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THE KEYSTONE STATE GAZETTE April 2020

Harold and Diane Jackson, PA District Directors Phone: 814-589-1307

Email: jackson2@zoominternet.net

PA District Website: http://www.gwrrapadist.org

As of 04/10/2020

If your event date is being changed, please double check with Harold/Diane Jackson

prior to sending out notification. We would like to minimize duplication of dates.

Thank you!

2020 Events for PA District

Date Chapter Events - Go to PA District website for flyers

04/18/2020 District PA Officer Conference • Trinity UMC, Clearfield, PA • CANCELED

05/03/2020 PA-M Hobo Stew • Memorial Park, Williamsport, PA • CANCELED

05/09/2020 PA-B Spring Fling • Lancaster • RESCHEDULED for 09/19/2020

05/14-16/2020 District PA District Rally • Altoona Grand Hotel, Altoona, PA

05/30/2019 PA-X Pancake Breakfast Ride • Honesdale, PA • CANCELED

06/6/2020 PA-R Meet & Greet • Details to follow

06/12-14/2020 District All Chapters West • Host PA-I • Treasure Lake KOA, Dubois, PA

06/21/2020 PA-H Dice Run/BBQ • J&B Motorsports, Bloomsburg, PA

06/30-7/4/20 GWRRA Wing Ding 42 • Springfield, MO

07/18/2020 PA-R Gumball Ride • Details to follow

08/01/2020 PA-W Annual Bug Run • Bedford Food Pantry, 140 School St., Bedford, PA

08/16/2020 District District Ride-In • Details to follow

09/11-13/2020 District All Chapters East • Host PA-X • Bodnarosa Motel & Campground, Berwick

09/19/2020 PA-B Spring Fling • Lancaster Central Park, Pavilion #22, Lancaster, PA

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It’s April and the first day of April is known as April Fool’s Day. Wouldn’t it be nice to wake up today and find out the coronavirus was one great big joke but, it is not. COVID-19 virus is a very serious communicable disease and I hope we all are doing our part to slow down the virus.

This is not the first pandemic but, we are more mobile and more reliant on the world for our supplies than we have been in the past. Other pandemics have been influenza, tuberculosis, malaria, measles and smallpox to name a few. Some of us have lived during these times and many have received vaccines to prevent these diseases.

Several from the PA District had plans to attend the FL District Rally in March, but it was canceled. All of us are canceling gatherings, meet and eats, rides and other activities the chapter had planned. Please keep everyone informed by using GroupWorks. It is an excellent communication tool.

As we are practicing self-distancing, remember that your GWRRA family and friends are missing each other. Take time to use some of the great inventions we have to keep in contact by call each other or use some method of video chatting. We don’t want anyone to feel isolated and getting depressed because they are not having any interaction. So please take time to say hi hope you are ok or do you need anything to our friends and extended family.

If you did not see the notices, Officer’s Conference scheduled for April 18th has been canceled. We had planned on distributing the visitation awards for 2019 Roll for the Dough and the proceeds from the PA District lottery. Both checks will be mailed to the Chapter Directors this month. Thank you again for your participation.

Hopefully, the isolation will not extend into the summer and May will be a month we resume our normal life style.

As of today, we are not canceling the PA District Rally. The Altoona Grand Hotel is remaining open and is optimistic that all their schedule of events will take place.

If you have not sent your registration in and are planning on attending the rally in Altoona, please get your registrations in this month. April is the last month to register and the registration is $55/GWRRA member. The date is May 14-16, 2020.

Get you registration in by May 14, 2020 for All Chapters West (ACW) – June 12-14th – Treasure Lake KOA, DuBois, PA; registration is located on the District website at www.gwrrapadist.org.

This is a great weekend to meet people from other chapters. Come join the FUN! Your host for the event is chapter PA-I.

Additional district events will be itemized closer to the event date.

Keep watching GroupWorks and looking at the 2020 Calendar of Events on the PA District website so, you know when events will resume.

Wishing you all a Happy Easter! Remember to always ride safe! Harold and Diane Jackson Your PA District Directors

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We would like to start by wishing everyone well, and hope you are surviving, this stay at home thing, which is

getting old. I/we hope this closure thing soon ends. We can’t visit our gold wing friends. CANCELED,

CLOSED is all you see. For us this closing of our kitchens business is not so good, well it’s taking a toll on us

and the business. We know that everyone wants to get out and start visiting and riding and we are no exception.

We can't wait to get out to see everybody again, once they (Whoever they are) say it’s OK. So not much to talk

about as far as the chapter’s events, when everything is canceled or put on hold. So, we thought we would share

our recent trip out west with you.

The Princes’ Adventures Out West

I thought I would tell you a few things about our Las Vegas Trip. We left March 13th and stayed at the

Westgate Hotel & Casino, which was very beautiful. The time change is 3 hrs. and it took my body a little time

to get used to, by time it did unfortunately we had to come home. We didn’t spend a

lot of time at the hotel, our plans were to do lots of site seeing and we sure did. The

next day we started early and headed to Arizona, then to Utah, since the drive was a

couple of hrs. we decided to stop for the night at a Best Western Rudy’s Inn. This

place is Old Bryce Town, during the summer they have, Rodeos, Butch Cassidy

country on Rudy’s Horseback adventure, guided ATV rides to the rim of Bryce

Canyon and mountain bikes tours. Ruby’s Inn General Store and Restaurant was a

site to see.

The next morning we started up to Bryce Canyon, the farther we went the colder it got

with lots of SNOW, the road was a little narrow still cover and the

temps were 32 degrees and dropping, but what a beautiful site, even

when it started to snow a couple of times. We went to the peak 9300 ft. OMG! I must say

we’re getting a little nervous because the roads were getting a little Icey and we thought about

heading back, but we trail on. We travel on and made our way to Bryce Canyon National Park,

I could go on and on with everything we saw and did, but it would probably take a couple of

pages.

Some of the sites Canyon Wall or Fin, Windows of Rock, Hoodoo its Poetry

in Stone. Bryce Canyon the forces of weathering and erosion never rest, not

for a day. This dynamics, mesmerizing place is like no other. It’s a must see

with your own eyes. We planned on doing some hiking, but all trails were

snow covered and closed. Every overlook was breathtaking.

The next stop was Zion National Park, as coming off the mountain the

warmer it was getting, but not by much. The rock formation was so

different, it was just layers & layers of rock, we did get a chance to do some

walking. This is one of my favorite Canyons, there’s so many walking trails

either up the mountain or down.

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Our next scenic drive was Red Rock Canyon the 13 miles one-way road

spectacular sandstone escarpment, the iconic desert tortoise and the

thickets of Joshua trees herald the natural world of geology, animals

and plants to be experienced in the over 200,000-acre National

Conservation Area. Scenic drive offer some of the best sights and

experiences the Mojave Desert has to offer, the Pine Creek Canyon, Turtle

Head Peak, White Rock Hills, Calico Hills.

The Mojave plant dominates the landscape with its long & green pointy leaves, fibrous base,

and cream-white flowers they grow 3 to12 ft. tall. Prickly Pear Cactus blooms late spring

they get peach, pink, and purple colored flowers on top of their pads. The Joshua Tree are

the most familiar and iconic plant species within the Mojave Desert. These plants grow up to

30 ft. tall. The plants are named as such because Mormon settlers thought their shapes

looked like the prophet Joshua praying & pointing to the sky. These plants provide shelter

for a wide variety of lizard and birds. Desert Tortoise these animals can grow to 12 inches

long and live up to 80 years old., they are found throughout the Mojave Desert along

gravelly soil and graze on a variety of plant material. There are laws that prefect these

tortoises. We tried to see if we could fine one but no luck.

AZETEC SANDSTONE: The great sandstone cliffs at Red Rock Canyon, thousands of feet high, are made up

of Aztec Sandstone. What you see is the fossilized cores of old sand dunes laid down during the early Jurassic

(Period 180-190 million years ago) covering from the Dakotas south into the Mexico and west toward Los

Angeles. The history of Red Rock & the Mojave Desert is amazing. I could go on and on about each of these

National Parks everyone is unique in their own way.

Going to see Rod Stewart in concert was another highlight. His show was fabulous, it was

his last one for the next 3 months in Vegas, after doing 168 shows, Needless to say, our

trip was cut short, supposed to leave Mar. 20th but sort of got kicked out of the hotel on

Wed. 18th. Tuesday night all the casino machines had to be shut down at 12am, and

everyone out of hotel by Wed noon. So, Mike had to hustle and get plane reservation

change. Well, he did a good job and got flight out Wed.

afternoon This was a great vacation, we did everything we wanted, in a short amount of

time.

Mike & I said we’ll go back again, but this time on the MOTORCYCLE.

I hope everyone is staying safe, miss you all, and hope to see you soon.

Mike & Shirley

Assistant District Directors

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The Riding Season is closing in on us with most of you taking your first ride of the season starting in May.

The following are just plain old common sense, but when common sense is in short supply, the numbers change on the statistics page.

BACK OFF DUDE: Space is the best protection you have between yourself and the people who are not you. Keep your distance from others, so you have more time to react and more space to adjust when someone else does something stupid.

TO SOME PEOPLE A YELLOW LIGHT MEANS GO FASTER: Many crashes happen at intersections. Cars that turn left in front of you and cars on the side streets that pull into your lane are the biggest dangers. Always be looking for potential hazards, and anticipating how you will react. If a car can cross your path, assume that it will. That old saying about assumptions? It doesn’t apply here.

WHAT ARE YOU A PSYCHIC OR SOMETHING? It’s pretty-simple – if you have the right skills you can react a lot quicker and help avoid crashes. Studies show that most riders involved in crashes either under brake the front tire and over brake the rear, or do not separate braking from swerving or choose swerving when it’s not appropriate. Knowing when and how to stop or swerve are critical skills to keep your butt off the ground.

IF ONLY EVERY LINE WAS STRAIGHT, BUT WHAT FUN WOULD THAT BE? A common cause of single-vehicle crashes is riders running wide in a curve or turn and colliding with the roadway or fixed object. Be alert to whether a curve remains constant, gradually widens, gets tighter, or involves multiple turns.

BEING AFRAID OF A LITTLE PIECE OF RUBBER DOES NOT MAKE YOU LESS MANLY. Potholes, wet or icy surfaces, railroad tracks and tire scraps all increase your chances of going down. Avoid obstacles by slowing down or going around them – duh, right? On slippery roads, reduce your speed, use both brakes and try to keep your bike as upright as possible. When crossing railroad tracks, it’s safer to stay in your lane rather than try to turn to cross at a 90-degree angle. For track and road seams that run parallel to your route, cross at a 90-degree angle. For track and road seams that run parallel to your route, cross at an angle of at least 45-degrees to avoid catching your tires.

TURN MAN: Traffic lights don’t hate you. It’s just that some of them don’t turn green until they receive a signal from a metal detector buried in the pavement. But, sometimes bikes don’t have enough metal to make them work. Seriously, just try to locate a detector – usually a square or octagonal pattern of thin lines in the pavement – and ride along it.

IF THEY CAN’T SEE YOU, YOU DON’T EXIST: Many crashes happen when the driver of a car doesn’t see you. No surprise there. So, help yourself by wearing the proper clothing, using your headlight and riding in the best lane position. And, before making a move, always let people know what you’re doing by using the correct signals.

Evelyn and I would like to wish everyone a Happy Easter on April 12th, and remember ATGATT.

“Ride Safe & Ride Proud” Chuck & Evelyn Stone PA DISTRICT EDUCATORS

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Last month I wrote about the mild weather we were enjoying. Well I guess “Old Man Winter” was listening and decided to give us a break this year as predicted by our little furry buddy “Punxsutawney Phil” all the way back in February. The calendar says Spring started yesterday and the temperature reached the 50’s, I’ll take that in March any time!!! All we need now is to get past the COVID-19 isolation so we can take advantage of the mild weather.

With all the available extra stay-at-home time, several things come to mind. Are the bikes ready, and even more important, are we ready for a new riding season? It’s not that hard to determine if the bike is ready. Think “T-CLOCK”, but what do we need to check to see if “WE” are ready for another riding season? Remember our riding skills will be a little rusty for the first few rides and let’s face it, most of us don’t ride like professional road racers even after the rust is gone. So, start out slow and easy with a few shorter rides until some of the rust wears off. Before that first ride, let’s check our riding gear. How old is your helmet (remember, it has a suggested replace-by-date) and is it in good condition? Is the face shield scuffed or cloudy? What about your rain gear? Are your gloves in good shape? What condition is your riding jacket in, and the big question, Does it still fit??? If it’s time to replace your jacket you may want to consider one of the new all-weather armored hi-tech jackets with an air flow ventilation system, they are quite comfortable in most weather conditions and best of all, they add a little extra safety. The new super bright colors have become more popular the last few years because they also help us to be seen.

As well as getting Us and the Bike ready for the new season, we also need to deal with the COVID-19 require-ments before we can get together for some Training. While we respond to the Pandemic by reducing our contact with others, the GWRRA University is offering an alternative training opportunity, on-line training by the Director of the University and the University Assistants. Beginning April 6th, the GWRRA University will be offering a limited number of classes by video conferencing (Zoom). The classes offered are listed below and you can find the times and the registration form on the University website: gwrradot.com

GWRRA Module 202-04 Retention is Important How to retain Members. To understand that retention is

strategy rather than an outcome.

GWRRA Module 301-02 More Members Recruitment basics. The importance of creating & implementing a

recruitment plan.

GWRRA Module 106-01 On the Level Covers the Levels Program. The steps to progressing from Level I

through the Level IV Masters program.

GWRRA Module 201-06 Newsletters Discusses communication via Newsletters and why they are so

important today. It isn’t just the newsletter editor...it is everyone!

GWRRA Module 106-02 How Aging Affects Riders Mature riders. The effects of aging on riders.

GWRRA Module 201-03 Can You Hear Me Now? Communication. What types of communications are

available and how to successfully use them?

New Member Orientation All about the benefits of belonging to GWRRA.

Co-Rider Seminar 101-02 Information and tips for the co-rider. This seminar is part of the Levels program

and will be entered into the Rider Ed database when completed.

Please, Promote and Support the “Training Opportunities” throughout your Chapters. With the support of the GWRRA University we’ll do our best to make the training Available, Informative and FUN!!! We look forward to seeing you at a future Training event.

Your Friends for FUN, Safety, and Knowledge Senior PA District University Coordinators ITCP Certified Master Instructors Gerry & Bonnie VanArt OCP Trainers, Master Tour Riders gbvanart@msn.com or 570-764-1279

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With all that is going on with the coronavirus, let all of us take a few moments to pause and think about what all we have to be grateful for. Then pause again and say a prayer for each other.

March 14, 2020 was the Couple of the Year FUN Day in Clearfield. What a memorable day it was. We not only honored each Chapter Couple but also prepared them for the next step in their journey. We had a time of fellowship, socializing, getting to know each other and so much more while learning about the Selection Process. Thank you all for coming out and supporting the Couple of the Year Program!

For those who attended FUN Day, please don’t forget to fill out the survey and either mail or e-mail it back to John & Glenda. Info is on the bottom of the survey where to send it. Thank you.

At this point of time the PA District Rally in Altoona is still scheduled for May 14, 15 and 16. Get your registration in, reservations made, sign up for the riding courses offered, Talent Show and share in an evening of ICE CREAM (a staple for most Goldwingers) and sign up for seminars once you arrive.

Friday afternoon will be the PA District Couple of the Year Selection. Come on out and cheer for the Couples in the Process.

See you soon in our travels. John & Glenda Leib PA District Couple of the Year Coordinators

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Here it is the month of April & a quarter of the year is gone. It’s been a crazy time we are having being

quarantine away from family & friends. It’s a time where spring cleaning has started, reading a good book,

putting jigsaw puzzles together or whatever else helps pass the time away since we can’t be together with

our GWRRA family.

We helped with the Chapter Couple of the Year “Fun Day” which was held on March 14 at the Trinity United

Methodist Church in Clearfield. We had a great time, meeting the new Chapter Couples that were in

attendance. They learned more about the Couple of the Year program. They were asked to give a 2-3 minute

talk about themselves, helped them fill out the resume for district selection and had a mock

interview session. We hope the couples went along at least learning a little bit more about the

program. We even had an opportunity to give a 5 minute talk ourselves.

After being chosen as the District Couple of the Year, we had another decision to make whether

to be in the selection for International Couple of the Year. We talked about it for quite some

time and said we probably wouldn’t have another opportunity to do so that decided to be a part

of the International selection. We had our interview by a “zoom” call in March. We felt we did

our best. We are now waiting for the results of who will be selected as the Northeastern

International Couple of the Year. The winner will be announced by a “zoom” call here in April.

Regardless of the outcome, we are glad that we decided to be in the selection to represent PA District as well

as Chapter W (our home chapter).

We hope everyone is staying safe & healthy. Doing our part of social distancing we will get through this

together. Take care.

Chris & Christie Hull

PA Assistant District Directors

2019-2020 PA District Couple of the Year

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GWRRA Team

Team GWRRA

GWRRA Website Home Office, Phoenix, AZ 800-843-9460 www.gwrra.org

Director of GWRRA Jere & Sherry Goodman 540-623-0447 director@gwrra.org

Director’s Assistant Tom & Renee Wasluck

570-239-2353 Tom 570-239-2354 Renee

tom.renee11@gmail.com

Director of Rider Education Susan & George Huttman 828-368-2249 director-re@gwrra.org

Director of Membership Enhancement Larry & Penny Anthony 205-492-9728 mepgwrra@gmail.com

Director of GWRRA University Clara & Fred Boldt 641-484-5140 toledotriker@gmail.com

Director of Finance Randall & Janet Drake 303-933-6073 financedirector@gwrra.org

Director of Motorist Awareness Mike & Barri Critzman 760-486-3405 itsawingthing@hotmail.com

ICOY - USA NE Territory - 2019/2020 Bob & Liz Fowler (NJ District)

PA District Team

PA District Website www.gwrrapadist.org

District Director - H-M-R-X Harold & Diane Jackson 814-589-1307 jackson2@zoominternet.net

Assistant District Director - B-K-V-Y Mike & Shirley Prince 717-495-5400 mikep@gwrrapav.org

Assistant District Director - C-S-T-W Chris & Christie Hull 814-766-2286 rchull275@gmail.com

Assistant District Director - D-E-I-N-P-Q Tim & Crystal Brakebill 724-816-9934 12wingnut@zoominternet.net

District Treasurer Sharon & Ed Golanka 724-938-7876 barnyardgang@zoominternet.net

District Membership Enhancement Open for candidate

District Educator Chuck & Evelyn Stone 814-652-6554 redtrike@embarqmail.com

Assistant District Educator Open for candidate

District Ride Coordinator Diane Jackson 814-589-1307 jackson2@zoominternet.net

District Motorist Awareness Open for candidate

Senior District University Coordinator Gerry & Bonnie VanArt 570-759-9304 gbvanart@msn.com

Assistant District University Coordinator Tim & Crystal Brakebill 724-816-9934 12wingnut@zoominternet.net

District Couple of Year Coordinator John & Glenda Leib 717-766-5467 crabcakelady@yahoo.com

District Couple of the Year - 2019/2020 Chris & Christie Hull 814-766-2286 chrishull@embarqmail.com

District Newsletter Editor Pat Cole 814-726-2673 colepatricia68@gmail.com

District Webmaster Mike & Darlene Ammerman 412-795-6685 auwinger@verizon.net

District Roll for the Dough Bonnie & Gerry VanArt 570-759-9304 rollforthedough@gmail.com

District Goodies Coordinator Dave & Cindy Marconi 814-781-6383 raidersdavecindy@yahoo.com

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GWRRA District websites in Northeastern USA

Connecticut CT

Delaware DE gwrra-md-de.org

Indiana IN indianaonwings.org

Maine ME

Maryland MD gwrra-md-de.org

Massachusetts MA

Michigan MI

New Hampshire NH gwrra-nhvtdistrict.weebly.com

New Jersey NJ gwrranj.shutterfly.com

New York NY gwrra-ny.org

Ohio OH ohiogwrra.org

Pennsylvania PA gwrra.padist.org

Rhode Island RI

Vermont VT gwrra-nhvtdistrict.weebly.com

West Virginia WV wvgwrra.org