Membership Director

by Bill Roberge

I recently attended the 2021 S.T.E.A.M. Conference. If you are new to this game, S.T.E.A.M. means a Seminar To Educate And Motivate and that’s exactly what it did. I have been to many ABATE and MRF conferences and based on that experience, I can say that this one was a good one. Time well spent. I want to thank all of the people that made this conference a success this year. The attendees were very generous with both their money and their knowledge of motorcycle issues. One of the purposes of this event is to raise money for the MRF and secure our way of life. Knowledge is power.

This year’s event started on Friday with registration, hospitality (lots of hospitality) products and raffles. Then followed with information from Chubby and Jiggs about things going on in the S.T.E.A.M. states and issues that will affect our way of life in the future. Later that evening, I attended the MRF fundraiser. Saturday morning started with opening ceremonies. Thank you, VFW Post 8320 for posting the colors. As a veteran that’s always a special moment for me. We were welcomed by our leader, John Reblin, then Hardtail brought us up to date about what’s going on in Washington, D.C. Mark Buchner talked about why we fight for the things we believe in. We also received information about putting the right person to the task. This is a volunteer organization, but we still need to be careful about who we select for committees and other tasks that need to be done. After lunch we had the option of attending several breakout sessions. The first one I attended was how to grassroots lobby effectively. That was an easy choice for me because that’s who we are, that’s what we do. I don’t think we can ever have too much knowledge about that subject. The next breakout I attended was bridging the gap and looking at the relationship between clubs and SMROs. Saturday evening was the banquet dinner followed by the live auction. All in all, it was a great conference. We even signed up and processed a few new members on site with the new membership program we have. Thanks again to all those that attended and put it together.

Just a reminder that ABATE of WI has changed our main phone number to (262) 402-0593 and our mailing address for ABATE of Wisconsin, Inc. is now PO Box 38, Brookfield, WI 53008. The old phone number will be directed to our new number, and any mail going to Black River Falls will be forwarded to the new address. This will continue to happen for the next several months while we transition to updated forms that contain the new information.

Don’t forget to bring in one new member. Remember to “Get Yours”, I got mine!

Ride Safe, Ride Free, Ride with ABATE.

Bill