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 334 Members Riding Strong as of August 1, 2008 |
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History of American Eagle HOG Chapter
Chapter One: The First Year
by Dave Gan
The American Eagle Harley-Davidson dealership was granted the franchise on April 21, 2001. Ground was broken for construction of the new facility in Corinth, Texas on December 1, 2001, and the doors opened for business on April 3, 2002. A gala Grand Opening was held six weeks later on May 14, 2002. The new dealership was off and running and well on the way to becoming one of the brightest jewels in the Harley-Davidson crown.
Realizing the value of a viable and active H.O.G. chapter, the new owners – Ron and Cindy Stegall, Todd and Debi Martin and Ron “Junior” and Azu Stegall, applied to Harley-Davidson National H.O.G. for the right to form a local chapter even before the store opened. The charter for the American Eagle H.O.G. Chapter was granted on March 14, 2002.
Since National H.O.G. required a chapter to have officers in place before a charter is granted, store management personal were the original officers. They were:
Todd Martin Director Ron “Junior” Stegall Assistant Director Cindy Stegall Treasurer Debi Martin Secretary
These officers remained in office until May 5, 2002 at which time the permanent officers for 2002 were appointed.
The first chapter meeting was held upstairs at the dealership on April 15, 2002. Anticipating a large turnout, chapter officers wanted to insure that there was seating for all attendees, so 50 chairs were set up in the meeting area. It was all for naught, however, since almost 200 interested riders showed up for the meeting.
Guided by the motto “To Ride and Have Fun”, the new H.O.G. Chapter wasted no time in organizing its first dinner ride. As dinner rides go, this first ride was an ambitious affair, almost matching the ambition of the new chapter. On the evening of April 24, 2002, the American Eagle chapter decided to skip the local eateries and set out for a ride all the way to the Center Place Restaurant in Muenster, Texas. The riders went in two groups. The first group was led by Todd Martin, and the second one was led by Huck Morgan. Other road captains on this inaugural ride were Randy Todd and “Chewy” McCrossen.
The distance covered on this first ride led many of the participating members to speculate that the next dinner ride may very well be to Oklahoma City. However, this was not to be the case. The second ride, which took place one week later on April first, was to Angelina’s in The Colony. This set the pattern for the new chapter and, in the weeks and months to come, dinner rides were held every Wednesday night. These rides are all documented in the Chapter Rides section of this history.
On May 2, 2002, the official officers for 2002 were installed. Their terms would last until the end of the year. They were:
Huck Morgan Director John Swanson Assistant Director Rick Sponaugle Treasurer Cheryl Sponaugle Secretary Randy Todd Activities Director Therese Davenport LOH Officer Bill Davenport Editor Ed Underwood Webmaster Mike Branch Webmaster David Minick Historian Randy Todd Photographer Craig Hall Head Road Captain Lance Hendrick Safety Officer
The first edition of Eagle Eye, the chapter newsletter, was published in May, 2002. From the outset, under the able direction of Bill Davenport, the Eagle Eye has been a professional quality publication in every respect, from the polished layout to the informative content. More than just a recap of chapter activities (although this part of chapter life is well covered), the Eagle Eye has consistently presented a wide range of informative and humorous articles submitted by chapter members. The Eagle Eye will compare favorably to any HOG chapter newsletter, even those that have been in publication for many years.
The first Road Captain class was held on June 29, 2002. The class was taught by Craig Hall with back-up from “Chewy” McCrossen from the Panther Creek Chapter. There were fourteen attendees.
Being a new chapter, aside from the general guidelines published by National H.O.G., there was not a class structure already in place. Craig worked from scratch to develop a lesson plan and a structure for the class. On the day of the class, he was afflicted with terrible cough, later diagnosed as Whooping Cough, causing the class to run a good deal longer than it should have. Despite all of these initial difficulties, this first class produced an outstanding group of Road Captains that have played a central role in making the chapter rides safe and enjoyable. Since the requirements to be a Road Captain run well beyond just attending the class, out of the fourteen participants, only nine fully qualified and official Road Captains emerged to form the original cadre of Road Captains. They were: Rick Sponaugle, Huck Morgan, Tony Madsen, Don Pliler, Don Riley, David Barnes, Bill Bending, Earl Coppinger and Bob Pettit. Another Road Captain class would not be held until November 9, 2002.
The first official chapter ride, aside from the weekly dinner rides, was held on June 20, 2002 when Tony Madsen organized and led a lunch ride to Granbury, Texas. The second ride was held on July 27, 2002 when a group of riders, led by Road Captain Don Riley, rode to Jackson’s, a restaurant on Possum Kingdom Lake.
On September 14, 2002, The American Eagle Chapter held the first chapter fund raiser, a silent auction. The event was a rousing success, raising just over $1,200 dollars to support the chapter’s activities and charities.
One week later, on September 21, American Eagle HOG held the first annual Chicken Run, which was hosted by our very own “Chicken Man”, Barry Buchner and his wife Fran. Forty odd Eagles enjoyed a memorable ride to Barry’s house on Lake Whitney, a day of great fellowship and a fabulous spread of BBQ and, of course, chicken. Barry and Fran proved to be wonderful hosts. At the end of the day, everyone was looking forward to doing it again next year.
Mindful of the need to support the community, the American Eagle dealership became a sponsor of the first annual Gilda’s Club Ride for Life which took place on October 12, 2002. American Eagle Road Captain Tony Madsen planned the ride and, with the help of “Chewy” McCrossen and Ed Edwards, led eighty bikes from Gilda’s House, in downtown Dallas, to Whitesboro, Texas and back to American Eagle Harley-Davidson for a great store party at the end of the ride.
The regular Wednesday night dinner ride on October 30, 2002 was another first for the American Eagle Chapter. Tony Madsen planned and organized the ride, and with the help of road captains David Barnes and Don Riley, led thirty fully costumed ghosts and goblins on the first annual Halloween ride to Johnny Carinos in Irving. The prize winners for best costume were Craig Hall, Tony Madsen and David Dost.
Recognizing that the Chapter was growing rapidly and that more trained assistance would be needed to maintain the level of safety during the chapter rides that the membership had become accustomed to, a second Road Captain class was held on November 9, 2002. The class was taught by Head Road Captain Craig Hall with assistance from Don Riley, Huck Morgan and Bill Bending. Ultimately, eight new Road Captains emerged from this class – Leroy Keener, Mike Schaneman, James Lowery, Glenn Coleman, David DeMore, Jeremy Fuhlman, John Giberson and Luke Stanton.
The Ladies of Harley kicked off the Christmas season on November 16, 2002 with a tree decorating party at the dealership. More than a dozen of the tireless members of LOH were on hand to do a fabulous job in turning out a Harley-Davidson themed Christmas tree.
Also in November, the American Eagle Chapter LOH assisted the store in organizing and implementing a food drive to support Denton Kids Unlimited. The store offered a coupon for ten percent off on purchases in return for a donation of canned food. Later, in December, the members of LOH went to Camp Copas to help in the distribution of gifts at DKU annual Christmas Party. At this event, around 1600 children received a gift which, for many, would be the only gift of the season. At the same time, 600 families received a food donation.
During November and December of 2002, the members of American Eagle HOG demonstrated their generosity and love of riding by participating in numerous rides for charity such as the Collin County Teddy Bear Run, the Lewisville Toy Run and the Tarrant County Toy Ride to name only a few.
During December, members Rick and Cheryl Sponaugle organized a special event for the Chapter. On December 14, 2002, twenty AE HOG members rode their bikes to the Sandy Oaks 2 Group Home for assisted living. Each resident received a gift bag containing a Harley-Davidson t-shirt, Christmas candy and other treats. To make the party memorable, everyone from Sandy Oaks 2 was given the opportunity to sit on the bikes and get their picture taken with the rider. The event was a huge success, and the residents at Sandy Oaks were talking about the experience for months to come.
American Eagle HOG wrapped up its first year of activities with a great Christmas Party on December 20, 2002. Planned and organized by Rick and Cheryl Sponaugle, the party was held at Canyon Lake Ranch, and attended by 127 members. For many people, this dress-up event marked the first time they had seen the other chapter members without their “doo rags” and leather. The party was a great success and was enjoyed by everyone.
At the end of the year, Chapter membership stood at 716 members.