District Educator Article

Bragging Rights, Grease, and The Rider Education Program
By Ron Nicholas CA1-K (GW# 105804)

I seriously considered not writing this article because I don’t believe in bragging. The more I thought about bragging I realized, I absolutely do believe in bragging, because bragging rights are usually earned through effort. Since this article is about GWRRA members I’m going to brag on each and every member in CA1-K because of their effort and commitment to the Rider Education Program.

A little history… At a Chapter CA1-K business meeting in mid-97 the members decided the Rider Education Program was important and something they wanted to do. It took some talking but what was arrived at was, “We would commit ourselves to learning, riding safely, and all riders would achieve the Master Level.” Simple mission statement and to the point. My job was to pull the parts together and get the classes scheduled. Because we had Wing Ding, Region, and District Rallies as well as a heavy ride schedule and Chapter events the group had committed to, we couldn’t get started until late October. Also, it was decided we would do a special meeting around the issuing of patches. We called it our Festival of Patches Program and set the first one for February 1998. We got busy and scheduled ERC, CPR, and First Aid classes.

At the first Festival of Patches meeting in February (98) we awarded 83 Level Patches plus more than a dozen high mileage pins/patches: twenty-six Level 1, thirty-one Level 2’s, twenty-four Level 3’s, and two Master Level patches. At our second Festival of Patches in February (99) we awarded ten Level 1’s, nine Level 2’s, twelve level 3’s and fourteen Master Level Patches. (And renewed three Master Level Riders.) I’ll do the math for you. From late October 97 to January 99 (16 months) this super group of members earned themselves a total of 128 Rider Education Patches.

Besides the earned bragging rights there is another aspect to this story I want to share. Of course none of this could have happened without the members’ commitment but there was also some grease that allowed the wheels to turn smoothly and made the goals easier to accomplish. Here is how we did it. Since we had come to a consensus on the Rider Education Program, I simply figured out the dollars needed for everyone to take all the classes required plus the GW application fees. The Chapter raised the money through a garage sale, picnics that were charged for, oil change gift certificates our local Honda dealer gave in support of the Education Program along with many other odds and ends that got raffled off at Chapter meetings and events. When the classes rolled around I wrote checks for whatever was needed out of a fund we call the “Rider Education Fund.” Since we started late in the year we didn’t have enough time to raise all the money needed so members had to make token payments for the various classes. At the next round of fund raising we were able to raise the anticipated funds but we had eight new members come in the Chapter so we were still just a little short but not by much. This year we have time to raise all the money we will need.

Getting the consensus on the Rider Education Program gave us a focus, raising the money together gave a sense of purpose, achieving the program requirements gave a sense of accomplishment. Having the money in the “kitty” was the grease that dealt with any resistance to taking classes and made my job that much easier. Also, what made my job easier was our District’s Directors Ron and Fay Tolson and their staff in the background, but not very far, always offering encouragement and cheerleading. Tom and Barbara Jefferies caught and cleaned up my mistakes and got patches back to me almost as soon as I mailed the applications. Caroline and Bob Seip came right behind them as new District Educators keeping the applications flowing and all the balls in the air. We could not have pulled this off without all of them.

If all members had stopped at Level 1 I would still have given them a bunch of “ata boys” but this was not the case. This exceptional group of members just kept on trucking. Next February at our THIRD Festival of Patches we expect to have twelve more Master Levels which will mean over ninety percent of the current Chapter K riders will have achieved Master Level. They like it and as their CD I like it. This focus on the Education program along with the riding practices we hold has raised the level of riding skills during these past sixteen months so that everyone in the Chapter notices. The Rider Education Program is focused on the individual rider and his personal commitment to safety and knowledge. That’s just the way it should be. However, the commitment to learning, and developing riding skills is paramount for the Chapter. Lots of chapters are scheduling and doing ERC, CPR, FAC, etc. as groups so all we have done at Chapter CA1-K that is somewhat different is add the element of money. It seems when our members begin to see broader issues, such as safety and learning, they are at their best and always step up to the plate with both time and money. This program is just one example.

We hopefully never will accomplish the goal of having all Chapter members at Master Level because new members, we hope, will keep coming into the Chapter. It’s still a wonderful goal, the mission is in place, and the fat lady hasn’t sung yet!