President’s Message - November 2006
Welcome to all SEG America members, new and old, once again.
There have been big doings at SEG America, SegwayFest 2006 is behind us, and what a great event it was! We have had some Executive Board changes: Jonathan Gleich resigned as Vice President and Carolyn Kelford has volunteered to be the new Local Group Coordinator. (See our site for details)
This month, we are starting off our membership drive, and our renewal drive. Segway Inc. has paid the first year for new owners, and it is now time to renew at a cost of just $15 for one year. It is common, when someone asks you to send in money, to say, “What is in it for me?” Well, let’s look, but we should consider the future as well as the past. I like to spend time with people who share common appreciations. I believe that one of the best things that SEG America and organizations like it can offer is camaraderie. Every time I have been in a group of seggers, I have had a good time; the fun is contagious.
SEG America has sponsored some great SegwayFests in the last few years, Sacramento, CA; Manchester, NH; Washington, DC; Long Beach (near LA), CA., and these were a great fun and informative time for all who attended. If you missed these, be sure to attend the next one. The club bylaws and other formation documents have been completed and ratified, the first mailings have gone out with membership cards, bumper stickers and pins. Still to come shortly are the website based membership locator, the calendar of events, and a place to put your photos on the web.
For your local SEG and Segway events, we have support in the form of email reminders, Web Pages, and other support functions. Again, I believe one of our best values is those friendships you make while segging.
For your traveling and segging fun, we are opening up the club to Business Memberships, and will soon be publishing the first listing of Seg-friendly businesses. The list will start small, and grow.
We are currently in the process of updating the member profile screens to capture more info about our members and implementing the new membership levels (SEG America Supporter, Individual Membership, and Business Membership) as per the bylaws. These will be ready on Monday, December 4th. So, starting on that date, you can log into the SEG America web site with your Email address and password, update your profile information and purchase a membership renewal.
As always, we are happy to hear your input directly. If you have comments or requests from this club, direct them to me at President@SEGamerica.org, or for membership issues, please contact the Secretary at Info@SEGamerica.org.
We have some great items from our SegwayFest 2006 in Long Beach for sale. If you missed the event, or you were there, and want an additional item, we have cotton polo shirts with the SegwayFest logo, and the SEG America logo, in black, purple, blue and stone. Additionally, we have Denim (Tommy Bahama style) shirts with the Segway logo on chest and back. We also have hats in cream or stone, with either the SegwayFest logo or the SEG America logo. The shirts start at $30 and the hats are $15. If you are interested, send an email to me. We will soon have a way to buy these items and more on our site. Keep a look out for it.
Upcoming events include SegwayFest ’07. Where do you want to hold it? We are looking now, and want your input. We must look at the availability of facilities; locals who want to organize it, local dealers for rentals, and many other factors. If you have a favorite place, be sure to use the links above to let us know.
2006 has been a banner year for SEG America, and 2007 looks to be even better! This is a great time to be in the club and in the segging community at large. The future is bright with Segway’s new generation of PTs, and all the positive new happenings in SEG America. I hope to have the opportunity to go gliding with you and your friends soon!
Karl Sagal
President, SEG America.
www.SEGamerica.org
