RNP Blast

To All Riders,     
 
For those who don’t know me yet, I’m Don Cox, Riders National President.  My apologies to everyone for not getting a blast out sooner.
 
1st of all, I want to thank the Departments and all the Chapters for the great job you did getting your DRF’s and checks in by the deadline!  That was awesome!  It makes our Communications Officer’s (Kathy Campbell) and our Secretary’s (Karen Cox) jobs easier.  Just a reminder:  after you have your Department and Chapter elections, please email them to the secretary (ridersns3.kcox@yahoo.com) as soon as possible to meet the deadline.  You can find the forms you need on the Riders National Website (amvetsridersnational.org).
 
Riders National Website:  If you haven’t had the chance to look at our website, please check it out.  If has all our forms, all our department and chapters listed.  All Chapter, Department and National officers are also listed.     
 
Quartermaster:  I’d like to touch on this since there seems to be a few issues.  Vince Stretar was appointed in August 2015 as our new National Riders Quartermaster.  He had almost no product to begin with.  He’s had to use his own finances to pay for everything that he’s trying to order and have made.  He has had problems with the patch-maker and is currently looking for another who can fill the orders in a timely manner.  When he requests that you pay for the product before he can ship, it is no different than ordering anything on-line, you must pay for it before they will ship.  So, I am asking all of you that you pay the bill for your product so Vince can ship it out right away.  If you have a problem you’d like to discuss with me, please don’t hesitate to call me and I’ll see what we can do to resolve it.  But please be patient since he started with almost no product, started with only his own finances, had many back orders to fill and had little or no cooperation from the patch maker.
 
Raffles:  The National Riders holds 2 raffles a year.  One is the Lottery Calendar, and the other is a Gun Raffle.  It is important that everyone try to participate.  By your participation, we are able to keep our dues the same for several years now.  Without participation, we will be forced to raise the dues and we prefer not to, so please continue helping us.  One thing I do want to mention is we have 1000 calendars to sell each year.  They sell for $20 each and the department or chapter selling them are allowed to keep $5 for each sold.  We are now 3000+ members large.  If you could sell just 10 calendars per chapter, we could sell all 1000 of them.    
 
 
Riders & Supporter Stickers:  There are a few chapters out there that have misplaced or lost their stickers for 2016.  If you are one of the Departments or Chapters that has quite a few extra, please put them in the mail to the National Headquarters (14 Reid Pl., Palm Coast, FL 32164).   If you need stickers please email me (d.cox1313@yahoo.com) or George Cummings, RN1V (reserver1146@gmail.com) so we can try to locate some for you.
 
Mid-Year Rally:  Thank you to all who pre-registered before the 2 early registration dates.  It looks like we’re going to have a good turnout in IA 12-14 May.  We have several important issues to discuss; one being the Unified CBL’s that Jim Whitcraft (RNJA) and his committee have been working on.  It will be ready for review during mid-year.  Also, there are 2 bids for the 2018 Mid-Year Rally location.  One is FL-113 and LA-7.  It will be voted on in IA.  If you’d like to review them before mid-year, they are posted on our website.  Mid-Year is important because it is where ideas and issues can be brought to the table, etc.  Not to mention all the comradery, friendships formed, and great food!  I am anxious to meet you there if I haven’t met you already; if I already know you, it will be great seeing you again.
 
72nd National Convention:  The National Convention will be held in Reno, NV 12-14 August.  I realize it may be difficult to get a lot of participation since it is so far away but I do hope to see many of you there.
 
I want to remind everyone that if you have an issue and need to speak to a National Officer but you aren’t sure who, give me a call.  I have an open door policy and I am more than happy to help you, or get you in touch with the officer most able to help.          
 
Lastly, I want to thank my staff of National & Department Officers!  You are ALL doing an awesome job which in turn makes my job much easier.  Keep up the great work ladies and gentlemen!
 
Everyone stay safe out there.  There have been far too many accidents.  Watch out for the 4-wheelers; they don’t always see us on our bikes.  Thank you, take care and God Bless!
 
Don Cox
Riders National President
d.cox1313@yahoo.com
(319) 382-2484,  Ext 1
(419) 304-8292