GWTA members:
Touring News is in need of letters from you, our members. We want
your thoughts and ideas, to share them with the GWTA membership. There is great potential for developing a forum from and for our members,
but we need your letters to do it.
Therefore, we have launched Have You Written Touring News Today? (HYWTNT?),
GWTA's letter writing contest amongst the regions. Please read the samples
and suggested
guidelines below then write and send in your letter, TN
will keep the count. Don't let your region down. Have You Written Touring
News Today? Let the answer be yes!
Have You Sent Your Letter to Touring News?
Most of us in GWTA realize that the best ideas come from our members.
What better forum for those ideas than Touring News, our monthly magazine.
Unfortunately, member correspondence has been, at best, spotty. We’re all the poorer for
the loss of those ideas.
Let’s change that. Let’s get a regular flow of ideas, thoughts, and
suggestions coming into Touring News from which our members can read and benefit. By showing our
members what we need in a letter, and by encouraging them to write, we can have a Letters
to the Members section in Touring News. Our goal is to receive one letter from each chapter each quarter (spring,
summer, fall, winter).
With the number of chapters we have that goal should provide Touring News
editors enough letters to produce at least one full page of member letters each and every
issue.
To meet that goal I have suggestions for letter writers and some sample letters.
The next part of the plan is to encourage members to write a seasonal
letter. I will contact chapters with e-mail addresses and use regular mail for the rest.
Encouragement should come from all levels of our organization. Touring News
will always encourage readers to send in their letters. The guidelines and examples are the tools; a contest
amongst the regions will provide the motivation. Which region will send in the most letters?
Have you sent your letter to Touring
News today?
Suggested Letter Writing Guidelines
1. Please submit your letter typewritten and double spaced or legibly printed.
E-mail letters are welcome, no special program or attachments are
needed.
2. Please sign your letter and indicate that your letter is part of this
campaign/contest.
3. All letters should be no longer than 170 words in length. See examples.
4. Be positive. Letters should be informative, inquiring, or complimentary.
5. If asking for replies, please include your contact information.
6. Mail to Touring News, 79 Morris Drive, Carthage, TN 37030.
Thank you!
Sample Touring News Letters
Dear GWTA:
We have a great place near us that many GWTA members may want to stop at
for a
meal or motel room. It's the Dillard House, located on Hwy 41 in the
northeast Georgia town of Dillard. It has nice motel rooms amongst beautiful
grounds. The neat thing about the Dillard House, though, is that the restaurant serves everything on
the menu family style. Breakfast is pretty much the same every day, but lunch and supper vary by
the day of the week. It’s all-you-can-eat and delicious! For breakfast they
serve the best
bacon I have ever eaten and grits that actually tasted like corn, as they should. We cleaned the
sausage plate and they just kept coming. The next time in Georgia, try the Dillard House. It’s
something else!
Destination Friendship,
Jane A. Rider
Region A, Chapter C, Anywhere
Dear Touring Associates:
Hi! I’m writing from Wisconsin and I’d like to tell you a little bit about
myself. I have been riding
motorcycles for 21 years. I started with a CB350 and worked my way up to a ‘94 Aspencade three
season ago. Most of the time the GL carries my wife Fran and me, but for solo touring I ride my
‘95 Pacific Coast. The PC is used on our vacation trips, trailered behind our 20 foot
motor home. The main thing I like about GWTA is the many opportunities for a regular
member to get involved. GWTA is very open. All our officers communicate well, and
are very accessible. I think this is because they are regular members, like you and me. I hope
you liked my howdy! I invite you to visit Wisconsin and Eau Claire anytime soon.
Call me, let's
go riding!
Sincerely,
John D. Biker
Region C, Chapter Y
Eau Claire, WI
Fellow Gold Wingers:
I’m writing to see if any other motorcyclists are having the same problem that
I am. It’s not actually a problem. However, I wonder if most everyone else’s bike drops into
neutral gear as easily as mine. When coming to a stop, my transmission drops into neutral almost
by itself. I have to make a definite shift into first when at a stoplight. What’s more, when I
downshift at low speeds, I sometimes wind up accelerating in neutral until I look at my
instrument panel. This happens generally only when the bike is fully warmed up. Is anyone else
experiencing this? Can you help me?
Thank you!
Yours in Motorcycling,
I. B. Winger
1134 W Hamilton Ave
My town, USA
Region A, Chapter Z
Dear GWTA:
I am writing to tell you about someone who is doing a great job for our chapter and, in a way, a
great job for GWTA.
Our Chapter Y Web master is Chris Olson. I want to compliment him on the work he is doing for our
Web site. Not every motorcycle club has a Web site so we in the Northwind Road
Riders are fortunate to have him in our club. I did start the Web site but he has taken it over with
a vengeance and made it 500% better. Besides the usual pages, he has begun a scrapbook
page with pictures of our members and their bikes. He updates the Web
site quickly, too. Our address is astcomm.net/nwrr, I suggest you check it out. Chris is also an Iron
Butt Assn. member, so he knows all about long distance riding. Thank you for all your
work, Chris!
Yours in Riding,
John Doe, Region H, Chapter D, Any town
Contributed by
Darrell Broten
