Steve & Tina Trimble
2010 Chapter A COY

Chapter A proudly introduces our 2010 Couple of the Year.

Bobby & Barbara Summerville
2009 Chapter A COY

Bobby and Barbara are both native Arkansans. Bobby was born in the big city of Traskwood, AR in the community of Mars Hill and moved to California when he was 5. He returned to Arkansas after the 10th grade and graduated from Benton High School. Bobby returned to California after graduation but couldn't resist the draw of Arkansas and returned to Arkansas where he has been ever since.

Barbara was born in Texarkana, AR, but moved around way too much as her dad moved up in the ABF Corporation. By the time she was 5 they had lived in several Arkansas cities, Missouri and Tennessee. After graduating from Scott City High School in Missouri they finally moved back to Little Rock to stay.

Bobby and Barbara had known each other for 20 years since both worked for Coleman Dairy but had no idea they were destined to be soul mates until they both were single in 2004. After only 2 months of dating they realized what true happiness was and decided to start the year of 2005 off right by getting married on January 1, 2005.

Bobby has two daughters, Jennifer in Batesville and Cindy in Benton. He also has a son Steven who lives in Benton. They have given him 6 cherished granddaughters.

Barbara has a daughter, Stefanie, who lives only a couple of miles from them in Mabelvale and a son, Robby who lives in Little Rock. Her son Robby and his wife Ashley have no children but do have Barbara's only "granddog" Lexi. Stefanie has given her 3 of the rowdiest, loving grandkids in Arkansas. The twins, Carter & Taylor and the "surprise", Mikey. Carter is Autistic and has both Nana and Poppy wrapped around his little pinky.

Barbara's mother lives with them and is a source of pride to Bobby since she believes he can do no wrong. And not least in the family is Sassy, their yorkiepoo, who truly is in charge of the entire household.

Both Bobby and Barbara learned the importance of family when Bobby lost his father during heart surgery and Barbara's younger brother died suddenly of a heart attack. They both realize now that there are no guarantees in life and you must cherish and appreciate everyone in your life because you never know when they will be taken from you.

Both of their families believe that Bobby and Barbara are truly each others "other half" and are never complete without each other. That's why you will very seldom see them far from one another's side.

Bobby's hobbies revolve around his 1999 Candy Apple Red Goldwing Trike. He loves riding the Wing, dusting the Wing, polishing the Wing, talking to the Wing and anything else Wing related.

Barbara loves being right there behind Bobby anywhere the Wing is going…not so much on the dusting and polishing. Mainly they enjoy anything that they can do together.

Bobby started riding in the early 60's on a Honda 50cc with his best friend Steve in California. With the California weather he and Steve were able to ride 365 days a year, which is what they did. After returning to Arkansas Bobby drove in stock car races from 1970 to 1984 at tracks all over the state. When the weekend rolled around the kids knew to be in the canary yellow Good Times Van because it was time to go to the races. He finished in the top 3 of the standings at all the tracks he raced at. He even raced against Mark Martin in the early days and beat him on more than one occasion. After retiring from the racing circuit his love of motorcycling returned. Bobby bought a new Suzuki Volusia and rode it until he felt the need for more power. That's when he traded for a Honda VTX 1800. After riding the VTX on a 35 hour, 1500 mile Iron Butt Ride he realized the need for a little more comfort to go along with the power. In 2003 a red 1800 Gold Wing caught his eye and he hasn't looked back. After he and Barbara married he sold his 1800 and bought the candy red 1500 Gold Wing trike they ride today.

Barbara's father forbid any of his 3 children to go anywhere near any motorcycle so her riding career didn't start until she was 15. Her best friend's older bother had a 125cc Honda that looked as if it came over on the "Mayflower" and when he offered her a ride around his parent's large front yard she was hooked. It was years after that before she got to ride again but the seed had been planted that summer day in Missouri. It was not until she married Bobby that she actually traveled on a motorcycle. She was under the impression that to go for a motorcycle ride meant riding around for a couple of hours. Now much to her mother's horror she and Bobby are on the Wing every chance they get.

Their odyssey with GWRRA started in early 2006 with what Barbara thought was a simple magazine subscription to a magazine called Wing World for her new husband. A couple of months later Bobby drug her to her first GWRRA meeting with Chapter A and only then did she have an inkling of what she was in for. Chapter A was in a rebuilding process and Bobby was ready to jump in and help. On the way home from that meeting he started telling Barbara all the things they could do to help. Since he had been a director of a CMA motorcycle group a few years earlier he had the background to see what was needed, Barbara didn't. But she knew her husband and knew that there was no way to stop this "rolling stone" from tumbling on under its own momentum and she better get out of the way or get on board. Barbara realized from what she could hear of Bobby and Dale Frieden's phone conversation one evening that what she feared most was about to come true. Within a few short months they found themselves as Directors of Chapter A. Barbara now says it was one of the best things they have done. They have made dear friends all over the state of Arkansas and learned so much about riding and safety. The "Friends for Fun, Safety and Knowledge" is not just a motto. A lot of those friends have definitely become a part of their family.

In the past two and a half years they have been able to enjoy numerous Chapter Rallies, the Arkansas District Rallies, the Region H Rallies and their first Wing Ding in 2008 at Greenville, SC. Their jobs at Coleman Dairy, Bobby's as the Loss Prevention Manager and Barbara's as Accounts Payable Manager, limit the amount of travel they can do right now. But they are hoping in the coming years to do much more traveling on the Wing, especially to other state's rallies and plenty of Wing Ding's to come.

Bobby and Barbara have enjoyed serving Chapter A as Road Captain, Newsletter Editor, Chapter Director and now Chapter Couple.

Bill & Belinda Shryock
2008 Chapter A COY

Bill and Belinda are both third generation Arkansas natives. Bill was born in Searcy and raised in Jonesboro while Belinda was born in Newport and raised in Little Rock. They both married young and raised families before finding one another. Belinda has two sons, Jeremy and Jared and three grandsons, Johnny, Daniel and Jace. Bill had two daughters, both now deceased, a step-son, two grand-daughters, one grandson (deceased), and five great grandchildren.

Bill and Belinda were married in August of 2002 and now live in Benton, Ar. Belinda says she “met the love of my life”, when she met Bill. They are such a perfect match for one another that they finish each others sentences and thoughts.

Belinda graduated from the University of Arkansas, late in life as she puts it. She recently was offered an optician apprenticeship that will fulfill a dream she had to put on hold for many years. This will keep her busy on Saturdays for the next couple of years. It will cause her to miss out on a lot of “Gold Wing” fun, but will not diminish the love she has for her Gold Wing friends.

Bill started his love of motorcycling on a 1948 Cushman Husky in 1961 while stationed in Wichita, KS in the Air Force.

Belinda started her love of motorcycles at a young age when she spent much of her time at her grandparent’s farm. That was where she, her brother, cousins and friends formed a motorcycle “gang”. They were young, invincible, inseparable and not a worry in the world.

Bill had wanted to renew his love of riding for awhile when Belinda’s brother gave him the perfect opportunity. He had an accident and was laid up for awhile and wanted Bill to ride his Kawasaki for awhile. Bill jumped at the chance. When Belinda’s brother healed up and requested his bike back, Bill would sit at night and pour over the classifieds with a tear in his eye. Belinda couldn’t stand the sight of a grown man crying and asked Bill, “Why don’t you just get a bike?” Well you didn’t have to tell Bill twice, he bought a 1979 Gold Wing and life hasn’t been the same since. They joined GWRRA that summer of 2005.

Bill and Belinda had a blast exploring Arkansas on that 1979 Gold Wing but with Wing Ding 29 coming up in 2007 Belinda thought they might need to get something a little more comfortable. Ebay and a trip to Chicago produced the “Gold” 1989 GL1500 that Bill had been searching for, and with only 5776 miles on it. They put on another 5261 miles on their trip to Billings, Montana for Wing Ding 29. Belinda consented to make the trip to Billings if Bill could route the trip by the Mall of America. So Bill got the Yellowstone National Park and Belinda got the Mall of America, a match made in heaven. Their dog “Tuffy” missed that trip much to his dismay. He is ready to ride anytime the motorcycle starts. Anyone who knows Bill and Belinda know that Tuffy is an avid rider and gets very angry if they try to slip off without him.

Bill and Belinda are an important part of the GWRRA family. They currently are doing an outstanding job as the 2008 Couple of the Year for Chapter A, Webmasters for River City Wings (Chapter A) and as the Arkansas District Webmasters.

David & Deborah Blees
2007 Chapter A COY

David and Deborah Blees are our 2007 Couple of the Year (COY). Chapter Director’s Bobby and Barbara Summerville say it wasn’t a hard choice to make. They are always there any time help is needed and they love our GWRRA organization.

David and Deborah are both native Arkansans, he was born in Little Rock and she in Hot Springs. They now call Bryant, AR their home. They have been married for almost 25 years. David and Deb have three daughters, Tina, Stacey and Kristen, two granddaughters, Callie and Madison and 2 grandsons, Ryan and Matthew. Although David didn’t come into their lives until the girls were 15, 12 and 8 years old, he has been a very good father to Deborah’s daughters and ultimately a great “Pepaw” to their grandchildren.

David goes to work to support their newest life venture, “riding a Gold Wing and having fun with their GWRRA friends”! He works for the US Postal Service as a maintenance clerk. They say their goal in life is to retire and see the USA on the back of a Gold Wing. (What’s up with this, everyone wants to retire to ride a Gold Wing!!!)

David spent nine years in the US Army as a Military Policeman. Three of those years were spent in the Republic of Panama in Central America and one year in Johnston Atoll, which is two miles long and ¾ of a mile wide, and located 750 nautical miles southwest of Honolulu, Hawaii. They were also stationed in Fort Rucker, Alabama and Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. David was a staff sergeant when he left military service.

On to the motorcycle side of life, Deborah says she became interested in motorcycles when her ex-husband bought a barrel from the US Government and found parts for a 1937 Harley Davidson bike and sidecar in the barrel! We’ll have to find out what became of that Harley?? (Just found out what happened to the Harley, after it was reassembled, it was sold for $10,000)

David was attending college in Little Rock and decided gas would be cheaper with a motorcycle. They have been riding on and off for about 20 years. They have owned various trail bikes, a Honda Sabre and a Yamaha 650. Now their prized possession is their Gold Wing.

They do have other interests aside from their GWRRA activities. David likes hunting, fishing and working on his Gold Wing. Deborah likes cross stitch, sewing and cross-word puzzles.

David and Deborah joined GWRRA in May of 2006. They started looking for a Gold Wing chapter that would be close to home and made a call to the Summerville’s. They were having a Chapter ride that Saturday, so they joined them and the rest is history. They were asked if they would help out with the Chapter and a “yes” answer became the Chapter Treasurer position. They have been instrumental to the growth and activity of Chapter A. Their willing spirit of excitement keeps them very busy helping with anything that is asked of them. They have attended Horizons Class and the District Couple of the Year Seminar. Ever since joining Chapter A, they have been on the go, to as many Chapter rallies and Gold Wing events as they could squeeze in. Deborah says when you get to know them, she is the nutty one and David is the quiet one, he is known here in the chapter as “Grumpy”. They are only BIG TEDDY BEARS in reality!!

According to a very reliable source, they only missed being selected as the Arkansas District COY by “This Much”. I was told that it was a very difficult decision and the judging was very close. Well in our hearts, they will always be winners. The District’s loss is our gain. We now have them all to ourselves.