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Welcome to SEG America
the national Segway Enthusiasts Group!

Welcome to the Segway Enthusiasts Group – America, the official national organization for enthusiasts and owners of the Segway® Human Transporter (HT)! We are an independent, national organization that can help bring together Segway HT owners and enthusiasts across the country as we share our interest in the Segway HT. SEG America is run by its members for its members. Our primary goal is to act as a tool to enable Segway enthusiasts to share information and experiences with each other and to move forward the concept of the Segway HT as new mode of transportation.

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Good Bye to 2005, Hello 2006

Each New Year, we all take a moment to reflect on the year that has just past, and think about what’s ahead for the year to come.

For those of us, Segway Enthusiasts Group America Members, 2005 was quite a full year! SEG America Members enjoyed their machines for more than just basic transportation; they continued to form Local Segway Enthusiast Groups to share their interests. Local SEG’s have set up group glides, participated in parades, and formed Segway sports teams, like Segway Polo.

With three SegwayFests around the country, Sacramento California, Manchester New Hampshire, and Washington DC, members got together to celebrate their passion, the Segway HT! And SEG America’s election this past summer got members more involved in the national organization, not only running for office, but offering to help steer the group into the future.

The Segway Corporation, who paid for a one year SEG America membership for all who bought new machines this year, has helped SEG America in 2005. Segway sent top-notch employees to participate in each of the three SegwayFests in 2005, offering members an up-close and personal relationship with the manufacturer, which has become an important part of the Segway ownership experience. SEG America is very grateful to the Segway Corporation for its continuing help and support of this organization and it’s membership.

A special thank you goes out to each Segway employee for his or her participation in SEG America in 2005.

In 2005, gliders have found themselves no longer the loner group they were just a few years ago. Segway dealerships and tour operators are now found in just about every major city, showing that Segway related businesses have an important niche in the community. With plenty of new models, and a growing used HT market, Segways are starting to show up “in the wild” all the time and in some of the most unexpected places.

So with 2006 ahead of us, what can we expect?

Formalization of SEG America with official By-Laws, The Seg America By-Law Committee has been hard at work writing a set of workable by-laws that this group can grow with. By-laws will be presented to the membership early in the 2nd quarter of 2006 for a vote.

An exciting SegwayFest for 2006 is already in the planning phase. Work has begun on identifying a location for Segway owners to gather to celebrate the Segway. Though 2006 will be a “one fesT year,” SegwayFest ‘06 will be a great one, bringing together gliders from all over the world for one heck of a tremendous party!

SEG America will continue to work helping local groups develop and formalize themselves in 2006. With active local groups, there will be more things for gliders to do in their home territory. Segway sports teams, like SEG Polo, are sprouting up, and competing all over the globe. Local groups are planning and participating in a lot of events, like community parades, environmental demos, Segway sports and social activities that take advantage of using the Segway HT. No matter what the reason for gathering, gliding with a group is a lot of fun, and you will want to share it with other Segway HT owners.

In 2006 make a decision to attend a local glide, start a local group, play some Segway Polo, attend SegwayFest ‘06, and take part in SEG America, by being an active member of this community of gliders. The best way for you to be apart of that is to use your SEG America membership to it’s fullest; get active at the local level. If you do not have a local Segway Enthusiasts Group in your area, start one! If you want to be more involved on a national basis, the 2006 SEG America elections are only eight months away, think about helping lead and direct SEG America for the future, by running for national office in 2006.

2006 will be a banner year for Segway owners and enthusiasts, with fun events to attend and interesting people to meet.

In 2006, make it a point to, Enjoy The Glide!

Will W. Hopper, President,
Segway Enthusiasts Group America
12/29/2005

Looking Foward to SegwayFest 2006

SEG America is looking at a variety of options for SegwayFest 2006. Would your SEG, town or Segway related business like to be a host to Segway owners and Enthusiasts in 2006?

SEG America is asking for proposals to host SegwayFest 2006, and for SEG America members to review those proposals.

SegwayFest is the largest gathering of Segway owners and enthusiasts each year. For 2005 SegwayFest attracted a wide number of SEG America members from the world over to three SegwayFests. Each time a SegwayFest is held, it is a great way for a local SEG to bring the benefits of the Segway to their home town, not to mention show off their turf to other gliders.

Are Your Ready For A SEGWAYFEST?

Is Your Town Segway Friendly?

Do You Have Interesting Ideas That Would Excite Segway Owners & Enthusiasts?

Is Gliding FUN Where You Are?

If you can answer YES to any of these questions, put together a breif proposal for your town/city/community/business to host a SegwayFest. And send it to [email protected]

SegwayFest 2006 will be one of the best!

Send a one page proposal to [email protected] on what your town and SEG or business can do to host a SegwayFest. And in 2006 you may be the Most Segway Friendly Place In America!

Please submit proposals by December 31 2005 to [email protected]

If you have any questions on hosting SegwayFest 2006, please contact SEGAmerica!

Give Someone A New Life With Your Old Segway

By Donating your Segway to the Segs4Vets program of Draft – Disablity Advocates For Technology (www.DRAFT.cc) you can help an Americian Veteran of the Iraq war who has lost their mobility, regain it.

It’s a great time to buy a new Segway product, with all the colors and options available now, and even a better time to help a returning soldier who has lost a leg. DRAFT’s Segs4Vets Program needs both new and refurbished Segways to meet its goal.

This September, just before the SEG America’s SegwayFest DC event, DRAFT awarded Segway HT I-180’s to Three veterns at the United States Capitol Building. Hilbert Caesar, Keith Davis, and Kevin Pannell wounded in battle while serving in Iraq resulting in the amputation of their leg, and in Pannell’s case both legs found that with the Segway HT they could resume much of their mobility.

If you make the donation before New Years Eve you’ll not only be changing the life of one of our Segs4Vets honorees or other worthwhile disabled recipients, but you’ll also be entitled to a charitable deduction for your 2005 Federal Income Taxes!

If you would like to donate money or a Segway to DRAFT contact us either by e-mail; [email protected] or by telephone; 314-965-4938. We’ll ship you a Segway shipping box with the packing materials inside and a prepaid label for the return shipping. Simply disassemble your Segway, repackage it in the provided box and ship it off to DRAFT.

If your Segway has mechanical problems let us know because we may need to ship it to Segway Inc. in Bedford, New Hampshire for repairs instead of to St. Louis. Once we receive your Segway we will perform any necessary refurbishment to it prior to placing it into adoption.

DRAFT will also let you know where your Segway has been placed. We’ll let you know who the recipient of your Segway was, and on our web site we’ll profile our recipients and our donors. DRAFT will always respect the privacy of our donors and will honor any donor’s request to remain anonymous.

DRAFT www.draft.cc
Championing Universally Designed Technology Solutions

This SEG America posting is a courtesy to the fine folks at DRAFT

SEG America – State Of The Union Message

October 2005

To: SEG America’s Membership

From: William West Hopper, SEG America President 2005/2006

Let me take a moment to thank each of you for taking the time to vote in the August 2005 SEG America Elections. It is participating in your organization that will make it better for all of us and give a future to SEG America.

As the Newly Elected President of SEG America, I want to report to you on how I have found your Segway Enthusiast Group as I have come into this volunteer position as its President.

I am pleased to report that SEG America is in very good shape both fiscally and organizationally. The board that you elected in 2004 has created a foundation on which to build a very good enthusiasts organization. But there is still plenty to do. Each step needs to be carefully and thoughtfully taken, and not rushed. Having the basics in place is of the utmost importance for that, and your 2004/2005 founding board did just that for you.

The 2004/2005 board turned the organization over to the newly elected one with a positive cash flow and no debt. This is a result of the prudent use of start-up funds, a membership drive, and successful 2005 SegwayFests. All of which have provided a positive cash flow, and a high level of activity and interest to the organization. Due to this, actual dues-paying membership has increased the membership base during the 2004/2005 term.

The 2004/2005 SA Board decided to host three SegwayFests this year, a very large undertaking, especially since these events were in 3 diverse locations around the United States. All of them have been deemed a success, with attendees, vendors and sponsors enjoying the events. Overall, the SegwayFests have generated a profit for SA and good press exposure for the HT user community.

Organizationally, the founding board of SEG America officially and fully incorporated SEG America in the state of Nevada, and has established SEG America as a 501(c)(7) social club which is exempt from income taxes and that is recognized with The United States Internal Revenue Service

Segway Inc. has generously helped SEG America with communication tools, providing telecommunication access for SA Board meetings and providing hosting support for the SA Website. The current SA website has been operational for sometime now, with an upgrade of its service this spring. We hope to get some volunteer help to keep it fresh and interesting, which it does need to keep the origination active and show off the activities of it’s membership.

To get SEG America started, Segway Inc. purchased a SEG America Membership for each machine sold during the 2004 model year, which also provided an influx of start-up monies for SEG America.

With all of this, SEG America still has much work to do to move forward. And that will need the help from its membership.

The 2005 Board has set about a couple of things immediately. One was to add as a non-voting board member to the Board, the Immediate Past President. This position allows for long term corporate history, and an insight to be available to the board from the person in charge for the previous term.

Communication is key to the new board – and communication with the membership is very much a part of that program. With the first official meeting, once the minutes from a SA Board Meeting are approved, an executive summary is now posted on the SA Website under the heading “minutes”. This brief synoposis of the meeting will give members a quick understanding of the workings of the board for that meeting.

SEG America has no paid staff, therefore volunteers do all of the operational tasks for SEG America. And additional volunteer help is needed to grow SEG America in the coming year. Here are a few of the various areas that SA can use you, the member’s skills and help

· Graphics skills, to develop brochures, and matter that will go out to prospective members, and to the membership

· Website help, to keep the SA Website fresh with information from the membership and update the community on the happenings of the organization.

· Local Group Organizers, SEG America is only as good as the local groups that are the owners and enthusiasts in the various communities.

· Event organizers, SegwayFest being the largest event of the year, but other smaller regional events are important in the celebration of the Segway HT. And we need members to market and put those events together.

· Dealer Relations Committee – to help bring the vast Segway Dealer network into the fold of SEG America.

What the SEG America Executive Committee is now working on are the SEG America By-Laws and Rules and Procedures. By-laws are not something to be taken lightly. Once made, they need to fit the organization, or they will not serve the group’s needs. With By-Laws, there needs to be Rules and Procedures, — so both of these go hand in hand. The SA Executive Committee hopes to have these by-laws finished by the first quarter of 2006, so that they can be voted on in the 2nd quarter.

Right now a Membership Brochure is being designed, one that can be included in every Segway box, and can be displayed at the local dealerships.

Part of membership in any organization, is the value of membership. We need to develop value in SEG America Membership. Adding value to membership is important, as is encouraging and developing local groups to enhance the ownership experience for each HT owner.

Local groups offer a community to share the gliding experience with, not only to glide with, but to share and swap parts or help with minor repairs. Even playing a sport with, as has been the case with the SEG Polo Teams that are starting to appear around the world.

To get the most benefit out of any organization, a member must be active and get involved. That means get out and encourage other HT owners to become SEG America members, promoting and helping grow the organization at the local level. And by getting involved and helping your local group, by organizing an outing, an event with the local Segway dealer, anything that gets SEG America members together to enjoy the experience of the Segway HT.

As we begin the new administration of SEG America, I want you to know that your SEG America is in good shape It has a lot of room to grow with plenty of opportunities ahead of it, that each of you, the members, can help by participating and contributing in the growth and health of SEG America.