First Chapter Round Up a Success

Anytime you gather 25 or more GWRRA members together in one place you know that, whatever your purpose is, you’re going to have a good time!  Such was the case at the first-ever TN Chapter Round Up held in Franklin, TN on Saturday, March 18, 2006.  Several elements combined to allow all the participants to have fun while learning!

The first element was our location: All of the folks over at Honda of Cool Springs could not have been any more accommodating.  Whatever we asked for, they delivered, plus more!  Originally, we were looking for a room that would hold about 30 people and be suitable for making presentations.  Al & MaryAnn Rice, Chapter Directors for Chapter H, made arrangements with Rich and Cindy Macedo, GWRRA members, to hold the event at Honda of Cool Springs.  They have a “Gold Wing Showroom” there that is totally awesome!  The walls are filled with chrome (I’m sure someone was making a shopping list instead of listening to the presentations), and there were LOTS of brand new ’06 Gold Wings to ooh and ahh over.  In addition to providing space for our event, Honda of Cool Springs also provided lunch (yum!) and free t-shirts to all of our participants!

The second element was the GWRRA members who came to participate.  There were six chapters represented (D, G-2, H, K, O, and Q) and many people made new friends while learning.  The participants were enthusiastic and interested.  Whether they came for one or all four of the seminars, we hope they gained some useful information to apply to their lives.

The third element was the presentations.  It is easy, when you’ve been around awhile, to get complacent and think we ‘know it all.’  Sometimes, we surprise ourselves and learn something new that will either change our perception or allow us to see things through the eyes of others.  Such was the case on Saturday when participants learned some “Helpful Info for New Members,” “How to Participate in GWRRA,” “Basic Computer Maintenance,” and how to produce “Flyers for Fun and Profit.”  Now some may have thought they already knew it all, and if so, then some of these presentations were good reminders for us all.  We learned that there are many benefits, tangible and intangible, to GWRRA membership, that attitude is everything when participating in groups, that everyone has a talent which can be turned into a useful contribution to each chapter, that computers are not the scary beasts some of us fear, and that every event can be a success when promoted properly.

Congratulations to Aaron Lambert, Assistant Chapter Director, Chapter H, for making his first Leadership Training Division (LTD) presentation and completing his requirements to become a Certified LTD Instructor.  Aaron did a great job and we know he will be an asset to the LTD instructor corps.

Oh, and did we mention we had door prizes (card games), lots of snacks (soda, candy and chocolate), and that we made new friends, too?  If you missed this Round Up, stay tuned to our website for more news about upcoming events and how you can get in on the fun!