been forwarded to the judges whom we are sure will have a tough job selecting the winning entry that will be displayed on the rally t-shirts for 2009.
The winning entry will receive a cash prize of $50.00, which will be presented at the District Rally Banquet, in Johnstown, on August 22, 2009.

Someone Special Award
Do not forget to submit your nomination for the Someone Special Award. Nominations are to be submitted to us no later than July 17. There are many deserving individuals out there, so please take a few minutes and submit that individual's story to be considered for the Someone Special Award. We should receive entries from every Chapter.

The Stone Age Returns to Bedrock
Friday morning events are:
STONE CAPADES:
Bedrock Bowl- Everyone knows "Twinkle Toes Flintstone" and his pal Barney loved to bowl. Your chapter will be allowed to have up to 10 members participate in this event. You will each bowl 5 frames. An average of the chapters scores will used in the final tally. This makes it fair for those chapters that don't have 10 people to bowl.
Then you will move on to the rest of the Capades.
These events will consist of:
The BOULDER TOSS - where you will receive points for getting the "boulders" into the can. 
The DINOSAUR CRANE - in this event, you will receive points for working in the Stone Quarry, moving gravel on your dinosaur.
DINO LOVES FRED - watch out Fred, here comes Dino. If you remember the cartoons, you will remember how Dino always greeted Fred when he came home from work at night.
There will be a few more events added to the Stones Capades. We will keep you updated.

The afternoon event is the PREHISTORIC PET PARADE AND SHOW. 
This event requires your chapter to design and make your own chapter mascot. This prehistoric pet must not be any larger than 6 feet tall, no longer than 6 feet. The pet must be on wheels.. It must have a name and be on a leash. We will be parading them from the Holiday Inn parking lot to the War Memorial. This will enable you to not only show off your pet to the rest of the GWRRA Members, but also to the general public as well. Once we reach the War Memorial, we will be putting them on display. At this point you will be required to "walk" an obstacle course with the pet and they will be judged.

Friday evening's event is The FLINTSTONE FLYER ATTIRE.
In this event, you will be able to show off your chapter spirit with your own bowling shirts. They can be made of any material, from T-shirts to regular bowling shirts. They will need your chapter designation. The shirt will need a logo keeping within the theme of the rally. Your chapter will be required to "model" the shirts at Friday night's events. You will need to store your shirts and change into them when it is your turn.
As in the past, all events will be judged by outside, impartial judges. All decisions of the judges are final.

District Rally Food Drive
We have selected the West End Food Pantry in Johnstown as the organization that we will be supporting with a non-perishable food drive as part of our Keystone State Rally.
We will be looking for support from ALL OUR CHAPTERS to make sure this very worthy event is a real success. You folks did a Great Job last year and we are hoping for the same this year.

Evelyn and I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Joyous New Year. May the Lord bless and protect all of you in 2009.
“Ride Safe & Ride Proud”
Chuck & Evelyn Stone, PA-District Directors

NE Assistant District Director (excerpt)

...As many of you know, our daughter Cyndi is serving in Iraq again. She is a medic, working in an Emergency Room at a prison camp. They treat soldiers, detainees, and civilians. In October, she decided she wanted to give something to the children who pass through the ER or are hospitalized. She asked us to see if anyone from our home chapter would like to help, by donating a bear. She named the project Operation Cuddles. We put it out to a few chapters, within a few weeks, we were overwhelmed by the amount of bears collected. To date, we have over 350. Every week or so, we send her a box of bears. To date, she has passed out dozens of bears to children and even some to injured soldiers. We have been told; the soldiers appreciate them as much as the kids do. She tells us, there is nothing better, in this war torn country, than the smiles you have helped to put on their faces. Thank you all from the bottom of our hearts.
We hope you all have a very Merry Christmas, and a Healthy and Happy New Year.
Tom and Renee Wasluck, NE PA AD/D’s

NW – ASSISTANT DISTRICT DIRECTOR:

Happy New Year! 2008 is in the books and 2009 brings us another chance to envision brighter days ahead. It isn't like the days gone by were not bright, it is just so much easier to dream ahead with excitement than to look back and examine facts.

In the Northwest part of our District, 2009 ushers in a new host of officers in all 6 Chapters. (OK, PA-I changed in September but for this article that is close enough) New officers means new ideas, fresh enthusiasm, and yes…dreams. Every officer that begins their journey does so with many thoughts on how to improve the chapter. They want to increase fun, widen knowledge, increase participation and bring a new light for the chapter to follow. Here is my encouragement to the membership of each chapter. Listen and read what your leadership is talking about. Think about each suggestion and consider giving it a chance. Times change and with it Chapters need to change. If you are doing the same thing this year that you did 5 years ago you are not going to hold the interest of the chapter participants. Make a New Year's resolution to never again utter the words "that is not the way we do it!" Spice up your GW life and see how the new way could work. 

Danise and I live the motto "Building upon Success". Each new CD is following the success of the outgoing Chapter Director. They need to be able to build upon that which worked well and to shoot a couple of the white elephants (old ways of doing things) that just don't work anymore. It was interesting as I sacrificed a few of my chapter's elephants as CD and how well it was received. Numerous chapter members kept saying things like "It should have died before this". I can tell you as a past Chapter Director there are not better words of encouragement than to hear that a new idea is a good thing.

To all of you new officers I congratulate you and thank you for your willingness to step into your leadership positions. I encourage you to be bold but at the same time to be smart about introducing your ideas. Use your staff to bounce ideas off of. They are a great barometer of how the chapter will respond to what you are proposing. I sent up more than a few balloons to see if they would fly and some were popped quickly. All that meant was the time was not right or the idea truly wasn't well thought out. 

To the membership I ask you to encourage your leaders. No matter how bizarre you believe their idea to be it is being introduced as a way to improve the GWRRA experience in your chapter. If you like the idea, tell them. If you don't, be gentle.
Danise and I wish you all the Best for 2009 and hope that this New Year re-energizes your love of being a member of the GWRRA family.

Dana and Danise Hartle, PA ADD Northwest

Quotes on Golf...There are two things you can do with your head down, play golf and pray. - Lee Trevino

Art said he wanted to get more distance. I told him to hit it and run backward. - Ken Venturi, on Art Rosenbaum

Misplaced that flyer or form you picked up at the last gathering?
Want to print out the newsletter or ride schedule?
If so please go to our "Flyers and Forms" page.

Thank you to the folks who support GWRRA Pennsylvania Chapter "D".

Francis J. Craig Agency, Inc. (724) 935-5753

Lutzs Leather (724) 843-6220 - Lutzs Leather

McMahon's Cycle Sales - (724) 846-6251

Youngs Auto Sales & Service - (724) 728-3374

Youngs Custard (Rt 68 3mi W. of Zelienople)

Your The Star - Karaoke and DJ Services
Bob and Ruth Messenger - (724) 495-1653

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