March 2021 Thirtieth Anniversary

by Gary Klinker

In all the excitement of changing classrooms, getting schedules out and re-writing the registration system, it had not occurred to me that we should be celebrating this year. One night while trying to sleep it hit me that this is the 30th Anniversary of Safe Rider. It is hard to believe that in 1991, when I was Executive Director, Tom Lane brought a proposal to the Board to take over the motorcycle training in the western Wisconsin area.

Through that time, we have had classes in Sparta, La Crosse, Tomah, New Lisbon, Volk Field in Camp Douglas, and now at Ft. McCoy. We have also had a group of dedicated, hard working instructors who all helped bring us to this point. We have seen several changes in the curriculum and how students are taught. Through it all, we have developed a good working relationship with the Wisconsin DOT and the Motorcycle Safety Program. We have grown from two instructors and a limited schedule to now having eight Rider Coaches and a schedule of 29 classes.

I really have no idea of the exact number of students we have trained over the years but using an average annual number the total is between 5-6,000. We all owe a debt of thanks to Tom for his foresight and hard work to get ABATE into the business of training riders and saving lives. I want to thank ABATE of Wisconsin and all of those who have taken our classes, for the support over the years.

By the time you read this we will have had the DOT Spring Kick-off and the Safe Rider BOD meeting and in-service training. We should be well on the way to another successful year. Registrations are coming in on a steady basis. Sign up early to get your choice of class. Hopefully, we will have some kind of anniversary celebrations along the way. We have a new Safe Rider Brochure that has been updated and freshened up. We will be distributing these to dealers around the area. We will also be attending S.T.E.A.M. in Brookfield with our information. Get registered for this important conference and look for us there.

Ride Safe,
Gary