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Oklahoma Wrecker Owners Association Dear Fellow Wrecker Owners: The election meeting is over. The good news is: we have
many new Officers and Directors. The
bad news is: you’re stuck with
me for one more year. And this
will be my last year as President.
We have many members that will do a great job as President also.
I am encouraged by the future of the OWOA with our membership
increasing as rapidly as it has this past few months (187). The Officers and Directors for 2000-2001 are:
I look forward to another good year for the wrecker owners of Oklahoma as we prepare for the next Legislative session. I do want to remind every member that this is an election year. I can’t stress how important it is to get to know your Legislator. All you need to do is contact your local county election board or your county clerk (in you local phone book), give them your address and request who your Senator and Representative are and if they have a phone or address for them. The Legislator will also be listed in the phone book. This is the time that all politicians are very receptive to meeting their constituents. This is a golden opportunity for you to get to know them before problems arise. These individuals are the link between Government and the voters. If you have any concerns, now is the time to contact these individuals and offer support and help for their campaign. Bob Morgan and Bruce Robertson, out lobbyists, emphasized this at our meeting. LEGISLATIVE GOALS At the meeting, there were suggestions made for our next Legislative Agenda. Now is when we need to be making plans for introducing Bills for next year. The deadline is around December 1st so we need to firm up our ideas and present them to our Legislators. The current suggestions are: Fuel Surcharge, Illegal Wreckers, and Insurance Dumping. If you have any preferences, please write, call or fax so we will know what priorities to attach to these issues. If you have any additional ideas, please make them known. We need help in wording the Bill (Law) to make sure it is effective. This is how things get done, this is why you need a good rapport with your Legislative Representative. Also, remember that our lobbyists will keep a watch out for Bills that may be introduced that might adversely affect our industry. This is always a possibility. I anticipate that the credit unions will again introduce a Bill for notification of lien holders (under the guise of owner notification) of stored vehicles. We must be prepared. HAZARDOUS MATERIAL Also at the meeting we had two presentations. One was from David Cranford of Harper Brush Works. Harper makes industrial grade brooms and also distributes haz-mat absorbent pads. You may contact David at (405) 741-0942. DONATIONS At the meeting, a motion was passed to collect voluntary
donations from the membership to forward to Trooper Evans’ family. He was one of two law enforcement officers
killed in Oklahoma City during a chase on I-40. Many members felt a need to help the family in this terrible situation
and the donations will be forwarded to the Trooper’s family by way of
the OHP Chief’s office. Anyone
wishing to contribute may send the donation to the OWOA (PO Box 25604,
OKC, OK 73125-0604) payable to Trooper Evans Memorial
Fund or the OWOA with a note attached that it is a donation. The funds will be forwarded at the end of October.
NEWSLETTER EDITOR I apologize that the last newsletter was late. I have once again changed editors and believe we will have a timelier newsletter. There may be a small period of adjustment, but I am confident we can provide a newsletter on time. We have also restructured our advertising spaces and I want to remind members that a business to business ad may be ran for $3.00. The ad is small but we mail out around 800 newsletters to wrecker owners and industry related companies. Contact the OWOA or fax ad copy to (405) 631-3460 with a call back number for pricing and which issue it will be published. OTC/MVD REQUESTS Gene Fitzpatrick of the DPS/MVID talked to the Oklahoma Tax Commission about the time involved for getting return information by mail. A few wrecker owners are having a difficult time getting a timely response for owner and lien holder information about stored vehicles from a PPI tow. Mr. Fitzpatrick wanted to remind us that we can use Tag Agents for information. But if you must mail a request, on the outside of the envelope write "RESEARCH" and that may help speed the request to the proper department. NEXT MEETING The next meeting will be held in Enid, Oklahoma on Tuesday, October 10th. The meetings are always on the second Tuesday of the month. The host is Tim Henigman of Tim’s Wrecker Service. The meeting will be at the Ramada Inn in a restaurant named Raymie’s. It is located at 3005 W. Owen K. Garriott, Enid, OK. Directions are 3 miles west of Highway 81 on 412. Enter the parking lot off Hoover St. The meal starts at 7:00 PM and the meeting at 8:00 PM. It will be a buffet and the cost is $6.95 per head plus tax and tip (we will have tip jar in the room). We will try to have the map on the OWOA web page again (www.Okwoa.org). If you want a faxed copy, send a request to (405) 631-3460 or email me from the web page. NEXT MEETING ENID,
OKLAHOMA RAYMIE’S,
3005 W. OWEN K GARRIOTT TUESDAY
,OCTOBER 10TH, MEAL 7:00 PM/MEETING 8:00 PM
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