From:Hodge e-mail:michael.r.harrison@citigroup.com
Subject:February Meeting Minutes Date:Tue Feb 23 15:00:30 2010
Highlands Chapter AMCA
February Meeting Minutes


Date: January 30, 2009
Place: Hodge’s new house.
Time: 2 PM
Attendees: Chopper Rob, Flat Head Ed, George, Cliff, Rachel,
Richard, Tom Holter, Tom (Rollo), Chip Bob and Hodge,


We met at Hodge’s new digs at 2 PM. The snow was coming down pretty heavily, so it was nice to retreat to the President’s heated basement. We did the normal BS and Beer routine from 2 PM to 3:30 PM.

I’d just gotten back from Hershey, PA where I’d picked up a mini bike identical to the one I had 40 years ago. Some of you might remember an electronics company called Heathkit that put out an oversized all-terrain bike called a Boonie Bike. It’s all original, needing only a paint job to bring it back to pristine condition. (I’m thinking we need to have an antique mini bike race at our next event, but I digress).

The Meeting – 3:30 PM

This was the second meeting of 2010 and a number of important items were discussed. Hodge opened up the meeting with a nod to those members, new and old, that were unable to attend. He expressed his sincere hope to see our newest members, John, Jeff, Uwe and Mike at the next meeting. Unfortunately, they along with King, Long Shanks, Dave and a few others were not able to make Saturday’s meeting. King had sent along his condolences and warmest greetings to the group. Hodge said he would contact one of our earliest members, Bill Patchett, to see if we can get him back into the group.

Hodge also thanked everybody that made it out on a very snowy day for this important meeting.

Speaking of new members, we just got another one. Cliff’s daughter, Rachel, has joined the Highlands Chapter. We all wished Rachel a warm welcome to our motley group. I’ve only been with the chapter for three years, but I’m pretty sure that Rachel is our first female member. Fantastic! We’re all glad to have her. She says she is a slow rider, so at least I’ll have company when I’m riding the tired old “45”.

George collected the member’s 2010 dues and reported that we had about $1,000 in the accounts. We restated our desire to send flowers or a donation whenever a club member experiences a family loss. Cliff thanked us for the fruit basket that we sent Juanita when she lost her father recently.

We were about to get into the serious part of the meeting when Richard and Tom Holter regaled us with stories about their misspent youth. It was funny stuff. It’s always good to get those two going at it.

Flathead Ed reported that he, Hodge and George were actively rebuilding Ed’s motor. They expect to have it back together in a few weeks. Ed is in the process of replacing a number of items on his bike, including the frame. Hodge guessed that Flat’s bike would be a runner in less than a year. Ed said it should be done before he retires. There was some good-natured kidding on whether or not Flat would actually ride the thing, once it was done.

Hodge suggested that we take more photographs of our meetings and events. Flathead Ed, our unofficial photographer, stated that he was running out of recent photos. Richard pulled out his camera and took a couple of photos. I’m sure they’ll show up somewhere. Hodge reminded us that all photos posted to the Highlands Website or sent to any publication need to be approved by the folks in the picture or by the individual who held the event. Richard thanked Flat for submitting additional photos to the AMCA calendar this year. We all agreed that for a small club, we’ve been well represented in the recent calendars.

The meeting drifted off in to a number of stories and side conversations. Richard called us back to order several times. Thanks to Richard for trying to keep us on track.

Hodge reminded us that we’d decided to change things up a little this year, by forgoing the Natural Bridge Run for something new. We’d previously discussed having our run centered around one of the local ski resorts. Richard and Debbie had done some preliminary research on Snow Shoe Ski Resort. They cater to motorcycle groups during the off-season. We understand there are numerous bike routes in the area. Snow Shoe even provides maps of the various runs.

Rob expressed his concern that Snow Shoe, being a big resort, may not allow for the security of our bikes. Rob stated that he likes to be able to see his bike from his room. He was afraid that that might not be the case at Snow Shoe. I’d been to Snow Shoe, both in the winter and in the summer before. I told Rob that the rooms I’d stayed at were not always in view of the parking area. Hodge suggested we consider some sort of alarm system wired to our bikes. It’s something we may need to consider.

Cliff had suggested another alternative. He said that Smoke Hole Resort in Petersburg, WV would be a very good place for our event. We understand that a motorcycle enthusiast owns the facility and that he welcomes bikers. Cliff told us that the resort could house up to 600 guests. They have a hotel and many small to medium cottages.

Tom Holter was concerned that we might lose some of our out-of-town visitors if we moved the event from Natural Bridge. Hodge was convinced that it was not the venue, but the Highlands Chapter that got the folks from New York and the Carolinas to come to our events.

Hodge reminded us that we’d already decided to move this year’s event away from Natural Bridge. We just needed to decide when and where. Richard said that he just wanted everybody happy and that having the event at Snow Shoe was not crucial. He said that the Smoke Hole Resort sounded great. So much so, that he wanted to drop the whole idea of going to Snow Shoe.

I asked if we’d be planning a barbeque with the event. Hodge said that, maybe this year we’d forego the cookout, in favor of eating at the local restaurants. We can always go back to Natural Bridge and the cookout next year if we needed to. This year he wanted to try something different. We all agreed to change things up.

Cliff volunteered to research the Smoke Hole Resort. He will contact the management to see what accommodations are available. Hodge asked us to decide on a date. It looks like July and September are full of other scheduled events. August was pretty open. I’m out of town the first week of August, but I didn’t want to have things planned around my schedule. Everybody, very kindly said that we could pick another week in August. It was decided that the second or third weekend in August fit the bill. Cliff will check on availabilities for Friday Aug 13, 2010 – Sunday Aug 15, 2010 and Friday Aug 20, 2010 – Sunday Aug 22, 2010. We’ll let you know what he finds out.

Richard sent us an e-mail on Sunday with the link to the Smoke Hole Resort. Here it is again, just incase you missed it:

http://www.smokehole.com/lodging.html

I’ve checked it out. It looks great. My bookkeeper has friends that go there every year and they think it’s fantastic. I’ve found out that it’s the place to be if you are a fly fisherman. I’ll be bringing my fly rod. It’s also pretty close to Black Water Falls. They have a neat lodge that might be a good stopping off point for a group lunch. I also understand that the Kac-Ka-Pon restaurant in Wardensville (which is on the way to the Smoke Hole Resort) serves great family style food. The restaurant is biker-friendly. Here is their website:

http://www.kackaponrestaurant.com/


There’s a lot to do at and nearby Smoke Hole including the Smoke Hole Caverns. Richard even found a military museum in Petersburg that I intend on visiting.

We pretty much agreed that the Smoke Hole Resort in wild West Virginia is our destination for this year’s big club event.

(By the way, I just found out that the Toothbrush was invented in West Virginia. If it had been invented anywhere else it would have been called a Teethbrush).


4:45 PM – Break for Food

We took a break from the meeting at 4:45 PM to have some of Hodge’s homemade chili. It was fantastic, probably the best chili I’ve ever had. We ate every last morsel. Thanks to Hodge for putting on such a great meal. Hodge was already famous for his barbequed chicken. I’m convinced his Chili is even better.

5:15 PM – Back to the Meeting

Hodge said that Richard had another idea he’d like the club to discuss. Richard thinks that we should put on a small bike show this year. Rollo had arranged for our bikes to be in the Patriot H-D show last year. It gave us a chance to introduce the public to our antique bikes. Richard thinks that we could make some money putting on a show. The proceeds could be donated to a charity. This is something that Richard wants all of us to think about before the next meeting. Chopper Rob has been involved in a number of bike shows for his Brit bike club. He said he would help us with some ideas on how things should be done. Richard was hoping to put on a very small show this year, just to get our feet wet. Tom Holter suggested contacting Winchester H-D to see if they are doing something in 2010. He said we might be able to meet up at his place after a Winchester event for a cookout. Hodge said he had contacts at Winchester H-D and that he would make some calls. Rollo suggested combining our event with the Chesapeake Chapter. Richard reiterated that he was hoping to keep the event small, at least for the first year. Chip suggested that, if were gong to put on a show, then we should do something early in the season. It’s something to think about. We’ll discuss it further during our March meeting.

Elections

It was time for this year’s elections. Someone (Richard) nominated all of the current officers for another two term. The vote was nearly unanimous, with just a few officers (Hodge & George) in good-hearted opposition. Your officers for 2010-11 are:

Mike (Hodge) Harrison – President
King Troenscgaurd – V.P. (See what happens, King, when you don’t show up for a meeting).
George Downes – Treasurer
Bob Nicholas – Secretary

Thanks to all of you for letting us serve the club for another term.


Meeting Close – 5:20 PM

The snow continued to fall throughout the afternoon and evening. Rachel was judging the depth of the snow by watching the wheels on Hodge’s barbeque slowly disappear. She told us when the wheels were completely covered, signaling the end to our meeting.

Rachel was unanimously elected, as our newest member, to clean all the brothers’ windshields. Not sure how that worked out for everybody else. I know I cleaned my own windows.

Thanks again for the good meeting. Looking forward to seeing all of you in March. We’ll keep you posted on the date, location and time.


Regards,



Bob Nicholas, Secretary – Highlands Chapter, AMCA





February 1, 2010