Lawton Angel Wings

With a really big football game coming on television in another hour or so, we had a few people that were ready for this meeting to begin and get over. Their minds were already on their way home. So, Grant stands to get the attention of the 13 members and one guest. Things quiet down a little bit and he announces, "Let's stand for the Pledge."

The Meeting Begins
Grant announced that the Officers will try to meet about 30 minutes before the next meeting. At this time, they will try to make decisions to present information for everyone. That will help make the meetings a little shorter.

Filling the Vacancies
Grant said we still need a Ride Coordinator, though he still needs to talk to Dave to see if he wants to continue doing this. We need a Secretary to do the minutes and other paperwork items. If anyone wants to do this, Grant and Kathy would appreciate this.

The Threat of Law & Order to Keep Our Ass't Chapter Directors On Board
Grant told us he had indicated to both Doy and Darliene that they would both get traffic tickets every morning if they didn't stay on as Assistant Chapter Directors. The room exploded into applause. Grant said, "I do have friends in low places." Ah, the power of a badge and a uniform. Grant wasn't wearing his uniform tonight, yet Doy was trembling in his seat. Not Darliene, though. She just said "Yeah, yeah, yeah…"

Treasurer Position
Sam and Angie Wren will take over the reigns as Treasurers. We don't know where Angie is tonight, and perhaps Sam doesn't know either. That's right, Sam didn't know exactly where she was going tonight.

Sergeant-at-Arms
Rich Huling will continue manipulating those 50/50 tickets.

Newsletter Editor
Wes Rich will continue to make our monthly newsletter. Grant added that Darliene would be the editor, since she finds all these small errors every month.

Agenda
Grant apologized for not having an agenda. He would like to have an agenda in the newsletter each month. This way he'll have something to follow himself.

The Appearance of a Well-known Stranger
Grant welcomed Bruni to our meeting as she has been away for exactly one year. She brought along a friend who has been on one of our rides - Mary Rowlett. She told us her husband was away in Iraq and should be returning in a few months. He recently purchased a new Gold Wing and both want to join us on some of our rides.

Dinner and a Movie Ride Changes Nights
With a very enthusiastic response from the crowd, our 3rd Friday Night Movie and Dinner Rides will be moving to the 3rd Saturday of the month starting this month, which allows us to leave a little earlier at 5:45 pm. This will give us more time waiting in line inside the theatre for our hot dogs and popcorn. Plus, it's not a work day for most of us and we'll enjoy the event even more.

Sharing the Ride Coordinator Duties
Grant asked about having everyone take turns at planning some rides and leading them for a two months at a time. Well, everyone's eyes glanced to the floor trying not to keep eye contact with him. As usual, the room went silent. But Grant forged on saying this would be one way to get everyone involved. No decision was made at this time.

Ride Destinations
Grant did ask everyone to submit places they felt would be good selections. He felt that we possibly need to have our rides already selected a least two months in advance so our members can plan accordingly. He also suggested that we try to have some short rides mixed in with some of the longer day rides.

Suggestion Box
Kathy has spent a lot of time and a lot of expense placing "gold" foil wrapping paper on a box. Grant said she had spent many hours making sure every corner was folded right and looked good. She wants us to use it as a Suggestion Box for rides, new ideas, complaints, improvements, etc.

Wee Bee Benji Come Home Doggie Rescue
Denise asked if it would be okay to sell some raffle tickets at the February meeting for their volunteer organization "Wee Doggie Rescue". She briefly explained how their group goes out to rescue dogs that have been abandoned or abused and to find homes for these dogs. They have no sponsors so the expense of feeding the animals and caring for them comes out of Denise's and Dannie's pockets. For February, they will be raffling two baskets with goodies in them to offset vet bills and food costs. Tickets will be $1 each. Winners will be announced in mid-February. She will be sending Wes a picture of the baskets so everyone can see them in the February Newsletter. Start saving your dollar bills. Denise needs them. Website:
http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/OK184.html

Game Time
Kathy presented us with an activity that made everyone get up off their chairs and move around a little bit. She introduced the game "Find Someone Who…" It was a Bingo-type game where you had to get four initials in a row from members who qualified for the item in each box. Examples: owns a trailer for their GW, has a name for their GW, has participated in "Ride Oklahoma", has owned a GW for more than 10 years, has been in touch with another member since the last meeting, traveled outside the US on his/her GW last year, etc. The winner would be the person who could fill up four boxes in a row. Yes, there was a winner in a record-breaking 34 seconds! It was everyone's favorite person - Wes. He was presented with a Friendship Award ribbon. The good part was the ribbon was YELLOW. Thus, the Banana Republic lives on to victory. Denise took a picture of the winner in all his glory. But we are going to have to do something to Jeannine. She always has to have the last word, umm, the last set of fingers perhaps. Kathy asked everyone to turn their game paper over and fill in the same boxes with your own initials in which you qualify.

GWRRA Number
Wes announced that the owners of this month's hidden number were at the meeting tonight. (NOT true!) He told everyone to open up their newsletter to page 2. (True!) Look at the last three items in purple and look at those dates. Those three dates make up the 6 GWRRA numbers that belong to Jim and Sharon Clower. (NOT true!) Everyone could see Sharon's eyes look at Jim in some state of shock and disgust. (True!) After 30 seconds of thinking it over, Jim says that isn't his number, he thinks.(True!) Luckily he had his GW card with him. (True!) He's right, that is not his number. (True!) After thinking and rewinding his mental awareness tapes, Wes then announced the numbers belong to Bill and Rhea Patterson. (True!) Now we have everything straight. (Hmmm…true, not true? Who knows?) They've lost out on $25 tonight for not showing up. (True!)

50/50 Drawing
Tonight we have $27.50 ready to hand out. The winner is: Kathy Grant. Guess this will help cover the cost of the gold foil around the Suggestion Box. If she can win again at a future meeting, maybe she'll be able to add some decorative items around the box.

Meeting Adjourned

"How Did We Get Here" Method of Travel Note
Only two members rode their Gold Wing to the meeting.

Members Attending

• Grant and Kathy Byrns
• Jim and Sharon Clower
• Doy and Darliene Coapland
• Rich Huling
• Jeannine Pike
• Joe Quinton
• Wes Rich
• Dannie and Denise Smith
• Bruni Warren
• Sam Wren

Visitors / Guests

• Mary Rowlett Lawton