Minutes, November 11, 2002 - Veterans Day
John McGinn, Vice President of the MooCow Bikers, opened the November 2002 meeting at 7:50 PM. This meeting had a total 63 bikers and family in attendance. John stated he continues to be impressed by the group's fellowship and attendance. "We are blessed by getting together and sharing with each other the events of our lives."
Chris and several B&F family members attended the meeting and we were blessed with their testimonies. All of them stated in some form that B&F brought back a purpose to their lives, and gave them a renewed belief that God does and can open doors. John reminded us that God has "senders and doers" and our group can certainly be a "doer." On behalf of the club John presented Chris with a check for $8,087.00 which was the group's donation from the Daytona trip. An additional amount of $943.00 was from last month's meeting and other donated funds. Chris said "it never fails, whenever they need funds or have some other need, the MooCow Bikers' check seems to appear." He stated they are truly grateful for everything the group does, and reminded us what Proverbs 19:17 says: "He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and He will reward him for what he has done."
Dan Cathy, our President, challenged us to each consider a $100.00 donation monthly to B&F. They really need approximately 1,000 people to make this commitment to provide some steady available income to the organization. He challenged us to also get our churches or other groups involved, because there are always needs we can meet in someway, weather it be through money or donations of clothes, blankets, toilet paper, or other day-to-day life needs we often take for granted
Several groups presented us opportunities to support other worthwhile causes, and provide a chance to ride our bikes:
Arney Cobb, with the Southside Riders (which has approximately 125 members) supports the Ronald McDonald House in Columbus, Georgia. Yearly, they sponsor a "tab" run where members collect tabs from soda or other beverages, and these are provided to a recycle company. The funds from the recycle tabs are given to the Ronald McDonald House. The actual ride is the last Saturday in September and leaves from Griffin, Georgia (police escorted) and rides the back roads to Columbus. At the final destination there will be a concert, food, and other fun. He is asking that we consider joining their group this coming 2003 and help support this charity. This year they also will be collecting pennies. So keep those pennies and tabs in separate jars and join the Southside Riders for a great day of fellowship that supports a wonderful charity organization, the Ronald McDonald House.
Other ride opportunities in November and December are:
Hog for Dogs (1st Annual Poker Run for the LaGrange-Troup County Humane Society Rescue) will be November 23, 2002. The ride meets at Custom Cycles in LaGrange first bike out at 10:00 AM and all motorcycles welcome. There will be door prizes and a live band from 1:00 to 6:00 PM. For more information call Custom Cycles at 706-812-8800.
Downtown Christmas Parade and the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Parade. More details will follow on both these events.
Next meeting date for Calendar Year 2002 is December 9
The October Minutes are posted on the website.
a. Membership: Contact Jeff Pritchett by email at jspritchett@mindspring.com. Membership dues for 2003 are due in January 2003 meeting.
b. Budget/Funds: See B&F update section for funds donated.
c. Officer Elections: John asks everyone to prayerfully consider offering your services the next calendar year as an elected officer or on one of the many committees we need help on.
No old agenda items were discussed.
Shirts/Jackets: John gave us an update on the plans to purchase new jackets and t-shirts for 2003. The new jacket will be radically different from the previous "jean-style" MooCow jacket. It will be geared more toward riding (with zippers and wind flaps, quilted and very lightweight). The proposed cost will be $100.00 (donated to B&F).
Randy Adams gave an update on those individuals selected as Ride/Road Captains. Look for more information from Randy on this topic the next few weeks.
Ride Captains are reminded they are responsible for a Safety brief before each scheduled group ride. John encouraged everyone to check out the website for safety information on riding in groups, hand signals, etc. http://www.moocowbikers.org/handsignals.htm
John shared some devotional thoughts from John 12: 27-32. This verse reminds us that Jesus' heart and soul was troubled, like ours can often be. He also knew when His time was near; we should likewise prepare and remember. John's notes remind us to take "an extra minute at our Thanksgiving feast to remember others, pray for our President, our Nation, and remember that many are….not as fortunate as we are or have no "close family or friends." Take time to prayerfully thank God for all your own blessings.
_____________/signed/_________________
Dan Cathy, President