Dale & Carolyn Frieden
Arkansas District Directors
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Arkansas District Couple of the Year Program August 2008
Another Wing Ding has come and gone. It was one we won’t forget because our own Ken & Rhonda Holmes, from Dover, Arkansas, were among only nine couples that were there to represent the GWRRA Regions from across the United States and Canada.
They started their journey as a “Couple of the Year” in 2004 as the Chapter Couple for Chapter J in Russellville, Arkansas. Little did they know that it would lead to Wing Ding 30 in Greenville, South Carolina and the selection for the International Couple of the Year. Though they were not chosen for the top spot, just being there as one of the nine couples from our GWRRA organization of over 80,000 members, was quite an honor!
They are Arkansas’ couple and we are very proud of their representation as Region H Couple of the Year and Arkansas District Couple of the Year! They had support from so many of our members in Arkansas and all of Region H. We were all sporting our signs and clappers, and we were so L-O-U-D! They knew Region H was in the building! Ken & Rhonda were also the best- dressed couple in the building!
We want to say “thank you” to everyone for your support of Ken & Rhonda and our Couple of the Year Program. And now we can look forward to next year when our new Arkansas District Couple of the Year, Johnny and Mildred Glasscock, will be in Marshall, Texas representing us in the Region Selection.
This was the first Wing Ding for Johnny and Mildred! We were really surprised when they made it to the International Selection. They took off an extra day from work and rode like crazy to be there in time. But, the next few days weren’t too good for Johnny because he was really under the weather for the rest of Wing Ding. Not the way you want to spend your vacation.
We look forward to welcoming more new Chapter Couples into our Arkansas Couple of the Year family. It’s time for more appointments so watch our website for updates in the future.
If you have any questions or comments about the Couple of the Year Program please feel free to call myself or Johnny and Mildred anytime. We look forward to seeing you on the road soon!
Carolyn Frieden Arkansas District Couples Coordinator
Arkansas District Couple of the Year Program June 2008
Our Arkansas District Rally is over and all is quiet on the home front. It sure wasn’t quiet in Harrison, Arkansas this past weekend. Wow! What a total blast we had. Surprise to us, the rally was almost twice as big as last years rally. We hope you all had as much fun as we did!
Our Arkansas District Couple of the Year Selection was held on Saturday morning. We had three couples representing their chapters: David & Debra Blees from AR-A Tom & Chris Wammack from AR-H Johnny & Mildred Glasscock from AR-W
Congratulations goes to Johnny and Mildred, they are our new District Couple for 2008-09. We are proud of all our couples and congratulate each of them for their hard work in their chapter and our state.
Ride with pride, Carolyn Frieden Arkansas District Couples Coordinator
Arkansas District Couple of the Year Program May 2008
Busy times are here again. We have added another new Chapter Couple to our Arkansas family. Welcome to John and Susan Sparks from Chapter P in Mountain Home. We hope to see a lot of them in the upcoming year.
We had a great time at the Region H Rally where the new Region H Couple of the Year was chosen. Our own Ken and Rhonda Holmes were in charge of the selection process and they did a fine job. Joining in the selection were the Kansas District Couple, Jack and Doris Schoeck, the Louisiana District Couple, Mike and Pam Jastram, the Oklahoma District Couple, Ken and Gretchen Diedrich and the Texas District Couple, Gene and Carolyn Tice. Wayne and Kathy Hall, the Arkansas District Couple, were not able to be in the selection this year.
It was a great show with everyone in their finest and doing a wonderful job representing their districts. It was tough to judge this one because everyone did such a great job. Then when the suspense was finally over, Ken and Rhonda gave the honors to our New Region H Couple of the Year, Mike and Pam Jastram from Louisiana. I know they will do a fine job. We have seen them everywhere this past year. (With them in Marshall was their Secret Service detail, for real!) They have gone above and beyond the call of duty in having fun and representing their district. Deserved recognition goes to all the other couples for their hard work and travels to all our other districts and for representing Region H in a fun and positive way wherever they went.
Our next exciting event for the Couple of the Year Program will be the selection of our Arkansas District Couple of the Year at our District Rally in Harrison. That will be held at 10.00 AM on Saturday, May 24. Hope to see many of you there!!
Carolyn Frieden Arkansas District Couples Coordinator
Arkansas Couple of the Year Update April 2008
This year we have moved our Couple of the Year Selection to our Arkansas District Rally, May 23-25 in Harrison, Arkansas. We have to wait a little longer for a new Arkansas District Couple to be chosen, we hope to have a lot of our members in attendance at this year’s selection. It will be held on Saturday morning, May 24th.
For those of you who are going to be in the selection, please send your resume to me by April 15, 2008. If you need help or have any questions about the resume, please give me a call at 479-229-3370.
We have had several new Chapter Couple appointments in the past few months. We want to welcome all of them to the Couple of the Year Program! They are:
AR Chapter A – Bill & Belinda Shryock
AR Chapter B – Bob & Norene Harmon
AR Chapter C – Mike & Pat Dumas
AR Chapter D – Fred & Sandra May
AR Chapter R – Twig & Zoe Branch
AR Chapter W – Brian & Emily Dunham
Enjoy your time as Chapter Couple! The more you are involved, the more fun have. We hope to see all of our Couples at our Rally, where we will be having another Seminar about the program. Several of these new Chapter Couples were at our last seminar in Morrilton at our paperwork meeting in January.
Our district website has all the latest information about the updated Couple of the Year manual. Click on the “COY Program” section (red ribbon) on the left hand side of the page. A link to the manual is on the first page of the COY section.
We look forward to seeing all of you soon,
Carolyn Frieden Arkansas District Couples Coordinator
Wow! What a year 2007 has been! Lots of rallies and lots of fun!! Our Spring Fling in Morrilton last February was a big success. Wayne and Kathy Hall were chosen as our 2007 Arkansas District Couple. Those red and black overalls sure stood out!! (We did see them wearing their outfit at the Mississippi Rally, too.) They have traveled to many of our day rallies and helped Cocoa Bear on his mission to visit and travel with lots of our Arkansas Chapter Couples. I know Wayne and Kathy have put many, many miles on their Gold Wing as our District Couple. Thanks to them for all they have done!
We saw a lot of participation from all our Chapters as they traveled across the state visiting other Chapters in support of each Day Rally. We thank each of you who joined in support of each other. We were able to recognize and introduce each of the Chapter Couples in attendance at the rallies. Our GWRRA family is so special! It’s like something you can’t really describe to someone who hasn’t experienced being one of us!
However, with expenses increasing in almost every aspect of our lives, mostly our gasoline costs, we have made the decision to move our Couple of the Year Selection back to our Arkansas District Rally in May. We felt it was another added expense to ask our Arkansas members to come back to Morrilton to support our Spring Fling.
It was a hard decision to make. A lot of hard work was put into making our Spring Fling a special time for all. The Couple of the Year program is a very important part of this organization. So we look forward with excitement to the selection of our new Arkansas District Couple when we meet in Harrison for our District Rally.
Our paperwork meeting in Morrilton is scheduled for January 17. We will be having a special breakout for all our Chapter Couples. We will have more information for you then and we look forward to seeing everyone. Come and learn all you can about the “Couple of the Year”, it’s really an honor that your Chapter has given to you!
Carolyn Frieden Arkansas District Couples Coordinator
Arkansas Couple of the Year Program Update March 2007
Our Spring Fling has come and gone, and we have a new Arkansas District Couple of the Year. They are Wayne and Kathy Hall from Jonesboro, Chapter D. Congratulations to Wayne and Kathy!! In case you didn’t notice, they were the couple in the Black and Red Overalls with the big Black and Red Stripes! Their adventure is ahead as they represent our state over the next year. It will definitely be an experience they won’t forget.
As most of you know, this was only our second Spring Fling Rally. Our goal was to make it bigger and better than last year. Our attendance was up from last year by over 20% and I know people were having fun. We thank all who attended and want everyone else to know you really missed a good time. So next year we will shoot for more participation from those who were unable to attend.
For the first time in Arkansas we had five couples in the Couple of the Year Selection. They were David & Deborah Blees, from Chapter A in Little Rock, Steve & Kandi Johnson from Chapter E in Hot Springs, Don & Denise Provence from Chapter H in Batesville, Johnny & Mildred Glasscock from Chapter W in Blytheville and Wayne & Kathy Hall from Chapter D in Jonesboro. I can’t stress how proud we are of ALL of these couples that took the leap and participated. After all was said and done, I know it was an experience that they will look back on with a lot of pride, that they were able to come together for GWRRA and show what it means to each and every one of them. Most of our participants were people who haven’t been in GWRRA very long. They are now ready to help all the rest of us spread the word about our organization.
We also want to thank our judges, Bob & Juanee Barrington, and K.Z. & Terry Kleinheinz, all from Mississippi, and Paula Crow from Kansas (for stepping in at the last minute because our two judges from Region E, Kenton & Char Cole couldn’t make the trip due to bad weather). All of our judges are Past International Couples and we appreciate their help and participation.
Thanks also goes out to Everett Hunt & Fay Eger, Texas District Couple from last year, and Ray & Sharon Hamiter, the current Louisiana District Couple. They judged our Chapter Competition for scrapbook, banner, mascots, newsletters and shirts. The results are in our District Newsletter.
Jere & Maurine Pyburn, Louisiana District Directors, and Garry & Phyllis Van Buskirk , our Region H Couple of the Year from Kansas helped us out by tallying the votes. (Jere, Maurine, Brent & Roxie Comeaux, Assistant DD and Trainers, and Ray & Sharon Hamiter made a noisy grand entrance at our reception on Friday night. It’s OK because we know they are always noisy and FUN, but this time they were bearing gifts. They brought with them a Mardi Gras King Cake, that was delicious by the way!)
Our Chinese auction was brought to us by another special friend from Kansas, Roger Weickhorst. He did a fine job.
Then came the entertainment, our home-grown Arkansas boy, born in Springfield, Jim Hubbard. He sang our National Anthem and then entertained us in the afternoon with his beautiful voice and lots of great songs. Even had people dancing on the stage. He will be back in May to attend our District Rally. We can’t wait for that!! He will be singing for us at our Hoedown Dance on Friday night! We are also having classes to learn how to line dance.
Back to Spring Fling news, for the third year in a row, we laughed at the Not So Newlywed Game, presented by Garry and Phyllis Floyd, our MED Coordinators and past District Couple of the Year. It was a hoot!
Our own District Couple of the Year 2006-07, Ken & Rhonda Holmes furnished all the food for our Reception on Friday night. Our event was taped by Chris Rennie from Chapter J in Russellville.
Thanks to Brenda Penepent and our Special Friend, Mary for taking care of the registration and sales. And Larry Penepent, for handling the sound for us.
I know we have the best District Staff in the world, Bill and Jennie McBride and Shelley Moore ( Bill was home with the flu) for all the rest of the running and doing. Phyllis Floyd always does a great job helping prepare the decorations and scrapbooks.
We could never forget Alan Holloway, our past District Educator and member of Chapter L in Conway, who provides the beautiful facilities at the University of Arkansas CC. Another note definitely worth mentioning, Chapter L was the chapter with the most members in attendance again this year. We also appreciate our members and guests that traveled very long distances to attend.
Also in attendance all the way from Oklahoma, were our Region Directors, Cliff and Donna Miller. Donna does double duty, she is our Region Couple of the Year Coordinator, and as Cliff says, she is the real Region Director.
Sometimes it gets boring hearing all the “thank you’s”, but without these folks it couldn’t be done. Last but not least, My Husband, Dale, who works tirelessly on everything that we do for our Arkansas Members. IT’S ALL ABOUT YOU!! Arkansas members, you are the reason we are here!! Thanks for a successful Spring Fling. Hope it’s bigger and better next year!!
Come join us in Marshall, Texas for our Region Rally where our AR District Couple, Ken and Rhonda Holmes will be in the Selection for Region H Couple of the Year. They have certainly done an excellent job this year as our District Couple. They have attended almost every rally and event in our state and region this year, also Wing Ding in Nashville. They have enjoyed every minute they have spent as District Couple. One of their biggest accomplishments is the work they have done to make our Couples program better than ever. As a result we now have every Chapter in our state with a Couple of the Year, all 15 Chapters!! So let’s show them our great support in Marshall, Texas on March 20-24.
Be safe and Ride with Pride,
Carolyn Frieden District Couple of the Year Coordinator 10647 Cowger Lane Dardanelle, AR 72834 479-229-3370 E-mail: cfrieden@centurytel.net
Arkansas Couple of the Year Program Update January 2007
Happy New Year!! It’s almost Spring Fling time! We hope to see a lot of friendly faces to help us kick off our 2007 Rally season. We promised you an update on our guest entertainer and, yes he will be coming! Here’s a few hints about him; he is from Arkansas, he performed at Wing Ding in Nashville this past year and he will be performing at Wing Ding in Billings this year. He is a GWRRA member. We will give him a big welcome back to Arkansas!!
We are proud to say that we now have 13 of our 15 chapters with a Chapter Couple of the Year. Maybe we will fill the other spots before the Spring Fling? That was our goal. So close….we’ll see? We have a lot of new folks in the spotlight as Chapter Couple. We want them to have the greatest time!
Don’t forget our Region Rally, where our District Couple of the Year, Ken and Rhonda Holmes will be in the selection for Region H Couple of the Year. Come support our couple! It will be in Marshall, TX again.
Check our website for upcoming details about Spring Fling. Make your reservations if you would like to spend the night in Morrilton. And let’s have some fun!!
As we start off our new year of 2007, we would like for each and every GWRRA member in Arkansas to know how important you are to us. That’s the only reason we are here!! IT’S ALL ABOUT YOU!!
Be safe and Ride with Pride,
Carolyn Frieden District Couple of the Year Coordinator 10647 Cowger Lane Dardanelle, AR 72834 479-229-3370 E-mail: cfrieden@centurytel.net
Arkansas Couple of the Year Program Update December 2006
We are glad to announce the addition of three new Chapter Couples to our Arkansas Couples Program. Congratulations goes out to all of them.
Tom and Sandy Tobler from Chapter X in Clarksville received their appointment at the Chapter X Rally. They are very involved with their chapter and love all the fun they are having.
David and Deborah Blees from Chapter A in Little Rock were honored at last month’s meeting. They have been so instrumental in supporting the growth and fun of the Little Rock group, a chapter on the move!!
And last but not least, Don and Darlene Savage from Chapter F in Warren. Assistant Director, Don Lemley made the surprise announcement. Don and Darlene were very honored. Ken and Rhonda Holmes gave me a ride to the meeting, where we got to be part of the excitement.
A little side note on the Chapter F meeting; their dress attire for the meeting was “Camouflage”. As everyone started arriving, it started to look like a gathering of deer hunters. Their explanation for the Gold Wingers seasonal look was “No matter what the Season, Chapter F meets for the Reason. How cool!
More fun is on the horizon! Our Spring Fling is quickly approaching! Along with our District Couple of the Year Selection, other activities will include our “Not So Newly Wed Game, Arkansas Chapter Competitions (for newsletters, mascots, banners and scrapbook) and lots of good door prizes and auction items.
Another highlight will be meeting and greeting of our out-of-state judges who will be coming from Mississippi and Iowa! ( Bob & Juanee Barrington, K Z & Terry Kleinheinz and Kenton & Char Cole.)
Plans are in the works to bring an entertainer, who has performed nationally, to our Spring Fling. If plans work out, stay tuned for next month’s announcement!! Can’t wait for February 17 to get here! We’re going to have a great time! Don’t miss it!
Be safe and Ride with Pride,
Carolyn Frieden District Couple of the Year Coordinator 10647 Cowger Lane Dardanelle, AR 72834 479-229-3370 E-mail: cfrieden@centurytel.net
Arkansas Couple of the Year Program Update November 2006
Arkansas District Spring Fling
Our Arkansas District Spring Fling is just around the corner. Time seems to fly by when you’re having so much fun. Our Spring Fling will be our Kick-Off Rally for the fun filled year of 2007. In conjunction with our Spring Fling, which is meant for the enjoyment of ALL Arkansas GWRRA members, it is also the time to choose our NEW Arkansas District Couple of the Year.
As many of you know, our past District Directors, Dale & Susan Wingrove decided to move this event to a different time of the year. It had always been held at our AR District Rally. So last year, being our first Spring Fling, we were really pleased that so many of you came out in support of this new event. We wanted to make it fun and special, not only for all the Arkansas Chapter Couples, but to include all the Chapter, District, or Region Couples from Arkansas who have been honored in the past. We will be having our reception for all the current and past couples on Friday evening Feb.16, at 8:00 PM.
Remember to bring your Chapter Newsletters, Scrapbooks, Banners and Mascots (Individual and Chapter) to be entered into our Arkansas Only Competition. (At our District Rally all entries are accepted, even from other states.) We’ve seen some really exciting stuff from our chapters, so bring it on to the Competition!
We want all of our Arkansas members to know more about our Couple of the Year Program and join in the FUN at 9:00 AM, Saturday, February 17th at the UA Community College at Morrilton, Auditorium.
Thoughts on the Couple of the Year Program….how many of us run when we hear “couple of the year”? It’s really because we don’t understand what it’s all about. No fancy clothes needed, no special things that you have to do. When a couple is honored it is up to them if they want to participate in the District Couple of the Year Selection. As a past couple I have to admit to you that everything we ever wore any of the events that we dressed up for, whether it be the Couple’s Selection or even Dress Competition, came from DEAR OLD WALMART, except out vest!
I’ve thought a lot about what makes it so special to be a chosen as a “Couple”. Do we need permission to meet, hug and greet other GWRRA members? No! That is one of the differences in our organization, compared with others. We have found a way to recognize the good in our people, and the fun in being part of this Gold Wing family. Gold Wing people are truly special! Being chosen as Couple of the Year means that our chapters have honored you with representing them, to spread the word about GWRRA and help promote our slogan “Friends for Fun, Safety and Knowledge”. So that means that as a Couple of the Year, your Chapter has given you the “permission” that you don’t even need to get out there and meet and greet more friends than you can ever imagine!
Last year, our Couple of the Year Selection was judged by some very special couples, who came a very long way to join us. Our three couples were all past International Couples of the Year. They were John & Paula Crow from Kansas, Tom & Kathy Peck from Tennessee and Glen & Lisa Tucker from Kentucky. The most important thing about being in the company of these couples, we got to know them and realize that even though they were International Couple of the Year, they are just like we are, people who love our organization and want to do what they can to help others have fun! We have special people all over our state that could qualify as an International Couple of the Year.
This year we are honored again to have three couples coming to join us from outside our state and region. They are Bob & Jaunee Barrington, 2005- 2006 International Couple of the Year and the current Mississippi District Directors, K. Z. and Terrie Kleinheitz, 1989-1990 International Couple of the Year from Mississippi, and Kenton & Char Cole, Region E Couple of the Year 2005-2006 from Iowa. Kenton & Char joined us last year at our first Spring Fling as guests, we are glad to have them back this year as judges!
Dale & I just returned from the Mississippi District Rally where we saw the devastation left behind by Hurricane Katrina. We heard over and over again how much GWRRA folks meant to the people of Mississippi and Louisiana, after the massive losses that so many people suffered. K.Z. and Terry Kleinheitz lost everything; their home was destroyed. And so many people had that same loss. But to see this couple with their love and appreciation, for all that their Gold Wing friends have done to support them and help them get through this horrible tragedy, it was really special. They were the Mississippi District Directors when the storm hit. Jaunee and Bob Barrington stepped in as Directors when they needed help. But K.Z. and Terry were there helping every step of the way with the rally. What spirit and love we saw from GWRRA people from Mississippi and Louisiana who have weathered the storm and remained steadfast in their recovery.
So we will be proud to give these folks a big Arkansas welcome and all the GWRRA love that we can show to them, for giving up their time to travel here to help us make our rally a good one! That southern hospitality goes a long way!!!!
More information will be coming and we will keep you informed of dates, events and times. We are going back to Morrilton to the beautiful facilities at the college.
All of Arkansas GWRRA, put this on your calendar for February 17, 2007 Let’s have some fun!!!
Be safe and Ride with Pride,
Carolyn Frieden District Couple of the Year Coordinator 10647 Cowger Lane Dardanelle, AR 72834 479-229-3370 E-mail: cfrieden@centurytel.net
P.S. Remember that our current Arkansas District Couple, Ken & Rhonda Holmes will be in the selection for “Region Couple of the Year” at our Region Rally on March 23, 2007. Come out and support them at the rally in Marshall, TX if you can!!! Info is on the Region H website.
Introduction of our Newest AR Chapter Couple of the Year
November 2006
Chapter W of Blytheville, Arkansas had their kickoff rally just a few short months ago. Even though they had been in operation for a while, it was our first trip to visit with the chapter. It was great rally with a lot of participation. We were proud to see them off to a good start.
Shortly after their rally, the thoughts of honoring a new Chapter Couple were being discussed. We were very pleased to hear of their appointment of Johnny and Mildred Glasscock as the new ambassador for Chapter W. We have heard lots of good things about Johnny and Mildred, all their work and support of their chapter. I’m sure they will do a fine job as Arkansas W Chapter Couple of the Year. We welcome them to the Couple’s Family and look forward to seeing them in February at our Spring Fling, where we can introduce them to everyone.
Congratulations to Johnny and Mildred!! And to John Bernier and staff for stepping up to join the program in support of your very first Chapter Couple of the Year. Good job!
Carolyn Frieden District Couple of the Year Coordinator
