June Chapter Meeting Minutes
Call to Order
Wanda called to order the monthly meeting of the North Canton Indian Motorcycle Group at 7:15 PM.
Video – Watched a short clip from our Mohican Ride - A nice view from the sweeper as we cruised through Nashville, OH on OH-39 towards Loudonville, OH.
Attendance
Thirteen members and officers were present.
Old Business
National IMRG Officer Meeting May – cancelled – will be rescheduled in June.
2021 Rocker Patches: A dozen patches were ordered and are in. If you haven’t picked yours up yet, you can do it anytime. They are in the office at Bair’s. Jeana will be back after the 4th.
Blue Ridge Trip - Confirmations have closed. Sounds like a fun time for Kevin, Mike, Tom and Brock. Safe travels guys - keep us posted!
New Business
President’s Update – Wanda
Wanda introduced our new Membership Director and Social Media Officer.
Membership Director – Chris Weisgarber
Social Media Officer – Maria Weisgarber
Chris and Maria have been wonderful additions to our chapter. They have regularly attended meetings and rides since late 2020. They both bring special skills, Chris a retired Navy recruiter and Maria a Facebook/Instagram guru. They are both are Indian enthusiasts. He rides a 2020 Indian Challenger, she rides a 2016 Indian Chief Classic.
We appreciate the help Chris and Maria!
Demo Days
Sign-up sheet for volunteer shifts 9:00 to close each day (8 hrs Fri, 7 hrs Sat)
Quilt raffle ticket sales/membership tables
2-hour shifts (sign up for multiple shifts if you are available)
Biggest opportunity for chapter exposure and raffle ticket sales
Grilling/serving burgers/dogs – SUGGESTED donations $5/plate
Friday – Maria Weisgarber
Saturday – David White
2-hour shifts (sign up for multiple shifts if you are available)
11:00AM to close each day
Assist with serving, restocking supplies and cleaning tables
Kevin, John, Tom, Chris are leading and sweeping demo rides.
Wanda will be there both days floating where needed, but would appreciate some assistance!!
July meeting – Bair’s will be closed on July 5th, July Meeting moved to the 12th!
Membership - Membership Director Chris Weisgarber introduced Eddie Valle as our newest member. Eddie is John Breda’s son-in-law and a fantastic photographer who will pick up the Chapter Photographer duties. Welcome Eddie!
Secretary / Webmaster Kevin Irwin announced that he and Mike Newbold recently discovered that he was not on our membership or email lists. Mike has ridden with us for years! That was corrected immediately - Mike is a full fledged member!
Safety and Ride Review – Tom and Mike
Started with a good discussion on deer vs motorcycle. Sheldon Lehman walked away from striking a deer on his Scout a few weeks ago. He shared his experience. His commitment to always wearing a helmet and full gear helped him walk away with only a minor hand injury. We were glad to hear he is OK, but sad to hear the Scout was totaled. His replacement bike is on the way!
Saturday 5/15/21 Marblehead (Kevin led, Tom swept)
12 bikes, 13 attended
Lunch – Berardi’s Family Kitchen in Sandusky
What did we do well - Stayed together very well with the help of helmet communications between Kevin and Tom.
How could we have done it better? One wrong turn caused a tough turnaround in a narrow residential road. All in all - a safe trip!
Saturday 5/22/21 Feed ‘em and Eat ‘em (Wanda led, Tom swept)
Calendar change, thank you for keeping up with the changes! Our new communication plan seems to be working!
19 bikes, 21 attended
Lunch – Boss Bison Ranch Lunch Wagon
What did we do well? Great site seeing trip! Lunch was a little slow but worth it!
How could we have done it better? We had a little challenge parking in the pasture at the Salt Fork Stables. Everybody did very well - even the minor drops in the grass were well executed! Kevin and Wanda learned about charter rules that outline restrictions about posting pictures on social media/website of Indian Motorcycles and Native American themed events. We corrected the issue quickly - No big issue - just good advice from Jeana! Thanks Jeana for watching out for us!
Sunday 6/6/21 - Mohican Ride (Kevin led, Tom swept)
13 bikes, 14 attended
Lunch – picnic at Mohican State Park Gorge Overlook (thank you Tom for the banana bread)
What did we do well? Great use of hand signals through the ride that day!
How could we have done it better? A reminder to review the route pre-ride - emphasize turns and route numbers in congested areas. The traffic in Loudonville and the turn from OH-39 to OH-3 caused some confusion. Observant riders kept things together.
Upcoming rides –
Saturday 6/12 - Impromptu Ride Stay tuned for email announcements!
Friday/Saturday 6/25-6/26 DEMO DAYS – NO RIDES SCHEDULED
Saturday 6/26/21 – Lima Flat Track - The event is moving forward we are confirming ride leader.
Sunday 6/27/21 – Calling All Scouts
Pre-Ride 10:00 am, Departure 10:30 am from Scheetz
Ride Captain – Wanda Carlisle
Sweep – Kevin Irwin
150 miles, 6 hours Max (including lunch stop)
Scouts will lead the way
Sunday 7/11/21 – Ohio’s Best Roads Part II
Pre-Ride 9:00 am, Departure 9:30 am from Scheetz
Ride Captain – Wanda Carlisle
Sweep – John Breda
300 miles, 8-9 hours (including lunch stop)
Twisty, long day with some technical roads
This ride is about the Ride
Communication Update – Kevin
Website continues to show growth in usage - 720 pages views over the last 30 days. People are using the website. The most popular content is News articles with photos and the Members Only - Group Ride Schedule.
Started doing a weekly News and Reminders email. The email confirms upcoming events and also provides links to news article on the website. Titus has resulted in a 4% growth on email opens and clicks. Kevin asked the group for feedback and everyone said keep it up!
Rides by the numbers:
We have had 6 rides that totaled 1,015 miles.
68 members have attended these rides with an average of 11 members a ride. We are averaging 3 guests per ride.
As a chapter we have completed 11,650 miles of group rides!
We already have 3 - 1K Riders (Members who have logged 1,000 miles on Chapter sponsored rides)
VP Thoughts – John
Great attendance at the rides and meetings. John mentioned, and received unanimous agreement, that it is great seeing the ladies at the rides. Whether they are on their own ride or a passenger, it is great having them along. We want everyone to ride with us, men or women, on any kind of bike. Come ride with us.
Announcements – important upcoming dates – Wanda
Demo Days – Friday and Saturday June 25-26, 9:30 am – 5:00 pm
Bair’s News
Ramping up for Demo Days and keeping our fingers crossed for good weather!
Adjournment
Wanda adjourned the meeting at 8:15 pm. Next meeting is Monday, July 12th at Bair’s.
