2017 National Directors' Meeting

Directors from across Australia and New Zealand gathered in Wollongong for the annual Directors meeting and the impressive vests weighed heavily with metal and patch from past conquests and adventures of the road. These leaders who stand at the coal face of the greatest motorcycle club in the world were here to share their collective wisdom and bask in the aura of their power. 

And so the stage was set and Gaz Luxmoore, Harley-Davidson Customer Experience Manager Australia and New Zealand opened proceedings.  He advised Kim Williams is no longer with Harley Australia . Gaz runs events in conjunction with event management companies. He thanked the Regional Directors for their hard work and acknowledged those retiring Vic and WA and replacements would be announced soon. 

Harley Days is the new model and has replaced National rallies and will be open to the public to raise brand awareness and to grow H.O.G. He expressed some disappointment in the reduced support of Harley Days this year by Chapter members. H.O.G. membership is going up from $75 to $85 in 2018, the first rise in ten years. He spoke of the challenges facing Chapters in retaining older members and at the same time attracting new and younger members. Harley statistics show that there are around 27,000 members of H.O.G. in Australia and New Zealand but only 7,000 are members of a Chapter. 

He advised us that Harley-Davidson is rolling out a programme next year called Young Bloods which is a sub group within a chapter (a bit like LOH) structured to appeal to the younger Harley rider. His main message was that Chapters need to evolve to remain relevant and focus on the core value of “Ride and have Fun”.

Next we heard from the Directors who were asked to briefly speak about their Chapter and raise any issues they wished to have discussed by the group. It became apparent that the concept of speaking briefly was foreign to some Directors. Many hours later we broke for morning tea.

Refreshed we returned to be addressed by Nigel Keough; Managing Director of Harley-Davidson Australia and New Zealand. He advised us that although there was a general downturn in Global motorcycle sales Harley had grown their market share. In thanking the Directors for volunteering their time to run Chapters he also expressed these important values Acceptance, Friendship, Camaraderie, Diversity and Time. He said  2018 will be a big one for Harley Celebrating 115 years of the Motor Company and 35 years of H.O.G . Details will be finalised soon.

Issues discussed by the Directors included Chapter membership fees, State Rallies, Riding formation, Ride and have fun, unnecessary rules, unwritten rules, inclusivity, culture, and more.

Overall a good meeting but could be improved with an impartial facilitator to keep people on point, record outcomes and reduce waffle. If you want to know more have a chat with me some time.

Doova