Membership Director’s Report

by Dave “Twit” Linberg

Wow! A big pat on the back to the officers that took the time to show up. What a great turnout we had for Officer’s Training in February. There were a lot of new officers in the room soaking it all up and there was a lot thrown at them in the way of information. We had presentations and networking, learned the proper way of fundraising, heard about our legislative agenda, Safe Rider, Share The Road, how to gain new members and keep current ones, highway safety, products, and treasury do’s and don’ts. We had regional rep, individual district and social media breakouts, and of course, for the last time, the infamous green T-shirt was raffled off. The list goes on and on. There is no doubt in my mind that we are the best SMRO in the country because we put a lot of time, effort and dollars into training our officers so they are well equipped with ABATE knowledge and can take that back into their respective regions to share with our members. Friday night ended up with round-table discussions on a number of topics. Attending officers that were interested in a specific topic had the opportunity to hear it from the horse’s mouth, so to speak, and had the opportunity to ask questions and get things clarified by State Officers that could offer answers, suggestions and experience. If anyone has any doubt about why ABATE exists today, they should listen to Steve Panten and hear what’s being proposed and coming down the pike. If we don’t stay vigilant and work at protecting our rights, motorcyclists could literally be run over with technology being developed and legislation being proposed. If you are interested in owning the vehicle data that’s being collected by your automobiles, if you are concerned about truck platooning (developing technology allows over the road trucks, not connected, to be run in a row with only one operating driver in the lead truck), or if you are concerned over autonomous vehicles being able to “see” motorcycles, you should be a member of ABATE of WI. If you want to learn to ride or hone your own riding skills, if you want your children and grandchildren to learn about motorcycles at one of our Share The Road presentations, you should be a member of ABATE of WI. Your membership dollars help us fight and/or correct legislation that affects our safety on the road and supports our Safe Rider, Inc., Share The Road and Highway Safety programs.  

Hardtail’s presentation on Sunday morning was an eye opener regarding the mindset of the next generation and how to approach these younger riders to our organization and gain membership. He gave us a lot of food for thought. I challenge you to bring one new member into ABATE this year. Or better yet, let’s bring BACK one expired member. These folks were members once. What happened? I give every regional representative a list of expired members at least once a year. Get on the phone, contact your brothers and sisters and figure out a way to mentor them back into the fold. Let’s keep our organization strong and effective. We are a volunteer organization doing a lot of good for bikers and their right to ride free. We are fueled by membership support and membership dollars. That’s what keeps us going and that’s what keeps us strong.

And speaking of a volunteer organization with members supporting us every step of the way – that infamous green T-shirt I wrote about earlier? It generated $2,293.00 at the Saturday night auction during Officer’s Training last month. That same green T-shirt that has been auctioned off every year and donated back again, has brought in a grand total of $53,561.57. That’s not chump change, folks! The generosity of our officer’s and members attending our training weekends over the years is outstanding! Those dollars have helped to offset the expenses of training our officers. Wow!