Wingers Helping Wingers

And Others

  
     

  The Gold Star Award  
     
      Current Award Recipients  
 

 

  

 

  
  August 11,2007      
 

Pete Hatfield

Cindy Hatfield, hard at work . . .

 

   Muscatine, Iowa is the home to this Gentleman.  Pete has been known to go out of his way to provide service to traveling Goldwingers.  Read this story:  Left Richmond, Va heading for Billings and other points west last Saturday. In Rainelle, W Va the spring on my center stand parted company with the bike at a rather "rough" rail crossing. Tied the stand up with some rope and began to call to dealers along the route we were taking. Their initial question was always "You lost what" followed by "How". All offered to order one for me. That was until I spoke to Tim at Hatfield Honda. Same 2 questions followed by call me back in a few minutes. They had the spring from a trike conversion. I swung by there this morning and in no time the center stand was operating as Muther Honda designed it to. The price for this?? A hand shake and the admonition to have a safe trip. I did relieve them of a bit of safety chrome I was looking for before I left. Great group of people to deal with! Wish they were a bit closer to Richmond.   Thank you to Ken Siadek for that report.

Recently, there was a misunderstanding with a customer.  Upon being advised of the situation in a public forum, Pete personally handled making amends with his customer.  Smiles abounded afterwards.  Thank you Pete for understanding where a customer comes from and to always be willing to make sure that customer is happy!  We need more people like you.

Today while presenting Pete with his Gold Star at the Iowa District Rally, another story was told about Hatfield Honda.  It seems a gentleman in Kentucky had a Champion Trike kit installed and let's just say the results were not good.  The customer was not being taken care of by those in his local area so he called Pete and asked if he could take a look at it.  Pete agreed and the trike arrived in Muscatine.  Pete had two of his service personnel work on the project, taking 20 hours each to correct the problems this customer had.  Pete charged him 5 hours total for fixing someone else's shoddy work!  Way to GO Pete and the rest of the crew at Hatfield Honda!!

  
  June 30, 2007      
 

Wes Quick

 

   Well, what else can be said of Wes?  This man undertook putting together a great event in the summer of 2007 for the Pay It Forward group.  Wes nearly single handedly put together all the details from cheerleading the fundraising efforts to making sure the picnic tables were delivered to the correct location in the Fairgrounds.  Selecting the recipient of the PIF fund is no small task and Wes approached it with a conviction to find the most deserving person to be a steward of the gift.  Please check the www.freedomboard.org website for details, photos and report of recent events.

Oh, and this is not the only reason Wes was selected.  Wes has been an avid supporter of the Ride For Kids having attended almost all of Minnesota's Rides.   You see, Wes is not a one time act, he lives the process of doing what he can for his fellow man.

Thank you Wes for being an example of a caring individual.  You are to be commended!

 

  
  January 2007      
 

Connie Hulett

 

   Connie Hulett drove 450 miles one way to help out a fellow Winger when he crashed his computer.  Connie brought hardware and software to aid in the rebuild.  The bill for her professional services?  Nothing.  Dinner was served and Connie loaded up and headed home.

Thank you Connie for taking the time and expense to take care of business.  You are indeed a Gold Star!

 

  
         
      Previous Award Recipients  
  November 2006      
 

Don Ferguson

 

   When a fellow board member popped on one day and said he had won a car, I think most reacted as skeptical of the story.  Well, Don's interest was piqued because he just happens to be in the automobile business.  It just so happened that the car was being given away by a company that Don himself had worked with in the past.  Don took it upon himself to make a few phone calls to verify that this member had indeed won a car. 

Don, Thank You for looking past the skepticism to recognize that this was indeed something real.  Otherwise, we would have missed out on the good fortune of one of our board members.

  
  October 2006      
 

Leon Sterns

   Leon, along with his wife Nancy, have been supporters of many an opportunity to help their fellow man, having supported PIF for the last two years that I know of.  But what gets this Gold Star is that he paid the membership fee of one of our members.  In his typical fashion, he tried to keep it quiet, but word got out "who dun it" and that word was "Leon."

Leon, Thank You for your continued support of the Paying It Forward principle

  
         
 

Gary "The Hick" Hickman

   Hick deserves the Gold Star because of what he did to Ken's bike to get it running.  That work would have cost Ken a lot of money to have done, and there is no way Ken could have gotten it running in the week that GPR was held.

Thank you for the nomination!  I concur.  Hick did something, although it was for a family member, it was still a magnificant feat to get this bike back on the road.  The intent was to get this bike road worthy enough to make  the 1623 mile trip to Ken's home in Canada.  And it almost made it!  Ken had a couple of issues on his ride home, but the efforts put forth by Hick certainly reduced what Ken faced.

Hick has also undertaken some fund raising efforts to help others in their time of need.  Finding suitable recipients is not as easy as it looks, and Hick seemed to do his homework well in this area.

  
         
Look at all those smiling faces!!!  You would think they are proud of something.

Well, it seems our buddy Ken Vanderberg finds a great deal on a GL1100.  Trouble is, it is a few thousand miles away from him.  Ken enlists the aid of several fellow Canadians to check out the bike for him.  Reports come back that Ken should pass on this one.  Ken declines and makes his purchase!!  John Anderson helped with the on site inspection, with Roger "Gympy" DeLorme providing the safe house for this refugee. 

So, here is the story line. Tom Mills sneaks over into Canada, loads up a bike that was less than cooperative, and hauls it into the United States!  Next up, Don Ferguson, loads the unwilling bike into his trailer, and takes in on a trip to Valparaiso, IN to the waiting Bob Kekeis.  Bob in turn loads the bike into his trailer and heads west.  On the way, Bob stops in Aurora, IL to pick up some moral support and muscle that proves necessary upon arriving at a very little spot on the map. It seems that Bob and Phil got a little hungry on the way west, so reports indicate that some parts were removed and sold to pay their dinner check.

Anyway, none of these gentleman asked for, nor expected compensation for their adventure.  They simply did it out of the goodness of their hearts, and for the feeling of helping their fellow man.  So, guys, you all deserve a Gold Star!

 
 

Tom Mills, Don Ferguson,

Bob Kekeis, and Phil Jungels

    
         
 

Ultra Steve

   After the Hines Wing Group Reunions in 2003 and 2004, it was felt that a name change was needed to better reflect the idea to help others and also to relieve the Hines from feeling obligated to make every reunion.  It was Ultra Steve that came forward with the idea of "Paying It Forward".  While the PIF Group does not own the rights to the name or idea, it is the original based upon the euphoria of the giving of Big Red 2.  It is MY opinion that PIF is Ultra Steve's baby, and his attention to the efforts makes it obvious that he firmly believes in Paying It Forward!  However, when I first showed this to Steve, he got a little upset with me and insisted that he considers PIF to be a group effort.  Steve is right, it is a group effort and there is no one person in charge.  But even in a group, the cream will always rise to the top. 

Steve, I am sorry buddy, but you are highly thought of by your fellow PIFers.

  
         
 

Kathy Straughn

   "Kathy Straughn, for all she does for the Ride For Kids"

Frankly?  That was enough for me to make this month's decision.  Kathy has been nominated almost every month we have been doing this.  I am sorry, but I can not remember (and I did not save) all the good words that were written about Kathy, but most centered on her work for the Ride For Kids.

Oh!  Remember that little trip that Mike Jennings took from the east coast to the left coast to deliver a van to someone?  Guess who picked Mikeeee up at the airport?  Guess who sent him on his way with a basket of goodies?  I heard is was someone name Kathy.   Kinda sounds like something she would do . . . :)

 

  
         
 

John Frascello and Rocky Demers

   BOTH Gentlemen opened their homes to, for all intents and purposes, complete strangers.  Oh sure, we have shared a laugh or two on the bbs, but a lot of us have never met.  We really don't know who is on the other end of that computer link.  Sometimes we really take a chance by opening up to those we only know in passing.

But John gave them a good starting point.  And Rocky gave them a safe place to unwind for a couple of hours.  Rocky went over their bikes while the CCC Boys slept to make sure they were ready for the return trip.  Rocky even stayed up to make sure they did not over sleep (even though Rick did not want to get up).

John also set up the end of the ride, again providing them with a place to crash (figuratively) at the end of a long ride.

I could not name one without the other, so we have a tie this month!!!  Congrats!

  
         
 

April Johnsted

   How about April and Brad?  I know what they have done for their chapter and this board.  Who else would fly to help a family in distress and collect stuffed toys for the kids at their own expense?  Besides, April for April, makes sense to me.  Hard to remember, but she has helped more than one person on this board with her support, if not with money but with moral support.  She always looks at the bright side of things and is always laughing (you know that).  They are a ray of sun shine in this world.  Also remember them checking in on Jim Wise after his little incident.  Actually I think April does deserve the GSA!  As how does she keep track of all the birthday and  anniversaries.... And how she kept track of Mike delivering  Rocky's van....She does a lot of things behind the scenes that no one really knows...... SHE has a BIG HEART and shoulders!    She has listened to people when they needed someone, even at 2 am.  And of course, the coup de grace was: "I think April would be a great candidate. Just straightening you out is work and trouble enough."  
         
 

Tim Harman

  
Another person who was on my original "short list" was TIM HARMAN.  Seems to me he does a lot of "out of pocket" things for folks from our BBS. Sometimes his deeds are made public and sometimes he gets away with doing them INCOGNITO!

Someone else pointed out the help that Tim extended Jim Wise in his recent misfortune.

Remember Ride For Kids?  How about the Marysville RFK held in conjunction with the Honda Homecoming?  Tim lead the way there too!  As Senior Chapter Director of a Chapter HE started, Tim lead Chapter B2 to the coveted status as Top Chapter in donations.  Wingdreams, a motorcycle accessory store that Tim and Nancy operate, was the top Dealer in donations to the 2005 event.  The Chapter donated over $17,603 and Wingdreams took credit for over $16,500!  That, my friends, is leadership!  A quote from the RFK website states: “We came last year and the kids had us in tears and it just energized us to help find a cure,” said Tim Harman of Wing Dreams.

 
         
 

Greg Hayden

   Greg seems to be a never ending bundle of energy when it comes to helping others.  Although Joe pointed out the ad that started the Hines Wing Group, it was Greg who was the man on the ground who checked out the story to confirm that there actually was a Bill and Linda Hines.  Greg only lived 30 minutes away from the Hines, and several clandestine meetings took place.  Greg reported his findings to the GWRRA Message Boards, and before he knew it, money was pouring into his hands.  All told over $10,000 was collected and put to use purchasing another Goldwing to replace Bill Hines' retirement ride.

However, Greg did not rest on his laurels.  The next year, such a bond was formed by the act of the HWG, that a Reunion was planned and almost as many turned out for that event as had the original presentation.  This led to HWG 2004, which lead to PIFing Andi Jo.

  
         
 

Mike Jennings

   Mike has been to both of the Hines Wing Reunions in Camdenton, Missouri.  Mike helped cook Ultra Steve's wienies!!  AND what other way is there to the hearts of Goldwingers everywhere . . . Mike bought ALL of the ice cream at a local shop, where Andi Jo was waiting, not knowing that she was just about to be PIFFED! 

While he missed the original Hines Wing Group party, he did have a big hand in that.  Remember the "Big Red 2" pin?  Guess who paid for those?  Yep, Mike did it!!

And don't forget that mad cross country dash to deliver a van that Rocky purchased on ebay.  Mike flew from his home in Colorado to Virginia.  Picked up the van and drove it to Rocky in California.  What a nice guy!

  
         
 

Joe (formerly from Jawja) Durning

  

Joe and Bob worked out a plan that would be fun, and would really challenge their GWRRA buddies. If they would help raise $5000 for the Ride For Kids, Joe would shave his head! The biggest problem was that the ride was only 4 weeks away. So the word was put out and the challenge was taken head-on. Money started coming in. It looked good at first, but Joe soon realized that they were not going to meet the goal. The June 3 deadline was fast approaching, and the flow had slowed to a crawl. On Friday, June 1, Joe called Bob and told him that “We are going to do a “Re-budget”. That’s what my company calls it when reality doesn’t meet expectations. You simply re-set your goals, to a more reachable level. Since we are only at $1600, if you can start making phone calls, and get us another $400, that’ll put us at $2000, and I’ll shave my head to show good faith to all those that have helped us.”

Then there was the "Hey, did anyone notice" thread that was started on the GWRRA Message Board by Joe that culminated in this! 

A collection was started that involved many members, and I mean a lot of members, that raised enough money to make someone speechless.  But not Joe.  Joe stood up and gave a speech and that can be found here.  Although many were involved, it was Joe's initiation that got the ball rolling.

 

  
         
         
         
  The Gold Star Award patches have been provided by Jim and Debbie Snoke.  If you have need for a patch or other embroidery work, please contact them at:  jsnoke2@csc.com