forgot part of the reason for the group
forgot part of the reason for the group
The goals were two: help welcoming mom-and-pop cafes in struggling little towns by consuming a hefty amount of bacon, eggs, and burgers, and provide some socializing for guys who tend to spend a lot of their road time alone. It didn't hurt that, more often than not, there was good home cooking.
Re: forgot part of the reason for the group
Isayzek - You're most certainly spot-on in your assessment of the original mantra of the ROMEO.
When we started I was encouraged to gather up as many email addresses as I could and I sent out notices where the next 'Wednesday Lunch Ride would be. Word of mouth got around and over a period of time more and more email names were added at every lunch stop we arrived at.
We operated this way for a few years until the email list became essentially to large for my limited computer knowledge to adequately do justice to, and my yahoo mail account shut down for an hour at 99 names. In later years it was taking me hours to mail the whole list I had accumulated. I was obviously sparking a chord of extreme interest.
Don, a while later, came up with the ACRONYM ----ROMEO and it fit like a glove and we have operated that way ever since. Then Jerry came aboard with great computer skills, he assembled the bits and pieces into a cohesive website which we have in place today.
This entire organization is still all voluntary and we depend upon the good will of each and every group leader to act as the catalyst which holds each seperate unit together. We are truly seperate but we try to function in the fashion of a unified club. So far, I think it has worked exceedingly well.
That being said, I do see a shift in focus of individual groups. This could be nothing more than the make up of the individuals within the group, or the personal schedule of the leader.
I'm not complaining here, I just reiterate the point you have noticed that we started out intent on the recognition and support of the little mom and pop establishment.
The Official State map of Kansas in the upper left corner of each copy lists all incorporated towns and cities alphabeticaly and gives their population. This was our original focus and one in which I still try to adhere. There were 428 individual towns with populations of 1000 or less in that listing. That was THE starting point. That was what I chose from originally as we went around the State week to week. Obviously, one cafe at a time isn't much of an economic impact but it got us noticed. With our growth, our impact is much more favorable and we have become a better economic force.
Our beginning happend during the time I was still fully employed and operating a 24/7 ma and pa motel out of Lindsborg, Kansas. I had one day a week off that my wife would consent to me being gone, and I chose wednesday. The reason being, that's when Jack Robinson of FSSNOC fame had his Wednesday rides. When Jack gave up the FSSNOC rides, several of the folks, like me, didn't want to quit, so that was the catalyst for the beginning of what has now become the ROMEO's.
I was on the Board of Directors of the KRHA (Kansas Restaurant and Hospitality Association) during this time and I took this on as a Board project...'The Recognition, Help and Economic Assistance of the Small Town Cafe'. Restauranteurs had been needing help in this State for ages. I now had a purpose.
We received some assistance from the KRHA early on through the use of their website for our weekly rides but it was always through the kindness of others and not anything we had any direct control over so I can say it only worked to a limited degree. It was not until Jerry took the reins and really developed our own site did we see fulfillment. Growth has continued but the splitting into smaller more manageable groups has been the key to our interest
This is a long story and many details I have left out due to the length of time it would take to tell it but suffice it to say, I hope we never stray too far from the original goal of the liitle towns and their cafe which in most cases is the life blood of that community. So goes the cafe....so goes the town.
We still pride ourselves in the fact that we have No Officers, No Dues, No Bylaws. And, I am so happy to say...No Attitudes! This is what has made this group unique among all other cycle clubs. Richard Kurtz
When we started I was encouraged to gather up as many email addresses as I could and I sent out notices where the next 'Wednesday Lunch Ride would be. Word of mouth got around and over a period of time more and more email names were added at every lunch stop we arrived at.
We operated this way for a few years until the email list became essentially to large for my limited computer knowledge to adequately do justice to, and my yahoo mail account shut down for an hour at 99 names. In later years it was taking me hours to mail the whole list I had accumulated. I was obviously sparking a chord of extreme interest.
Don, a while later, came up with the ACRONYM ----ROMEO and it fit like a glove and we have operated that way ever since. Then Jerry came aboard with great computer skills, he assembled the bits and pieces into a cohesive website which we have in place today.
This entire organization is still all voluntary and we depend upon the good will of each and every group leader to act as the catalyst which holds each seperate unit together. We are truly seperate but we try to function in the fashion of a unified club. So far, I think it has worked exceedingly well.
That being said, I do see a shift in focus of individual groups. This could be nothing more than the make up of the individuals within the group, or the personal schedule of the leader.
I'm not complaining here, I just reiterate the point you have noticed that we started out intent on the recognition and support of the little mom and pop establishment.
The Official State map of Kansas in the upper left corner of each copy lists all incorporated towns and cities alphabeticaly and gives their population. This was our original focus and one in which I still try to adhere. There were 428 individual towns with populations of 1000 or less in that listing. That was THE starting point. That was what I chose from originally as we went around the State week to week. Obviously, one cafe at a time isn't much of an economic impact but it got us noticed. With our growth, our impact is much more favorable and we have become a better economic force.
Our beginning happend during the time I was still fully employed and operating a 24/7 ma and pa motel out of Lindsborg, Kansas. I had one day a week off that my wife would consent to me being gone, and I chose wednesday. The reason being, that's when Jack Robinson of FSSNOC fame had his Wednesday rides. When Jack gave up the FSSNOC rides, several of the folks, like me, didn't want to quit, so that was the catalyst for the beginning of what has now become the ROMEO's.
I was on the Board of Directors of the KRHA (Kansas Restaurant and Hospitality Association) during this time and I took this on as a Board project...'The Recognition, Help and Economic Assistance of the Small Town Cafe'. Restauranteurs had been needing help in this State for ages. I now had a purpose.
We received some assistance from the KRHA early on through the use of their website for our weekly rides but it was always through the kindness of others and not anything we had any direct control over so I can say it only worked to a limited degree. It was not until Jerry took the reins and really developed our own site did we see fulfillment. Growth has continued but the splitting into smaller more manageable groups has been the key to our interest
This is a long story and many details I have left out due to the length of time it would take to tell it but suffice it to say, I hope we never stray too far from the original goal of the liitle towns and their cafe which in most cases is the life blood of that community. So goes the cafe....so goes the town.
We still pride ourselves in the fact that we have No Officers, No Dues, No Bylaws. And, I am so happy to say...No Attitudes! This is what has made this group unique among all other cycle clubs. Richard Kurtz