Well the 38th Annual International is now history. If I said that is was a great Convention that would be understating the facts. THe weather was nice except for the humidity. We had just one day where there was a little light rain but nothing to stop us from riding. I have created a bunch of pictures from the Convention. They are at the top of the page under “Photos.” Since I can not name them in the photos gallery I will give you a little update on what they are about.
1. The first couple of pictures are of the Welcome Banner.
2. The next couple are of the Welcome dinner and party.
3. The next couple are of some International Members.
4. The next picture was of someone pet we decided to name “Frank” from MIB.
5. The next group of pictures is the barbeque night and some local talent who played as we ate and socialized.
6. Next two photos are of the BOG meeting.
7. The next group of photos are of a guided ride we took. First we went to the Motor Trike Factory where they make the trike conversions for various brands of motorcycles. Then we went to the “London Museum.” This s a museum dedicated to the explosion on March 18, 1937. This was the most devastating explosion in history of a school. There was a gas leak under the school and a shop teacher turned on an electric sander which sparked and caused the catastrophic explosion. There was a nine year old girl who survived and it was her talking to Congress at hearing that created the odor that we know today that is in all Natural and propane gas. She still speaks out today 75 years later about child protection and safety. There is WAY too much to try to explain here but you can find out more at: The New London Texas School Explosion. Next we went to the Tyler Texas Rose Garden. Tyler Texas has the largest public collection of roses in the United States. You can see by some of my pictures that these rose bushes are 30 – 50 years old and still growing. More information can be found at: Tyler Municipal Rose Garden Center. Then I toured the inside where they have all of the Rose Queen Gowns. What a selection over the years. I can only imagine how much these things weighed. You can read more about the Rose Festival Rose Parade at:
Texas Rose Festival, Rose Parade, and Rose Museum.
8. Next is the Karaoke Night and NO I did not get up and sing though I was egged on I knew it would not be a good idea. There are a lot of photos of Blue Knights sitting in the hospitality room enjoying the night festivities.
9. Next are some of Tyler Texas’ finest in Blue. They recently purchased 12 Victory Police Bikes from the Tucson Victory Dealer. The Tucson Dealer is the sole distributor of Victory Police Bikes. Many States and Canada have come to Tucson to purchase these police bikes. They lead our parade through town on the last day of the Convention. Then there are some eclcetic collection of motorcycles and trailers you have ever seen. The one that jumps out at you the most is the people from Oklahoma in the Zebra striped bike, trailers, riding companions, and wearing apparel.
10. Finally is the Banquet and closing ceremonies on Thursday night.
Now to the meat of the Convention. At the BOG Meeting there was 125 voting chapters. We had members from Poland, England, Switzerland, Australia in attendance. There are a total of 628 chapters with 19,597 members. There were 14 new chapters in 2012 with 2,244 members. Serbia is a new chapter and has 12 members. THe oldest rider was a seventy-seven year old who has ridden a motorcycle to ALL 38 conventions. THe youngest was a sixteen girl from Texas.
The SWC has 25 Chapters with 824 members. They have or are starting chapters in Portugal and S. Africa. One hundred and twelve (112) members transferred to Heaven One this year.
The 2013 International Convention will be in Hot Springs Arkansas. It will be hosted by AR IV. The dates for the Convention are July 14 – 19, 2013. More information can be found at: 2013 International Convention.