Lonnie and I met through mutual friends in February 1993. After about three weeks and a very persistent Lonnie, I agreed to go out to dinner. That is all it took…we were inseparable. We were married on July 16, 1994. He brought three "grown" children and one grandson into the marriage…I brought a 7 year old cat! We now have seven grandchildren ranging in age 4 to 17-and one cat, age 7.
I was familiar with GWRRA prior to meeting and marrying Lonnie. My brother, Clark Hill and father, Maxie Hill are lifetime members. I enjoyed riding with them throughout the years. Lonnie had a Harley Davidson which he sold when his youngest was a toddler in the early eighties.
When my family would talk about motorcycle trips, I was secretly envious or jealous-not sure which! They would ask about us getting a motorcycle, Lonnie would reply "…been there, done that." It was OK-we were too busy for a motorcycle. We were very involved in fishing offshore tournaments and enjoyed snow skiing. Besides, you could not pull a boat with a motorcycle! Several years later, we discovered that you can put 2 fishing rods in an Escapade trailer!
In July 2004, Clark was coming to Alvin for a visit and asked if we could store two motorcycles in our garage until he retired from the US Navy in November. No problem, he is family! Much to my surprise, Lonnie started riding one of the motorcycles-"just to keep it running." In November 2004, we purchased a 2005 Honda Goldwing - Candy Black Cherry! I could hardly contain myself!! We immediately joined GWRRA.
Although it was winter, we rode almost every weekend. Trips to Burton on a Friday night (30 something degrees)! I was enjoying every minute. Our first introduction to GWRRA Texas District Rally (Wichita Falls) was in May 2005. At the time, we were not active in a chapter; however, Lonnie discovered accessories! We rode mostly with my family or friends or just us. We went to Honda Hoot in June 2005, Kerrville in May 2006 and Wingding in Nashville in July 2006. After attending the Texas District Rally in Kerrville, we started to attend various chapter meetings in the area. We finally landed in Chapter Z. We enjoyed the people we met and it seemed to be a good fit. Of course, this is a family affair-my brother and father also participate in Chapter Z. We enjoy riding with Chapter Z and have met some great people. We now have 103,899 miles on our 2005 GW.
Lonnie and I served as Treasurer in 2008 and became Assistant Chapter Directors in 2009. After a secret ballot, we were asked to represent Chapter Z as 2010 Couple of the Year. It was a surprise and is an honor.
Lonnie & Deanna Hebert
2010 Couple of the Year
GWRRA - TX District - Chapter Z
