3 Months and Counting

by Betty Roberge
It’s time to make your plans and buy your tickets for ABATE of WI’s Summer Hummer! Advance tickets can be purchased online by going to the ABATE of Wisconsin website and clicking Events towards the upper right hand corner of the page. Go to “list view” and scroll down until you get to the Summer Hummer event. Click on “Register” and you will be able to buy online using a debit or credit card. Want to buy using a check? NO problem. Download the form from the Hummer webpage by clicking on the Hummer poster when it first comes up and click on the downloadable form. Once purchased, your tickets will be mailed to you. Advance ticket sales are only available until June 6th. After then you will be paying the gate price of $40/member or $75/non-member. Either way…. your Hummer experience will be an exceptional one.

There have been many comments made about the diversity of our musical acts this year. You won’t want to miss out, so plan on sticking around the big top tent to listen and kick up a little dust on the dance floor. We have a little blues, a little ACDC music, and a little Allman Brothers music, all mixed in with some great dancing tunes.

We are currently taking names to assist in First Aid. If you are an EMT, Nurse, or have any medical experience at all, please contact Robert “Worm” Grasse so he can forward your information to our First Aid department head. We need several qualified people to spread shifts out over several days and keep our volunteers “fresh.”

Speaking of Department Heads below is a list of those that volunteered to head up various areas for the Hummer. Please contact them if you are interested in volunteering for a shift to help them out in getting the Hummer properly staffed for the weekend. Remember that if you work (2) 4-hour shifts you are eligible for a $35 reimbursement, which is the equivalent of your advance ticket cost.

Bar: Ken Nelson klnelson1954@gmail.com 715-296-5404
Bike Games: Scott Moran scotty2hotty6405@yahoo.com 715-699-9911
Bike Show: Gary Krueger 920-994-4638
First Aid: Christine Cartwright
Gate: Bill Roberge members@abatewis.org 608-769-5337
Grounds: Robert “Worm: Grasse robert.grasse59@gmail.com 920-912-1789
People Hauler: Richard Kellner kellnerrichierich@gmail.com 715-252-2964
Security: Danny Stoddard gimmpydogg@yahoo.com 920-217-3639
Taste of Summer: Dawn Stoddard dawn.stoddard63@yahoo.com 920-639-5037
Treasury: Laurie Thompson treas@abatewis.org 414-940-5883
Vendors: Lauri Shakal laurishakal@yahoo.com 715-306-0048, Betsy Jennings, or Kay Johnson

The company we normally rent our tent from happened to go out of business during the course of last year. This necessitated us finding a new rental company which resulted in a tent rental increase of a little over $1,000. Please read the article on page 21 regarding the permanent band shelter we are in the process of getting built. In that article it was suggested that you DROP YOUR CHANGE every night in a jar and bring it to the Hummer as a way of earning a little extra cash toward the building cost, which just like everything else, is going up. If you are a debit card type person and don’t often carry cash that generates change, consider adding a little extra to your membership renewal and earmark it for the pavilion fund. It’s amazing how some small efforts will add up if we all work together. It is best to build our own building rather than to rent a tent every Hummer at a $4,500 cost!

As stated in last month’s report the Summer Hummer design has been chosen. We are in the process of getting shirts set up on our On-Line Store. Check that out often if you want to order shirts. You can either have them mailed out to you or pick them up at the Hummer to save shipping.

Establishment Program. There is still an opportunity available for businesses to take advantage of. We are offering our Day Pass Establishment program again this year. ABATE friendly business are able to purchase (10) Hummer day passes for Saturday only at a cost of $150 – payable at the time they receive their packets. These businesses then have the option to sell the day passes at face value or $25 each and make themselves a profit of $100 for doing so. In the past, businesses have given them to customers, raffled them off at events or sold them for what they paid for them. Be sure to let your businesses know that the day pass entitles the attendee to stay at the Hummer all day Saturday and to camp overnight until Sunday, as ABATE of WI promotes being responsible. Contact Laurie Thompson or Betty Roberge if you have a business that is interested in participating.

Remember – let’s “SATURATE THE STATE” with posters and advertising to generate attendance and remember The greatest advertising we have lined up for the 2022 Hummer is YOU. Talk it up at each meeting. Bring friends and family – members or not.

Start deciding what “theme” your region will be using for the “Regional Campsite Theme Contest.” Let’s prove that 25% + of our own members are willing to support our biggest state fundraiser of the year!

Why do we want to? Because – Motorcycling Matters!

As always, forward any and all Hummer ideas to: robert.grasse59@gmail.com or news30letter@outlook.com.