Executive Report

by Chubby

Join My Circle

                How did I get here? What am I doing? What do I do next? You may be surprised to hear that these are questions that I ask myself on, at least, a weekly basis and they have nothing to do with my level of inebriation. That stopped some time ago. They aren’t questions I have any trouble answering, but I think the moment I stop asking myself these simple questions I will have become complacent and everything I believe in will stop moving forward. I have heard it said that it is lonely at the top, but whoever said that must not be an ABATE member. I am surrounded by people that have the same enduring passion that I have and I’m confident that my circle of friends is continuously growing larger. Although bikers fill a majority of my circle, there are many people I count on that have never enjoyed the freedom we all enjoy. Those people include teachers, coaches, employers, co-workers, and classmates and even a few politicians. Some ride, some don’t but all believe that hard work, honesty, integrity and respect will lead to success.

                At the beginning of February, we had our annual Officer’s Training weekend. Almost two hundred leaders of this organization attended two days and nights of informative meetings about every aspect of our organization. Your regional officers should be up to speed on not only the legislative agendas we have both in the state and federally, but also on how to run a successful meeting and events, proper accounting practices and what’s new in ABATE of WI products. Everyone in attendance was fully engaged and I would call the weekend a success. It would be a perfect time to attend a regional meeting and find out what we can look forward to in the coming year. The success of our organization is directly proportionate to the effort that we put into promoting it. At Officers Training I was happy to see a lot of people with new ideas ready to get out and promote our agenda. As is the norm for these kinds of events, the socializing after the meetings was just as informational as the meetings themselves. I talked with a lot of new people that were eager to make a difference and a lot of old friends that still strongly believed in our organization. A rundown of all things that make ABATE of WI a smooth running SMRO was given and I think everyone can appreciate how important every officer is to this organization. Awareness materials were handed out. Each region has limited supplies so contact your regional representative if you’d like to spread the awareness message with a yard sign, bumper stickers, coasters, or placemats. With riding season only two months away and winter swap meets in full swing are you prepared to promote your organization? If not, make time to attend a regional meeting in your area and find out how you can help.

                                As much as I’d love to write about the success of our annual Lobby Day at the Capitol there is no way our newsletter editor would allow me to hold the presses to report on an event that late in the month. At this point I can say that a lot of people have put in an extraordinary amount of effort putting together documents for our legislators that are both fair and accurate. We are sharing a lot of information with our legislators and asking very little. When you read next month’s newsletter you will see the results of our efforts. Thanks to all that helped put this lobby day together and all members that took the time off work to exercise your rights as bikers and citizens of this State.

                Although Gary Klinker writes a regular column in this newsletter as our Safe Rider Program Coordinator very few of us realize how important the program he directs is to all of us. I attended the Board of Directors meeting for our sister company Safe Rider Inc. last month and sat through some of their yearly training. I engaged with almost all the rider coaches over lunch and had some great conversation. Normally I am not too happy around people that are so dedicated to safety because that normally means they’re dedicated to taking some freedoms away from me. Not so with this crowd. All of our Safe Rider Inc. rider coaches are ABATE of WI members and their varying backgrounds and personalities make them a lot of fun to be around. You don’t have to attend their annual meeting to find out how cool they are though, you just have to sign up for an experienced rider course (BRC2) and you’ll find out for yourself. The experience rider course taught at Fort McCoy is the best way to shake bad habits and develop new skills even for the most experienced among us.

                I mentioned several times at Officer’s Training that my job is the easiest job I’ve had with ABATE of WI so far, and it’s because of the knowledgeable, passionate, hardworking people that I’ve included in my circle. Every rights organization across the country would be proud to have an organization that runs as well as ours and that’s no joke. My litmus test for leaders in our organization is one simple question. If you had to put time and effort into a project that is successful, but you get no compensation or credit, would you put in that time and effort again? Anybody passionate about what we do will answer yes. Even though everybody deserves a pat on the back in this organization, no one expects it. My circle of friends has passion, work ethic, and integrity. They are the movers and shakers, not the whiners and complainers. I’m neither the first leader to recognize this nor the first to ask; will you join my circle? Until next month…Ride Free.