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BMW Riders Association International
PO Box 120430
Melbourne Beach, FL 32912-0430
Phone/FAX 321.984.7800
Web Page Site at http://www.bmwra.orgOhio RA Fall 2001-Winter 2002 Update
Bob Wood, State Director
4257 West 130th Street
Cleveland, OH 44135-4869
Phone: 216.252.7933 FAX: 216.251.5329
NEW! - Ohio RA eGroup at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Ohio-RA
October 31, 2001Dear Ohio RA Member,
This may very well be the most important news update I will ever bring to you as State Director. The future of the Ohio RA and its very existence (as we all have known it) is currently being reviewed by a special committee appointed by the Advisory Council at the September, Morganton National RAlly Council Meeting. There seems to be a strong movement brewing from within our current RA leadership to streamline the association's officer and official's structure. This would include a complete rewrite of the Association's Bylaws that would totally eliminate District Governors, State Directors, and Roving Advisors. This move would leave only nine people at the helm of the association, cutting more than half of the issue-voting members and dozens of other positions within the organization. By eliminating these positions, the grass roots outreach from Headquarters and the financing that has been subsidizing our quarterly newsletters will surely dry up. These changes would forever alter the flavor of the RA here in Ohio and possibly on the national level.
I have always felt our state organization was among the most active districts within the association due to the diligent work of our past State Directors. At this Council Meeting I came to realize we are the exception, not the norm. Seems that with the exclusion of our district, no one else is doing regular state level activities and newsletters. Apparently this has been the case for many years and is a direct violation of our current Bylaws. This situation puts the RA in a precarious place. We certainly do not want to be continually violating our own Bylaws, but at the same time by dropping the effort to reach local members, the distinction between the national clubs will certainly vanish as well. This would leave little doubt, which national club is at the top of the food chain. The issues to be trimmed from the association's mission seemingly have become obsolete in this new age and made the association heavily burdened with dead wood. This at least, is the sentiment ringing out from the top brass.
The one thing everyone (including myself) at this Council Meeting agreed upon is that there is a problem with the current Bylaws guiding the association. The controversy begins with what to do about it. My feeling is that economically, the old system couldn't work if everyone did his or her duties as prescribed. The RA would be broke within the first month just from postage and publishing costs of all the local newsletters. These additional expenses could be seriously trimmed or eliminated (in this new age of electronic media) if the districts were either given some space in the OTL or virtually published on the web. (The situation remaining is that not every member is connected.) The biggest problem, as I see it, is getting all these folks to actually do their jobs, organizing on the local level, and strengthening their presence in the districts. I have been told this has never been accomplished since the inception of the RA. If district news were to be published together somewhere it could possibly become a competition between the districts. This seems a bit idealistic, but would cost the club little or nothing to try and would retain the distinct mission and identity of the RA as a national club. I will try to keep you all abreast of any further news on this restructuring, but State Directors are not privy to, nor can they vote upon, these proposed changes. This would be a good time to hear more from our District Governor.
One other issue the council was addressing was also economic in nature. Seems that for the past few years membership revenues have been insufficient to cover member maintenance and OTL costs on a per head basis. I haven't seen the numbers (and likely won't), but a dues increase is also in the wind for our ranks. The RA is actually the last national motorcycle club to initiate such an increase and probably well overdue for the proposed 20% boost. I have no issue with this knowing the state of the current US Economy.
On the upside, a wonderful presentation was made by Steve Cantrell, Chairman of RAlly 2002 slated for Red River, New Mexico, next year. The dates will be August 15-18, 2002, so mark your calendars now. This will be almost 1,400 miles one way for most of us and be a great opportunity to visit the southwest. This site features lodging with about 5000 beds, 400 camping sites (within walking distance), and additional camping on Federal Lands within a few short miles. The RAlly will be centered on the City Square Greens near an interruptive center with most amenities close at hand. This will be the 30th BMW RAlly and sure to be a grand event. More information will be in upcoming issues of the OTL and posted on our Ohio RA web site and eGroup as it is released.
The importance of electronic communications has just been brought up a level with the threat of loosing our District Newsletter. I am urging each and every one of you to find some way to get on the Internet if possible. The world is changing and it will leave you behind if you are not willing to bend with the breeze. There is even more reason now than ever to have a web site specifically for the Ohio District RA (see below) to distribute current information to its' members. The question remaining is who would run such a site if the State Director is trimmed from the tree? In no way do I want to be a Maverick, stirring a pot of dissident riders. This is not my style and would not serve the greater good.OHIO DISTRICT NEWS
The riding season, here in Ohio, has wound down, but I can happily report we had a very good year. The Ohio RA Spring and Summer Camp Outs had record-breaking rider participation. Our Summer Camp Out even lured RA riders from as far as Fort Wayne, Indiana this year. Somehow we managed to devour the entire 100-pound hog we roasted and had a great time doing it. The Halloween Camp Out last week was a bit low in attendance but considering the weatherman couldn't stop telling us about the chance of snow and how cold it was expected to be, I would say the turn out was actually OK. And by the way, it wasn't as cold as last year -- there was no frost.
My summer newsletter talked of a possible new BMW dealer upstart in the Cleveland Area. Well, that deal fell through and likely will not be resurrected any time soon. However, there has been an ad running in the local paper for a franchise start up. The rumor is that there were just to many hoops to jump through with BMW NA.
I have finally decided on the new location for the November brunch. Despite my visiting too many restaurants in the NE Quadrant, I have found an unusual but ideal facility that is sure to become a fall favorite. It could possibly become another camp in event since it is also a lodge with cabins in an excellent riding area. Mark your calendars for the Northeast Regional Meeting and Brunch to be at the Atwood Lake Resort, on November 11, 2001 and hope for a day nice enough to ride. Hey, that's only a week away! I have reserved a partitioned section of the Lake View Lounge in the lodge that will be set up for our brunch and meeting. The brunch will be from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM on Sunday morning with an informal meeting starting around 10:00 AM. The cost of the brunch is only $7.95 per person and will be on individual checks. Looks like we will have a lot to discuss, so be sure not to miss this one. It may very well be the last official function of the RA Ohio District. I am making plans to arrive sometime on Saturday and spend the night. Several people have floated the idea of making it another camp in, similar to the Marietta event, and are looking into the cottages and resort rooms. I will try to post more detailed information on the web page ASAP, but if you are interested in accommodations, I recommend you call the resort directly at 800.362.6406.
The December and January brunch meetings have both been confirmed and are solidly on the Ohio RA calendar. December will be at the same location, south east of Dayton, at the Old Country Buffet on the 9th. Our January event is booked at the Lafayette Hotel in Marietta on the weekend of the 12th and 13th. See the calendar in this issue for details.OLD BUSINESS
I visited the Motorcyclist Memorial Foundation site during the 2nd Annual Sam Hill Memorial Ride this past weekend and found that Sam's inscription had not yet been engraved into the wall of the Memorial. However, the inscription for Gary Payne that the Ohio RA had contributed to was present. These two memorial applications had been sent in to the MMF within weeks of each other. So, I called the caretakers and they told me our application had missed the deadline this year, but it will be complete before Memorial Day 2002. I will check again next year when at the Halloween camp out and hopefully be able to report positive findings.INTERNET NEWS
In the last update I said I would start an eGroup specifically for the Ohio District of the BMW RA. This is now more than ever needed if indeed HQ is going to cut off its' local districts. By the time you read this it will be a done deal and up and running. Here are the details on how to join the new group.
There are two ways to have your subscription approved. If you are new to eGroups and Bulletin Board Systems (BBS) go to http://groups.yahoo.com and obtain a Yahoo! ID, first. Make sure you complete the "real name" and "location" section of the "Profile Info" you will be using. I will not approve anyone who wishes to remain anonymous. To belong to this group you must identify yourself to all those in the group. This information will not go beyond the group and you can conceal your regular E-mail address if you wish. Anyone who abuses their privileges within the group with mass commercial, non-motorcycle related, or inappropriate postings will be removed immediately. I will keep the group open to interested persons both within and outside of Ohio as long as they observe these simple rules.
If you are already a Yahoo! Groups member and have a Yahoo! ID, go directly to http://groups.yahoo.com/groups/Ohio-RA and apply for a subscription. Again, make sure the Yahoo! ID you are applying with shows your profile info as stated above to assure fast approval. You will find this site to be easier to use and will have more content than my old site. There are many advantages to a site like this and I hope you will take the time to subscribe to and explore it. My hope is this will soon become the Ohio District BMW Riders Association new home site.
I have roughly sixty E-mail addresses currently on my mass mailing list. This represents about one-fifth of our current membership in Ohio. I hope to see all of these and more subscribing to the service soon. It is quite likely the Internet may be the only medium we will have for future communications. As a subscriber you will be able to post messages to the group and other members, post pictures to the photo section, read past messages, share files of text or graphics (such as slideshows), participate in opinion polls, receive automated reminders about events listed in the calendar section, use the chat room on Sunday evenings, and more. In addition you can option your subscription to send the postings directly to your E-mail account, send only Special Announcements or opt to receive no E-mail from the group. This is a pretty handy tool and has proved quite useful to several other clubs in Ohio. I hope you will try it out. If it's not your cup of tea, you can just as easily unsubscribe and go back to that hammer and chisel.
After my last posting about the Halloween Camp Out on October 25, 2001 I had to cut several addresses that wouldn't deliver to their server. If you didn't get that message you may very well have been cut from my RA posting list. E-mail me if you didn't get it and I will restore you to the list for now. I will be phasing out the mass mailings list soon and begin using the new Yahoo Group automated reminder, so sign up today.LOOKING AHEAD
I am a bit hesitant to firm up plans beyond January and am looking for your guidance on the issues at hand. Please note that the calendar in this issue contains some unconfirmed events through spring of 2002. These may or may not officially happen depending on how the Board handles the "Ohio situation", but rest assured, I will be at the locations listed and share what I know with you all at that time.
If you were ever going to tell your State Director, District Governor, or Board what you think, this is the time. Please freely share your thoughts with me on the disposition of the RA in Ohio. I need to know if you think we are trying to resuscitate a dinosaur or if we are on track. The more input I have the better. Please plan on coming to your (and other) regions' meeting during the off-season. Your participation may very well be my guiding force.
One thing to remember through all of this is that we are all in this to have fun and ride our motorcycles. This is our prime directive and has been the underlying theme here in Ohio for the past three decades. It is all about having fun. Even if our organized efforts go by the wayside, I know Ohio is full of BMW riders who have the right attitude and true spirit of the sport.Ride with the RA,
Bob Wood
Bob Wood
Ohio State Director
BMW Riders Association, International