The Answer My Friend is Blowing in the Wind

Happy February and hopefully we will get together to talk at Officers Training. I find conferences like this both entertaining and educational. The exchange of ideas is really interesting when you take a few minutes to see a different way of looking at problems. That’s the tactician in me coming out. I like a job with an end goal already set. I need help looking long term down the road to seeing where I want to go. For that, I reach out to trusted people that can help with the long-term plan of the organization. I can take it from there and put necessary steps in order for achieving those goals.

Hopefully, the turning point is here, or at least a light at the end of the tunnel, with regard to Covid and being able to enjoy the company of people, without those that are at higher risk having to make decisions about attending meetings and events or staying home and getting information from another source like the newsletter, or from those regions that make use of technology to share their meeting with others. We have to remember that during this all, though some of us have lower risk factors, there is a danger to others of contracting or sharing this flu. I would hope that our membership will accept a person attending a meeting or event wearing a mask or taking other precautions, with open arms. We are all brothers and sisters here, with the same fight for motorcyclist rights and freedoms. That said, ABATE of Wisconsin is not going to put out or entertain a position on the mask mandate.

March will be bringing challenges with Biker Day at the Capitol. Our plan right now is to have it as we normally do, with busloads of members joining together to discuss our lobby points and asking for help to move our issues forward. As of this writing the Capitol is closed to the public due to the Covid issue. Steve Panten is working with legislators and others in Madison to make sure we are going to be able to meet as planned. It does appear that there is discussion going on legislatively to open the capitol for business. Changes with the status of the virus, however, could make our day impossible to hold in person, so we are already preparing to meet on a social media platform like Zoom if we have to, or of possibly rescheduling altogether.

The S.T.E.A.M. Conference, A Seminar to Educate and Motivate, also happens in March on the 26-27 in Brookfield, Wisconsin. Hopefully, you will be there to help and learn at this important midwestern conference. ABATE of Wisconsin is the host state and Jen Dewitz has been working tirelessly to make it one of the best S.T.E.A.M. Conferences and motorcycle events to attend this year. The bar is set pretty high. This is the 31^st midwestern S.T.E.A.M. Conference, bringing with it excellent information for those that attend, along with some fun and new or renewed friendships. Check the website or the newsletter for more information.

We have a new president seated and along with that we have a changed congress and legislature. Along with these changes, I am sure there will be changes in the direction of how things will be done in Washington and how we will need to proceed. New goals from the Executive Branch and new people responsible to achieve those goals are in place. As always, we are looking at information we have discovered or heard about from the MRF regarding what is being discussed. Of course, we will participate in issues that will affect our motorcyclist lifestyle along with other State Motorcycle Rights groups and the MRF. We have, in the past, worked both sides of the aisle effectively both in the state and federally, to accomplish our goals.

But we are also in a closely divided state and country. As anyone can see or read, any position can and will be argued by both sides. Sometimes those arguments become more than an exchange of ideas and turn into personal attacks. We need to remember whether when talking with a politician or with our own members, we need to keep the conversation respectful. We need to have talking points ready to combat any arguments and keep the idea of left versus right out of the conversation. To do that, we all should keep our personal political views to ourselves. We may not agree with a position on something personally, but if the politician will help us with profiling or aid us in moving our autonomous vehicle position forward, he or she is a friend of ours. We all need to remember that we are in this to achieve a common goal – to protect our freedoms on our motorcycles.

Our office manager, Kelley, decided it was time to step down from her position in the office to allow a little more free time for herself. I wish her the best of luck in the future. I have had many conversations with her at Officers Training and at the office and feel she has always had our best interest at heart. Kelley will remain with us for a short time while we fill that role in Black River Falls. Some of her duties are being done by Betty Roberge and Doris Weber, but we feel we can find someone that will be able to help us somewhat quickly. If interested, contact Bill Kingsley at business@abatewis.org with your resume.

John