• The TA Way, is the green book on top of the desk. It is an essential resource for new directors. The manual contains four sections. The first explains how GWTA operates, the second gives 'How To' guidelines for the chapter director, the third covers association programs, and section four is forms and applications directors use to perform their duties. Click the green book to begin reading and click the top drawer to view the forms and applications of section four. The entire manual can be printed from the Document Library.
   

• The Membership Roster is the blue book on the desk. This is sent to our officers monthly and contains a listing of members within the officer's area of responsibility.
   

• The GWTA Bylaws is the red book on the desk. These are the rules our member elected board of directors have adopted to govern our association.
   

• The Rolodex is your contact list for every officer within GWTA. Clicking it will open the Locator Map of the U. S. and Canada. Clicking on a region of the map will take you to a page where you will find contact information for all GWTA officers within that region. NOTE: We rely on our officers and members  to help us keep it up-to-date and accurate. If you see something that needs correcting please notify the Webmaster.
   

• GWTA Facts the orange book laying flat on the desk contains facts all our officers need to know.

• Forms and Applications can be found in the top drawer of the desk. Clicking it will take you to the Document Library where a list of documents can be found and printed. Most are interactive and can be filled in on screen using the viewer's keyboard and tab key.
   

• Event Planning information can be found in the second drawer of the desk. This will open a PDF document check list that will help guide you through the process of putting on an event.
   

• GWTA Personalized Business Cards are shown on top of the file cabinet. Clicking on them will take you to a page with instructions on how you can add your personal information and print them from home. They are great recruiting tools that fit nicely in your wallet.
   

• The GWTA Office handles membership and officer needs. Clicking this drawer takes you to a page with contact info and explains some of the routine functions the office handles daily.
   

• GWTA Products The GWTA On-line Store has many products you can purchase securely using a credit card.
   

• Touring News, your monthly magazine, is always looking for cover photos and articles with pictures from the membership. It is your magazine, and it is what we as members make it. Share your journeys and events with all of us in GWTA land through Touring News.
   

• Rider Education An essential part of what we do to make everyone's riding experience more enjoyable and safe. Tons of resources and riding drills are available here.
   

• Web Site Our Webmasters need accurate up-to-date information for the sites they create and maintain. We can help keep the sites current by reviewing all the sites in the area of our responsibility from time to time. Here also you will find plain-English educational resources on creating your own Web sites.
   

• Other Resources in this drawer are very useful and informative. Be sure to go through them carefully.
   

• Message Boards Using our message boards is a great way to get advice and opinions from members and other motorcyclists on a wide variety of topics.
   

• Chapter Olympics Help your chapter be as good as it can be by taking part in the Chapter Olympics program.
   

• Calendar of Events View information on association events along with some of the many regional, state/provincial and chapter events across the U. S. and Canada. There are forms available to post your events that are open to all to attend.

---

There are three basic ingredients to success in any chapter:

1. FUN FUN FUN... If we provide fun activities for the members, they will attend our functions. Sometimes it's hard to get them to tell you what kind of fun they desire. Try passing out a survey form at your meeting to be filled out at a later date. Remember, meetings are for fun, not business. Ask them to return the survey at next month's meeting, review the results, then make suggestions and enlist responses. Make it brief and get back to the fun stuff.
    

2. RECRUITING ... As an example of how important recruiting is to your chapter, visualize the GWTA experience as a conveyor belt. Riders (members) are on their bikes on the conveyor belt. They're rolling along, having fun, moving the same speed as the belt. Now they start slowing down or come to a stop and eventually fall off the belt. Why did they slow or stop? Maybe there was a lifestyle change, they moved away, family considerations, work schedule conflict, there are lots of reasons members fall off the belt. There is one thing we can do something about, a lack of fun. If we are not providing activities they enjoy or if they feel ignored or left out, they will slow or stop and fall off. If we don't keep adding new riders to the belt or pick up the fallen and place them back on, we have (putting it bluntly) a dieing chapter. Don't let this happen to your chapter. For the health of the chapter, it's every members responsibility to recruit new friends, and leadership's responsibility to remind them.
    

3. NURTURING ... Most of us remember our first experience in GWTA. For some it was tough getting comfortable among all these strangers. If a person is outgoing, they fit in faster, for those who are introverts, it can be very difficult. In either case an exhaustive effort must be made to reassure all that they are wanted and welcomed. It takes more than "Hi, I'm happy to meet you and glad you came". These folks need and deserve a lot more. In a sense, these are our most important members, in that they are the future of our chapters, maybe our next best friend, and we can't afford to ignore our future and potential friends. One of the best ways to get to know new members is to get them involved in a chapter activity in a supporting role. As they get to know us better they'll be anxious to chip in and help down the road.