President’s Message - October 2006
Welcome to all SEG America members, new and old.
As President of SEG America, I wanted to check in, and let the members know of some of the upcoming events and services that you can look to SEG America for…
First off, those of you attended the SegwayFest in So. California know what a great event it was. I surely hope that all who had the opportunity to attend had a great time. I have heard of many comments, and those who have spoken to me seemed to have enjoyed themselves…
This fest will have caused the bar to be raised. Fred did a spectacular job and the logistics went very well considering the tremendous complexity of some of the events. For the fest registration amount, members got lots of food on Friday night at the opening cocktail party (with cash bar). Many of us took a fun night glide, and it was the beginning of a great weekend. Saturday breakfast Buffet was included as well. We had great opening remarks from none other than the Woz himself. Catered breaks, excellent presentations from Segway Inc, Draft, Valence Technology (Saphion batteries) and many more! Middle of the day we all took a couple mile glide along the boardwalk and beach paths to Bluff Park for great lunch fare and demos on the x2, Polo games, and other events… After a glide back to the hotel, there were more seminars, including hands on demos on care and maintenance, and service tricks and details… Then, a Spectacular dinner at the Queen Mary! Keynote address was from Dean Kamen, the man who started it all! SEG America even had security guards on hand to watch the segs while at dinner… Sunday was the LA glide that has to be one of the best ever organized. It was not for seggers who did not love the machine, as it took in several miles, and several famous neighborhoods, including the walk of fame, the miracle mile, Rodeo drive and much more! We even had tour buses for transportation and box trucks with staff for moving the segs. Many of us started this day off at the Petersen Auto Museum, with a special invite to glide in the museum amongst some of the most famous Autos ever built!
Again, I would like to offer a hearty thanks to Fred Kaplan, the fest organizer, and to the scores of folks who helped to make it the fine event that it was.
And now that the fest is behind us, you as members will start to see more and more services and activities from your club…You now all have membership cards, for the first time since the formation of the club. If you do not yet have your card, contact our Secretary at Info@SEGamerica.org.
This year, we are having a real push for better communication amongst the members, and we would like to help support more local groups getting together and going on group glides. It has been my experience that when you get several segs together for a glide, it generates smiles all around. Let us at the national level help you get the word out about your local group. We can now support you with a page off our website, and can email members in your area about your event. If you would like this type of support, contact us at the links below.
We are still working on a member locator; a calendar; and a photo depository; so that you will have no problem posting snapshots of your outings, and many other services that will be coming up in the next few months.
This brings up the topic of Segfest ’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 host it, local dealers for rentals, and many other factors. If you have a favorite place, be sure to use the links below to let us know.
We now have Business memberships, where seg friendly businesses can join and get themselves listed on our endorsed listing of friendly businesses. This membership has a hook. No business can join for dues alone, they have to offer a special consideration to SEG America members. If it is a Segway dealer, that may be a discount. If it is a seg friendly restaurant, it may be free desert with an entree’ or any number of other options. Look for this listing soon. If you own a business that may want on this listing, or know of one, contact me at President@SEGamerica.org. I have the first few business members, and will be publishing our first listing soon.
In conclusion, I wanted to say that this year is shaping up to be a great one, inside SEG America and in the segging community at large. This is going to be a big year, with the 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.
