Newsletter – May 2016

MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS 1st Thursday of every month at 7:15pm (Except December & January) American Legion Post 200 11800 Michael Street in Taylor (Off Telegraph and Brest Road)

NATIONAL H.O.G. DUES It is YOUR responsibility to keep both your National H.O.G. and Motown H.O.G. chapter memberships current each year. Failure to keep your National membership active will result in cancellation of your local chapter.

Chapter Website: www.Motownhog.com

Sponsoring Dealership is Biker Bob’s

OFFICERS:

Director – Kenn Rowe

Assistant Director – Steve Pearce

Secretary - Jeanette Hosner

Treasurer – Kurt Sebaly

Sr. Road Captains – Larry Suban & Buck LeBlanc

L.O.H. Officer - Diane Dombecki

Activities Officer - Paul Thompson

Assistant Acitivities – Jim Nadeau & Kristine Zilka

Membership Officer - Kathy Suban

Assistant Membership – Elaine Henson

Photographer - John Dombecki

Safety Officers - Ken Kirk & Brian Yinger

Dealership Rep – Kenn Rowe

Webmaster - Terri Rowe

Editor – Sally Webb

Historian – Marty Kerstens

Merchandise Liaison – Ann Sanford

Volunteer Coordinator – Kristine Zilka

Motown H.O.G. Chapter #2357 c/o Biker Bob’s Harley-Davidson Motown 14100 Telegraph Road Taylor, MI 48180 Phone: 734-947-4647

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Motown HOG 2357

May 2016

Meeting Recap…

Meeting called to order by Director Kenn Rowe Woody (Mike Burke) led the Pledge of Allegiance Kenn Rowe – Director:

- 50 bikes rode to the May Meeting - Riding Season has started! Looking forward

to a great year ahead with lots of rides! - 3x5 suggestion cards will remain on the

tables at this and future meetings to capture your ideas/comments/suggestions for everything Chapter related

- Nancy Acker has the name tags in - Dinner Ride to Deadwood Bar and Grill in Northville will kick off at Biker Bobs for those

wishing to ride as a group. Meet at Biker Bob’s at 5pm, kickstands up at 530pm. - Kris has secured a golf cart from Dundee Mayor to escort volunteers to their posts

during Ride For A Reason - May 20th Penrickton’s hosting an Open House/Picnic. All members welcome.

Elaine Henson – Assistant Membership:

- 224 members currently - 5 year Membership PIN Recipients included:

Bonnie Wallace, Leon Wallace, and Ed Doyle. - Elaine has the sign up for the Chapter Mileage program. All new participants must get

starting mileage verified at Biker Bobs. Marty Kerstens – Historian:

- Wished everyone a Happy Cinco De Mayo!!!!! Diane Dombecki – LOH:

- Next LOH meeting will be at 7pm on May 17th at Penrickton and the 3rd Tuesday of every other month there after.

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Laura DeChane – New Member Intro: - Introduced new HOG member Taffy

Malkowski and James Brewer. See the New Member Section of the newsletter for more details of our latest members!

Kurt Sebaly – Treasurer:

- Read off Treasurer’s report. - Promoted Ride for a Reason June 5, 2016

o New green flyers were mailed 1st part of May for those yet to register.

o Still need more volunteers. If want to participate in the ride, can only volunteer at Cabela’s, not Biker Bob’s.

o Raffle tickets for Street Glide that was donated by Biker Bob’s are $10 each. Steve Pearce – Assistant Director:

- May 7th, Elwood will be joining Cindy Quasarano at the Wounded America banquet. Garner’s Jewelry sponsored the table. This is when they will meet 10-15 veterans to interview for selection for this year’s Wounded America event.

- Elwood to meet with committee to discuss veterans and the entertainment for this year. Laura DeChane – MI HOG Rally Events Coordinator:

- Discussed the MI State HOG Rally, “Highway to the Highlands”, is still open for registration online at mistatehogrally.com.

- Dates are Aug 18-20, 2016 - Event location is Harbor Springs MI - Early registration ended on 5/1. - Pre-registration via the website ends June 30th. - When registering, you can select if you wish to include the purchase of a T-Shirt

- Grand Prize Drawing for everyone that pre-registers for the rally to be held on Saturday evening during the event. You must be present to win.

- Hotels are booking up fast! - It is a Celtic theme for the rally. There will be

live bands, HD demo rides, scenic rides, skills challenge (HD motorcycles only!), and a zip line.

- If you want to volunteer at the rally, you can register on-line.

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Paul Thompson – Activities: - Our Memorial Breakfast Ride is Saturday,

May 7th. The Road Captains will lead us to

Michigan Memorial Park for a short memorial

service honoring our fallen past members.

- Saturday May 14 is the Road Skills Challenge

at Biker Bob’s.

- Biker Bob’s will be hosting movie nights once a month thru the summer. The first one is

Friday May 27. Open to chapter members, dealership employees, and the public.

- We also still need volunteers for our Ride for a Reason. Contact Kris Zilka to signup.

- Also don’t forget The Famous Dave’s appreciation Bike night on Wednesday June 1st.

We’d like to have a good turnout to thank them for all they do for us at Ride for Reason.

- On Friday June 10th is our Toledo Speedway Race night. We will be leaving from Biker

Bob’s at 4:30 and ride to Toledo Speedway on Benore Rd. in Toledo for dinner and the

race. Racing starts at 7:30 and will feature the Glass City Nationals for the Super

Modified portion of the “Fastest Short Track Show in the World” and will feature a 50

lap main race. Also featured will be the winged Auto Value / Bumper to Bumper Super

Sprint cars. If you’ve never seen these cars run, this is one of the top open wheeled

events in the Midwest. The cost is $25 / person and includes a Burger & Fries and

admission to the race. You can purchase your own drinks or order from the menu at

your own cost. If you can’t make it to Biker Bob’s by 4:30 your welcome to meet us at

the track. You must sign up for this event so we can give the track a count of how many

will be attending. Contact Paul Thompson to sign up. This should be a fun evening.

- Our Progressive Dinner Ride will be on Saturday July 2. It will be limited to 65 people

and tickets will be sold on a first come first serve basis. This event starts at one chapter

member’s home for appetizers, moves to another location for the main course and ends

at the final destination for dessert! Cheryl Parent is the chairperson for this event.

- Our Chapter Get-a-way is July 29-31 in Manistee near Lake Michigan. Signup sheets and

information are in the back of the meeting hall at each meeting. We have reserved a

block of rooms at the Manistee Hotel under Motown HOG. The rooms are $195 for two

nights (Fri. – Sat.). You will have to make your own reservation.

- Last night, May 4th was our first Bike Night for this year. Our next one will be on

Wednesday May 11 at Iron Mikes Tavern continuing on throughout the summer.

- Check the chapter Calendar for information, future events, and updates.

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Bob McCraight – Rolling Thunder Chapter 5 Michigan

- Introduced Rolling Thunder whose main function is to stay on point and to publicize the POW-MIA issue and raise awareness to the leaders in Washington D.C.

- Rolling Thunder, Chapter 5, is heavily involved in Michigan Veterans Foundation taking care of our vets on a local level.

- The annual Ride to Remember will again be escorted from Striking Lanes in Hartland MI to the Old Courthouse in Howell, MI. See flyer in this newsletter for more details.

- This ride honors fallen soldiers of Michigan Gold Star families ending at the courthouse with a special ceremony in their memory.

- Please join Bob, who is hoping for excellent weather for this ride and for many to come out to participate. It is a small thing you can do to help honor those who have given so much!

- Bob took an extra moment to share his appreciation for the efforts Buck, Larry, and the Road Captains provided to escort veteran, Staff Sergeant Childress, remains from Detroit Airport to a Funeral Home in Downriver last year. 5 law enforcement agencies, families from 3 cities/states and 200 people were escorted via multiple trips to the airport in the dark.

Terri Rowe – Webmaster: - Presented on overhead projector a tour of our HOG Chapter Website and how to find

various items like the calendar, volunteer list, fun routes, memorials, news alerts and photos as well as how to save those photos to your own computer.

Buck LeBlanc – Senior Road Captain: - May 14th is Road Captain Challenge.

Always open to all, not just Road Captains.

- Skills training continues (weather permitting) on Mondays at Biker Bob’s and on Thursdays at Wayne Eagles. All chapter members are welcome!

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May 50/50 Winner $155:

Buck LeBlanc

April T-Shirt Winner: Christy Martin

Sally Webb – Editor: - Member of the Month was chosen.

See that section in the newsletter to read more about our very own Hillbilly, Eric Spears!

- In an effort to help guide new members, and old members as well, through the maze of information shared at the

meetings and general “how to” topics, Sally will begin to stay after each meeting on the side towards the top of the meeting room to be available to clarify various topics and share what she has learned over her years with the chapter. Sally is a believer in no chapter related question is stupid, please ask! She is up to the challenge that statement might bring knowing some of you out there…wink wink…Yeah, y’all know who you are and she does too…LOL! If she doesn’t know the answer to your “legitimate” questions (wink, wink) she can take down your contact information and get back to you. Please know this is not a place for complaints. It is meant solely as a place to feel at ease about asking things such as “What exactly is a Progressive Dinner Ride” or “I didn’t hear all of that…” or “What date was that again?” or “I missed the meeting where Terri showed how to move around the website, can you help me find…” or “I have never ridden in a pack before and I am feeling a little nervous, what do I need to know.” Don’t stay confused about your chapter or our rides. We are here to make it simple and enjoyable for you. All you have to do is ask us! We try to give you all the information you need upfront however we don’t know what you don’t know unless you clue us in. If we said it 10 times and you still need clarity, ask her 11 times. We want you to have all the information you need to make this the best most enjoyable experience possible! We are family after all and that is what families do, we help each other!

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Type II 42WLA

http://www.theliberator.be/liberator3.htm

Type III 42WLA

http://www.theliberator.be/liberator3.htm

Harley Davidson WLA 750

GIs of a US Army Ordnance Battalion

overhaul WLAs of the 9th US Air Force in

England in March 1944. http://www.theliberator.be/liberator3.htm

Did you Know?? Submitted by Motown HOG Historian,

Marty Kerstens

In observance of the Memorial Day holiday, let’s quickly

mention Harley-Davidson’s contribution to the U.S.

military effort during World War II with the Model WLA.

As mentioned in the April 2016 Motown HOG newsletter, the Motor Company initially identified its different models using numbers, but soon changed to letter designations. The military ‘WLA” is identified as follows: W: 45 cubic inch (740cc) low-compression side valve motor L: Wide front tire with large forks A: Built for the U.S. military (Army) When the U.S. entered WWII, Harley-Davidson focused the majority of its efforts on the production of the WLA,

and production of civilian bikes virtually ceased. Approximately 88,000 WLAs were manufactured for the U.S. military during World War II (which also included the model WLC for the Canadian military). The WLA was basically a militarized version of the civilian W-series 45. The WLA included a large oil bath air cleaner, off-road skid plate, racks, a rifle scabbard, “blackout” lighting (to avoid detection at night on the battlefield), windshield, and olive drab paint. While the WLA was a reliable workhorse, the added weight of the military equipment

slowed the top speed to approximately 50mph. After WWII, many WLAs were sold as military surplus, some for as low as $25. Some of the new owners would strip and customize these old WLAs, which created bikes that many referred to as “bobbers” and “choppers.”

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Name/Nickname: Eric Spears aka, Hillbilly

Favorite Food: Mexican

Favorite Color: Black

Favorite Movie: Wild Hogs is Favorite

Comedy

Favorite Music/Song: Country (go figure)

and Classic Rock

Bio – Hillbilly has been kickin’ up his heels with our group for the past 2 years. There is no doubt when he is

around as you can hear his southern Tennessee drawl from afar. He has always been a sweet natured teddy

bear, in my book anyway, regardless of his manly bearded biker exterior! As a good friend of mine once told

me, never miss an opportunity to meet an angel by looking at the outside only. Hillbilly’s smile is the giveaway

that he is a sweet guy hiding an angel inside. You can always find him with that smile on his face laughing it up

and looking for some fun times with all his friends he has made in this chapter.

Hillbilly is also a family man married to his beautiful wife, Gwen. Together they blend a family of 5, 2 of which

are Hillbilly’s offspring and 3 are Gwen’s. Together Gwen and Hillbilly live in Taylor and he spends his working

time as a truck driver.

But the real fun times begin for him when he is out and about on his 2015 Ultra Classic. He has been riding for

12 years now and has decided that his favorite location to ride is anywhere that has hills and curves. His

fondest HOG memory would be from a couple years ago during the ride up to the Chapter Getaway up to

Paradise, MI in the Upper Peninsula and the trip over to visit the Pictured Rocks.

His favorite hobby when not at work is riding and getting to enjoy his 2nd Amendment rights by shooting…he

did not clarify what exactly he shoots, so I better be careful about calling him a teddy bear and maybe I should

take this as a word of caution…LOL Aww, Hillbilly knows I’m just joking with him as I know he has a very good

sense of humor. That is another thing he brings to our chapter, a lot of laughter and good times. We are very

blessed to have him part of our family and we hope to continue to share the fun with him for many many

many years to come!

May Member of the Month Eric “Hillbilly” Spears

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Welcome Newest Members in May: Taffy Malkowski and James Brewer

Taffy Malkowski: Welcome Taffy to our Motown HOG Chapter. We are happy for you to join and as the smile on your face looks like you are happy to have joined too! Let’s share some details about you now so that others can be happy as well to get to know you better! Taffy has been riding for 10 years now. Her current ride is a 2004 Sportster. Along with the rest of us, her favorite riding spot tends to be anywhere, which is why we like to have so many rides on our calendar every year to different locations! Hopefully Taffy will be able to join in some of the fun at a few of our bike nights where we ride to local bars/restaurants that many just so happen to have a pool table or two, which Taffy enjoys shooting pool as well. She did not expand on how good of a player she is so we will have to test her skills to see if she is a hustler at the tables! I know a past member of the month (last month specifically) who is also pretty good at the tables and may give you a run for your money!

James Brewer:

We were introduced to James who sat quietly in the back sizing us up I think as most new members often do.

That’s what new members are supposed to do, check us out, see what we are about. Well James how did we

do? We hope you like what we are all about and hope to see you out there riding along side us on some

upcoming adventures! So now it is our turn to get to know you!

James is married to Dee Brewer and lives in Southgate. Together they have 2 children and 3 grandchildren.

He is a welder by trade.

His bike of choice he rides is a 2015 Limited. He has been riding

for 10 years. He did not add much to his member sheet so this is

where I can get creative. Let me guess…I am betting his favorite

riding location is everywhere and his hobbies include

riding…Anyone want to take me up on a bet that I got that right?

Seriously, we are looking forward to getting to know even more

about James at future meetings and find out his deepest darkest

secrets…ok so maybe not too serious..hehe, don’t worry James,

really all we wanna do is ride!

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Chapter Memorial Ride – May 7, 2016

May the road rise up to meet you

May the wind be ever at your back

May the sun shine warm upon your face

May the rain

fall softly on

your fields

And until we

meet again

May God hold you in the hollow of his hand

We know you are riding with Heaven’s Chapter now

Mike Dupont

Roger Jachim

Al Molaski

Barbara Saville

Kenny Mulholland

Wally Young

Bryant Anderson

Mark Prieto

John Crahan

David Love

Don Louzon, Jr.

Tom Wolfe

Lynn Phillips

Nancy Sharky

Marion Szwed

Beverly Gill

John White

Fred Dupont

Jerry Umbarger

Wayne Owens

Barbara Mitchell

Ben Manning

Mark Lawson

Phillip Page

Ron Zengota

Marilyn Shingleton

Bill Burdick

John Neifert

Mike Stremmel

Jim Kudron

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May 18 – 6:30pm-9pm Bike Night – Big Al’s Sports Bar 34950 W. Jefferson Ave., Brownstown Charter Twp., MI

May 21 - 9a - Ride To Remember – Rolling Thunder Michigan Chapter 5 Striking Lanes Bowling Hartland, MI

May 23 – 4-6pm Road Skills Practice – Biker Bob’s (weather permitting) 14700 S. Telegraph Rd. Taylor, MI

May 24 6:30pm-9pm Dinner Ride to Deadwood Bar & Grill

18730 Northville Rd., Northville MI

May 30 – 4-6pm Road Skills Practice –Biker Bob’s (weather permitting) 14700 S. Telegraph Rd. Taylor, MI

Jun 1 – 6:30pm-9pm – Famous Dave’s Thank you Bike Night 23811 Eureka Road; Taylor, MI

June 2 – 7:15pm - Chapter Meeting – American Legion Hall 11800 Michael Street, Taylor MI (GROUP PHOTO TAKEN AT START OF MEETING)

June 5 – 10am – Ride For Reason – Cabela’s 110 Cabelas Blvd E, Dundee, MI (See flyer in this Newsletter)

June 6 – 4-6pm Road Skills Practice –Biker Bob’s (weather permitting) 14700 S. Telegraph Rd. Taylor, MI

June 13 – 4-6pm Road Skills Practice –Biker Bob’s (weather permitting) 14700 S. Telegraph Rd. Taylor, MI

June 18 – 10am – Cops on the Run Charity Bike Rally and Poker Run FOP Lodge 130 – 2233 Burdette St. Ferndale, MI (www.copsonarun.com)

June 20 - 4-6pm Road Skills Practice –Biker Bob’s (weather permitting) 14700 S. Telegraph Rd. Taylor, MI

June 26 – 9am Wolverine Freedom Ride Wolverine Harley Davidson

June 27 - 4-6pm Road Skills Practice –Biker Bob’s (weather permitting) 14700 S. Telegraph Rd. Taylor, MI

July 1 – 8pm Movie Night at Biker Bobs 14700 S. Telegraph Rd. Taylor, MI

July 2 – 11:30am Progressive Dinner Ride – stage at Biker Bob’s 14700 S. Telegraph Rd. Taylor, MI

July 4 - 4-6pm Road Skills Practice –Biker Bob’s (weather permitting) 14700 S. Telegraph Rd. Taylor, MI

July 7 – 7:15pm - Chapter Meeting – American Legion Hall 11800 Michael Street, Taylor MI

Remember to check the HOG website calendar for updates/changes to events.

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Happy Birthday to members celebrating MAY/JUNE BIrthdays * If we missed yours, please email us your name and birthdate.

May is Motorcycle Awareness Month RIDE HARD … RIDE FREE … RIDE SAFE!

May June

Steve DeChane 2-May Leon Wallace 3-Jun

Rob Mayles 4-May Richard K. Johnson 4-Jun

Joe Guaetta 5-May David Fischer 6-Jun

Steven Micallef 5-May Pam Rose 8-Jun

Scott M. Green 7-May Timothy Sayn 11-Jun

Lee Tomkinson 7-May Micheal Vescio 12-Jun

TJ Holman 9-May Don Carner 14-Jun

John Theisen 9-May Tammy Rye 14-Jun

Dale Wasik 10-May Lawrence J. Suban 15-Jun

Mary Tinsler 11-May Dale Nolan 16-Jun

Kathy Leist 12-May Richard Lupu 18-Jun

Bob Ludwick 12-May Amanda Tobias 19-Jun

Robert "Bob" Saville 12-May Michael P. Biegalski 21-Jun

Vicky Wilson 14-May Karen Knox 21-Jun

William Bica 15-May Michael Knox 21-Jun

Randall Smithson 15-May Diane Dombecki 22-Jun

Bonnie Wallace 16-May David A. Christie 24-Jun

Lorne Mitter 18-May James Youngheim 27-Jun

Ann Marie Sanford 19-May Donald Basham 29-Jun

Kevin Bockstanz 20-May Ron Dudzic 29-Jun

Ray Barnes 22-May

Mary Duprey 24-May

Keri Joyce 24-May

Kim L. Acker 27-May

Ron Klotz 30-May

Autumn Webb 31-May

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Place your Ad with HOG chapter 2357! Do you have a personal business that you would like all your chapter family to know about? Want to spread the word on that side job you have? Maybe your company might be looking to expand their customer base. Whatever product/service you provide, why not spread the word by placing an ad in our chapter newsletter. Your fee to place the ad goes directly to the HOG chapter budget so everyone wins! More money in budget for more fun events and you get the word out about your business!

Cost to place Ad:

$25 for a business card (2” height x 3.5” width) $50 Quarter Page Portrait (3 ¾” height x 5 width) $50 Quarter Page Landscape (7 height x” 2 ½ width) $75 Half a Page (7.5” height by 5” width) $100 Full Page (7.5” height by 10” width)

*****Discount: Buy 2 editions get 1 edition free***** All artwork must be in print ready format. We will accept paper copies to scan, however emailed files in .pdf, or .jpeg will look the best. No ads can be in direct competition with Biker Bob. Ads must be family friendly. All checks payable to: Motown HOG 2357 Send Print ready documents to: Salwebb69@gmail.com Include the following in your email:

Name Address Phone Number Email Size of ad Duration of the ad (1 edition, 2 edition, 3 edition, etc.)

Sally will contact you upon receipt of ad request and provide address to mail check to or you may drop off at Biker Bobs in the HOG mailbox.