Greetings Fellow supporters of
Motorcycle Rights!!
When you see this it will be August. I
want to Make Sure everyone knows of
the upcoming Memorial Services for
our Deborah Butitta. Here is the information as provide by our State
Communications Officer.
There will be a celebration to honor the
life of DEBORAH BUTITTA as follows:
DATE: August 6, 2022 - Saturday
TIME: 12:00PM - Noon
PLACE: Prescott Fair Grounds - 531
Fairgrounds Ave, Prescott, AZ 86305
Deborah was committed to serving and
protecting motorcyclists' rights at the
state, federal and international levels
during the last four decades. She was a
sustaining & life member of ABATE of
Arizona, 17-year ABATE Yavapai
Chapter Board Rep., and simultaneously
held many other chapter positions
throughout the years. Deborah maintained memberships in numerous other
state motorcycle rights organizations
too, like the MMA of AZ.
In 2001, she was selected as the first
designated lobbyist for the Arizona
Confederation of Motorcycle Clubs
(AZCMC). She also served on the
Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF)
Board of Directors for many years and was instrumental in the
formation of the MRF A&E (Awareness and
Education), a 501(c)(3) charitable non-profit
organization created to assist the MRF for
many years and was instrumental in the formation of the MRF A&E (Awareness and
Education), a 501(c)(3) charitable non-profit
organization created to assist the MRF in
providing resources to promote motorcycle
awareness and "share the road" programs,
along with all aspects of motorcycle safety education, including rider training..
Deb's accolades and awards are many,
including being inducted into the MRF Hall
of Fame in 2020 and the Sturgis Motorcycle
Museum Hall of Fame as 2021 Freedom
Fighter of the year. Deb is a past winner of
the MRF Presidents' Cup (2003), the MRF
Founder's Award (2017), and the MRF
Lifetime Achievement Award (2020).
Among her many other duties, Deb served
14 years as the MRF State Representative
for Arizona. For several years now, the
MRF has given the 'Deborah Butitta
Award' to its' highest performing State
Representative in her honor.
A true leader, Deborah had a profound influence on many of her fellow activists. Few
people have dedicated so much of their life
or contributed as much to motorcycling as
Deborah Butitta. Personally and professionally, her passing leaves a tremendous void
in our "family".
REST IN PEACE Freedom Fighter!
I know many of us will be riding to Prescott
to attend the services. I ask everyone Please,
be careful and vigilant as you travel.
Deborah was one of the safest riders I have
ever met and I do not want this celebration
to lead to another. I also know many are
planning to head out to Sturgis after attending this celebration. Again please be safe.
Deborah would not wish anyone to be
injured or suffer an accident. I also ask that
if you would like to do something in memory of Deborah please consider making a
donation to the Motorcycle Riders
Foundation Awareness & Education. This
was a special mission for Deborah. You
could not find a better way to honor her
memory.
We are also heading into a very critical time
for all of us. The election season is on us!!
The candidates have hit the ground running
and the primary is right around the corner.
This year is the election year for our state
legislators. There are many who are running for re-election and they are well known in
their districts but there are many more that
are trying to get elected in the other chamber or trying to unseat the current office
holder. This year we are also dealing with
the redrawing of districts and many districts
having new numbers etc.. Make sure you
know what your district is and who are the candidates running in your area.
When researching candidates pay attention
to their voting records and where they stand
on issues that will affect motorcyclists. If
you find a candidate that you feel is deserving of your vote and who supports the issues
that are important to us, please support them
any way you can. Then help spread the
word that this candidate is someone motorcyclists should get behind. Tell your friends
and fellow riders. This is how we can make
a difference. Also remember that if there is
an issue that comes up that is important to
you, CALL OR WRITE YOUR LEGISLATORS! They work for us and need to know
where you stand. If they do not hear from
the motorcycle community they will continue to be influenced by those who wish to
limit our freedoms! This is also very important on the national level. ABATE works
hard with the Motorcycle Riders Foundation
on many issues on the Federal level. Do not
forget to check where you Senate and
Congressional candidates stand on various
motorcycle safety and awareness issues.
Speaking of elections it is now time to start
preparing for your Chapter elections. I know
that it is easy to sit back and watch as others
fill position in your Chapter but I ask all
ABATE members to take and accounting of
themselves and their talents that could be a
real asset to your Chapter and to consider
stepping up and becoming an officer in your
Chapter. Talk to you current officers about
any position you may be interested in and
feel you can make a contribution to. Most
officer positions are not nearly as much
work as many members believe. Many of
our Chapter officers have been working in
various positions for many years and would
really like to turn the job over to someone
else but will keep stepping up because they
do not want to see the Chapter struggle
when a position is vacant.
The success of your Chapter depends on
volunteers. We are all in this together and
we all joined ABATE because motorcycle
rights and safety issues are important to us.
The old adage that “Many hands make easy
work” is true. So lend a helping hand and
make the work a little easier for everyone in your Chapter, consider being and officer
Once again I want to promote that in
September the Motorcycle Riders
Foundation (MRF) is once again putting on
their National Motorcyclist Conference
which is known as the “Meeting of the
Minds”. The convention will be held in Des
Moines, Iowa September 22nd through
September 25th, 2022. The location is the
Marriot Des Moines Downtown, 700 Grand
Avenue, Des Moines. If you are not yet a
member of the MRF, I strongly urge you to join.
As go about your daily business please
remember to support those businesses and
organizations that support ABATE and the
motorcycle community. Talk to the business
you support about becoming a Business
Member of ABATE. Note that these businesses do not have to be bike shops or dealers, anyone who believes in the freedoms of
the road and motorcycle awareness and
safety is a potential ABATE Business member.
Help spread the gospel of ABATE while you
are out riding and supporting other groups
and clubs. There is a club membership that
will extend benefits to all members of a club
no matter how many and this includes the
Accident insurance. Individuals can join if
the club does not. Always keep several
membership tri-folds with you and wear
your ABATE gear when attending other
groups events and let them know you are an
ABATE member. Very few folks will just
walk up and ask to join, they need to be
asked. ASK THEM!
Please remember that the Masterlink is your
newsletter too! We need pictures and articles to fill the pages of our paper, PLEASE
take some photos and write a short
story/description of the event and submit it
to the Masterlink! Everyone likes to see
their picture in a paper. Take lots of photos
wherever you go and submit them. We
always need additional material to fill the
pages and we would rather cover the happenings here in Arizona and give coverage
to our fellow riders and their groups for
functions and events they are having, so
don’t be shy and submit some photos and/or an article!
Until next month!
Jim ButsbackState PresidentABATE of Arizona
