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The below article is from guest writer Barbara Kerr, Rally Secretary. Please note registration deadline is this Thursday! If are are interested in volunteering please e-mail me your contact information at Director@FirstStateHOG.org (you must be registered for the rally to volunteer). 

If it’s June, then that means that the DE/MD “Blue Ribbon H.O.G. A-Fair” State Rally is just around the corner in Dover, Delaware - July 29, 30, 31, 2010.  HAVE YOU REGISTERED YET????  OMG!  Why not??? Do it now!  It is so easy – just go to www.demdstatehogrally.com.  Make sure you look carefully at all your registration options – dinner, Dover International Speedway Tour, and rally merchandise.  You’d be smart to select your rally merchandise purchases at the time of registration, as that’s the only way you’ll be guaranteed to get what you want.  Please note on-line registration CLOSES JUNE 10th!!!   After you register, check out the Sheraton of Dover, where we have a block of rooms being held; book now before they are all gone!

Thursday night, the 29th, is the Meet ‘n Greet social.  Plan on hoot’n and holler’n through the HOG Calling and Pie Eating contests.  Oh, don’t forget to get dressed up in your best (fanciest) bib overalls (I’ve yet to figure out how I’m dressin’ mine up – but am sure there will be plenty of laughs for all).

The rally gets into full swing with an early start for breakfast on Friday morning.  This is definitely the place to be on July 30th.  After you’ve gotten your fill at breakfast, decide whether you want to do the walking and/or riding poker run rides, Destination and Blue Ribbon Passport rides, and/or the ice cream ride.  Did you remember to pre-register for the Dover International Speedway Tour? When will you get a better chance to go behind the scenes at the track AND get to lap the track on your bike??  After an awesome day of fun, make sure you head to the Sheraton for Friday’s night wild and fun Midway games, DJ and cash bar. 

Saturday morning the 31st starts with another great breakfast ride.  After a full day of poker runs and another ice cream ride, make sure your back to the Sheraton in time for the Blue Ribbon Games/Field Events.   Oh, and plan on the group photo in front of Miles at the track.  What better way to close the event than with a great dinner, prizes and hoppin’ and laughin’ with our DJ Just Kidding Around?! 
See you at the rally!

Tags: HOG® by Jay Green
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Don’t Stand on the Sidelines! I can tell you from experience that the best way to enjoy the benefits of being a HOG member is to step up to the plate and get involved. It can be daunting to commit yourself to something and intimidating to meet new people. Don’t let that stop you! Don’t stand on the sidelines! You have nothing to lose and everything to gain!

“Volunteering” sounds like a punishment or a sacrifice but nothing could be further from the truth. HOG is primarily a volunteer organization. Nothing would happen if HOG members didn’t step up to help. Showing up to an event as a participant with no responsibility sounds like fun but in most cases it makes for a hum drum experience. I’d much rather create bonds with new people, keep busy and have a good time. The other options are to stand around with your thumb up your exhaust, shop and eat. If you show up to an event as a volunteer I guarantee you’ll make new friends without even trying. Event volunteers are busy at work, have purpose and are usually laughing their butts off. Having a job makes being at the event fun.

The above pictures are from the second year Diana and I volunteered to help with the MAV Foundation Bike & Blues Festival. Look how much fun the volunteers are having. You probably don’t believe me when I tell you they are drinking water.

When I joined First State Chapter I jumped in head first. I volunteered to be the Activities Officer on day one. I had no idea what I was getting into, but I knew I wanted to meet new people who liked the same things I did… and that’s not easy to do out there in the real world. I organized two trips and had the time of my life. I wish I could relive those trips! The friends I made on those first two trips will always be special because they were present and supported me when I was born into the world of traveling by motorcycle.

Immediately after joining the chapter I volunteered at our chapter poker run. You would never guess how much fun can be had doing something as simple as passing out bags of potato chips in the food line until you do it. I met so many people and we laughed and joked the whole time. When my wife, Diana, arrived to pick me up and saw me having such a great time with everyone she felt left out. Ever since then we have noticed we have more fun the more we get involved. It’s gotten to the point where we invent things to do. For example we don’t just show up to a dealer open house at Mike’s Famous Harley-Davidson. Instead we ask if we can do a breakfast fund raiser and cook breakfast… or if we can set up a membership table and try to recruit new members.

By volunteering to be the Director of the chapter I have probably made more friends than all the other friends I have ever made in my entire life. I have probably met more people through HOG in three years than most people have in their whole lives. I love showing up to an event several hours away and seeing members of other HOG chapters that I have met only because I took on this role. Every month First State attracts new members and I am usually fortunate enough to meet all of them. This past spring I attended HOG Officer Training in Reno, NV and made friends with other HOG members from Canada, Detroit, Wyoming, California and Texas.

Have I convinced you that volunteering is the best way to make an event fun? Are you are all revved up and ready to volunteer? If you live in Delaware or Maryland I have two huge events in July 2010 to tell you about and we need plenty of volunteers!

We have the Delaware and Maryland State HOG Rally right here in Dover this year. I volunteered to be the Volunteer Coordinator for the rally… go figure. I need lots of help! Please e-mail me at Director@FirstStateHOG.org with subject “volunteer” if you want to help. Send me your contact information. The only catch is you must be registered for the rally (you must be a HOG member to register). Rally registration deadline is June 10th! If you miss the deadline and still want to participate, contact me and I will see what I can do. Click here to register for the rally.

First State HOG is in a unique position to take an active part in a new annual event that could possibly become the biggest Mid Atlantic Harley-Davidson biker event. Our sponsor, Mike’s Famous Harley-Davidson New Castle, will launch Mike’s Famous Biker Weekend next month. We are on the ground level of this opportunity to help make this a spectacular success and create visibility for our chapter. We need every active First State member to step up for two hours Friday, Saturday or Sunday. The dates are July 16, 17 and 18th. We have lots of different jobs to accommodate different people. If you have special needs let us know. We understand some people can’t stand for long periods of time, others don’t like the sun, etc… We will find something you will enjoy. I’ll probably lead a ride and direct traffic because I think I look good in a bright orange vest. Come to the June meeting and select the time slot of your choice. If you can’t make it to the June meeting, contact Diana or Gladys.

Tags: HOG® by Jay Green
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As the Director of First State Chapter I am proud to announce our chapter will be actively particpating in the 2010 Patriot Tour. We will receive the flag on June 21st and carry it to the next stop on June 22nd. I thank Bill Sherer for personally reaching out to 100 HOG Chapters asking for our help to make this vision a reality. Please read the below press release prepared by the Nation of Patriots.

Join the Nation of Patriots (N.O.P. – a 501(C)3 non profit) as they launch the 2010 Patriot Tour - a nationwide effort that will serve to honor all of Americas Armed Forces, past, present, and future by passing one American flag around the country.  The goal of this tribute is simple; 100 stops, in 100 days, 100 Flag Bearers, 48 states, 12,500 miles, 1 summer.  The American flag will be passed from state to state carried by members of Harley’s prestigious HOG organization (Harley Owner Group).  Any money raised along the tour will be donated to families of wounded veterans across the country.

The voyage begins with a flag christening provided by Fox Company at the Wisconsin Harley Davidson Dealership located at 1280 Blue Ribbon Drive Oconomowoc WI 53066.  The NOP along with the Rock River HOG chapter will start the first leg of the tour by riding the flag from Milwaukee to Chicago on Friday May 28th.  It will continue on through the lower 48 states passing from rider to rider in a nationally unified effort honoring our service men and women. The flag is due to arrive back in Madison, WI on the Weekend of Labor Day Weekend.  On the last leg of the tour the flag will receive a military and police escort from Madison to Milwaukee where it will finally come to rest and be given a folding ceremony by the NOP, the Rock River HOG, the Color Guard, and all the flag bearers from across the country.

The NOP recognizes that our country is facing uncertain times and, beyond a massive effort in honor of our Armed Forces, hopes that this historic effort raise bring a rushing surge of pride through citizens hearts throughout the country.  The NOP would like to invite all American Patriots across the nation to learn more about our efforts by visiting the NOP’s website: www.nationofpatriots.org where you can also find a complete list of all the stops on the 2010 Patriot Tour.

–
Thank You,

Bill Sherer
Nation of Patriots
Exec. Director/Founder

Tags: HOG®, News & Announcements by Jay Green
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A HOG Chapter can not exist without a Harley-Davidson dealership as their sponsor and a successful HOG Chapter relys on a good relationship with their sponsor. First State HOG enjoys an excellent relationship with their sponsoring dealership: Mike’s Famous Harley-Davidson in New Castle, DE. The 2009 members of First State HOG wanted to show their appreciation to Mike’s Famous Harley-Davidson for all the great things they had been doing for the chapter. We presented our sponsor with a huge custom made decorative mirror emphasizing the MFHD Friends & Family philosophy. Afterall, our HOG Chapter shares a “Friends & Family” relationship not only with our fellow chapter members but many of the staff members at Mike’s Famous.

As a side note, you should also make it a point to thank all your chapter volunteers, officers and the employee’s at your sponsoring dealer who go out of their way to be involved with chapter functions. You can do this by presenting them with special certificates and volunteer pins available through HOG.

To make the above mentioned mirror we found a decorative mirror that needed a home. Diana made a design utizing the MFHD chevron logo and one of the HOG logo’s. She added some flames and it came out pretty cool! She amazes me everyday with her hidden talents! We e-mailed the design to one of our members who had a Cricut Machine. This is an amazing little machine that cuts stencils. She used it to chemically etch the mirror. The etching came out incredible!

I built a custom frame for the mirror like a shadowbox to give it bulk and depth. I fitted it with bolts to make it look industrial. I painted it with the same orange paint used to make our Chili Cook-off trophies. Below are pictures in case you want to make something similar. See my trophy post for more information on the paint color.

Tags: HOG® by Jay Green
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Back in 2008 Joker wrote a post about the Blackstone HOG Winter Chili Cook-off in Massachusetts between HOG Chapters. That inspired me to have the 1st Annual First State HOG Chili Cook-off last February. Diana bought me a Craftsman Router Table  and Router for my birthday and I used it to make the plaques for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place.

This year I kicked it up a notch by making trophies. I used some scrap wood for the base and top deck. I used the router to put a decorative edge on them. The base is a 5.5″ x 9″ rectangle and the top deck is a 5.5″ square. I painted them with Valspar “Autumn Blaze” 2002-1 Semi Gloss from Lowe’s.

I purchased two 2′ lengths of 2″ diameter PVC pipe and painted them with flat black spray paint. I cut them to 10″, 8″ and 6″ with my Craftsman Power Mitre Saw that Diana bought me for a housewarming present when I bought my house.

I purchased one 12″ long threaded rod, two washers and two nuts for each tropy (1/4″ diameter). I drilled a big hole using a 7/8″ drill bit on the bottom of the base just deep enough to sink the washer and nut. Then I finished the hole all the way through with a 5/16″ bit, I drilled all the way through the top decks with the same bit. The bolt should have wriggle room unless you can make the drill holes perfectly vertical. If you can do that then go ahead and use the 1/4″ bit. Maybe I should have used my drill press. Maybe a tight fit with perfectly vertical drill holes would have made assembly easier. Now that I think of it, another set of washer and nut to secure the bolt to the base would have worked twenty times better. I wish I thought of that before!

We ate four cans of canned corn with dinner over a two night period and saved the cans. Took the labels off and washed them. Punched a 1/4″ hole in the bottoms using a nail and hammer to start the hole. Then a phillips head screw driver to make it bigger and then a nail set to finish the hole. Try to get the metal to point down rather than in.

The next step is to connect the can on top to the top deck with the Base on the bottom with the PVC pipe sandwiched between the base and top deck. A washer and nut go under the base in the sink hole and a washer and nut go inside the can. Getting everything lined up and tightened up is a little tricky. Maybe wingnuts for inside the can would have worked better. Had to use small needle nose Irwin Vice Grips, 7/16″ crescent wrench, and 7/16″ nut driver to get the job done. I didn’t break out my socket set but a 7/16″ socket would have come in handy.

Diana made labels for the cans that have a diamond plate background. She mounted the labels using 3M Super 77 Multipurpose Adhesive in a spray can to glue the labels to the cans. The final touch is to glue a #1, #2 and #3 on the base. I got the numbers at A.C. Moore. they are 3.5″ high and cost $1.29 each. I painted them white and used Elmer’s Carpenter’s Interior Wood Glue to adhere them to the base.

The trophies came out great! Now I’m thinking about how to step it up another notch for next year.

Tags: HOG® by Jay Green
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The motorcycle industry has embraced the female market segment. Women riders although still a minority are not uncommon. Women riders are empowered! So why do we have an exclusive segment of HOG special for women? My wife prefers to be treated as equal, not special. So as you guess, my opinion is that LOH should be replaced with something more up to date. 

Harley-Davidson, HOG and each local chapter of HOG are challenged with attracting the under thirty market segment. HOG Chapters are filled with middle aged members, but where are the twenty somethings? Perhaps HOG should consider a special young adult group. Call it LT30 for “Less Than 30″.

The only problem I see with going this route is: where do you draw the line? If you have a special group for women and a special group for young adults then you need to treat all minority groups special. Where would it end?!

So I ask you:

What do you think of LOH and the idea of a new youth oriented group? Can you think of any new sub groups? Did I drink too much beer tonight and I am off my rocker?

Thank you to our new sponsor Riders Discount

Tags: HOG® by Jay Green
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