What’s the Buzz?

by Dave ‘Twit’ Linberg

There’s sure a lot going on in ABATE of Wisconsin these next few months. That’s the buzz…. let’s look at what’s happening. The first thing to mention is our Membership Sale that I’m pleased to announce will be going on through the end of December. If you haven’t heard, there is a membership dues increase starting on January 1^st. At that time dues will increase by $10 per member. There are also increases in the Lifetime Membership Packages so I’m having a sale on those too, but only through the end of December. Beginning in January you will also have the option of purchasing multi-year memberships. You actually could have done this already by renewing for more than one year at a time, but now it’s going to be more formal with an option to choose on the membership form.

I am always talking about membership retention. Once our fellow bikers become members, we need to keep them interested, active and aware of potential changes coming down the road. Every month, however, I need to “expire” members out of our computer system because they have failed to renew. This really makes me burn, so every few months I will print an expired membership list for regional reps to use as a guide for getting some of these people back. They were members once, right? So, what happened? Let’s find out. There are several regions that I know of that are actively trying to get their regions fired up again. They have taken the time and sent out letters to past/expired regional members to try to get them to come back, or at least to have a candid discussion with them about what went wrong. Anytime your region wants to use this form of communication as a tool to help regain members, give Kelley at the office a call. She can print out a list of labels for you to use if you do a mass mailing.

Another approach to having better attendance at your meeting is to mail out postcards about a week before your meeting date. I know that social media is a wonderful thing, but a lot of our members do not use Facebook or have an internet connection and you can’t put a mass media post that comes through on your phone or computer on your refrigerator that you see every time you get a glass of milk. We have to remember that we need to use ALL of our tools in our toolbox and use different methods of reaching out in order to “Reach” our members.

Next on the agenda is Biker Day at the Capitol, or Lobby Day, as I like to call it. Don’t forget to check out the bus schedule and take yourself down to Madison on January 23, 2020 and meet face to face with our legislators. If haven’t already done so, take this is the time to introduce yourself to your Legislators, explain who you are and what ABATE is about. We certainly have some “thanking” to do for their support in clarifying the definition of a motorcycle in Wisconsin. Hopefully, Governor Evers will have signed that definition into law by the time you read this. Thanks members, for doing your part and getting your voices heard in Madison.

After Lobby Day is February and that brings us to Officer’s Training, on February 7, 8, and 9^th at the Hotel Mead in Wisconsin Rapids. This is always a good weekend where the new kids can learn from the old bikers. ABATE of Wisconsin is a well-oiled machine and we have many policies, procedures, by-laws and experiences to fall back on. If you are new to the organization or a little unsure of how to go about getting things done in your region, this weekend is for you. It’s also a good time to introduce yourself to other members throughout the state. You’d be surprised at how many people have the same questions you do but were afraid to ask. Officer’s Training will answer those questions. Some of us become very good, lifelong friends because of conferences like these.

Well, that’s about it from me for the year. Hope Santa is good to you. Me? I expect to get some coal. Sometimes I’m a little naughty. Ho! Ho! Ho!

Twit