President's Report

Well it is that time of the month again. I have procrastinated as long as possible and the warnings from our Editor Eric are coming fast and furious. Every month we have a deadline of the 15th to get all our articles into the Masterlink so he can edit and layout the format etc. and still get it out in a timely manner.

Well as I sit writing this it is the Ides of March. Many of you know the history of this date going back to the Roman Senate. It was a day of National celebration for the Romans which was dedicated to the Roman God of War and the Senators used this celebration to lure Julius Caesar so they could assassinate him by stabbing him over 20 times. I guess we should be glad our elected officials behave at least a little better.

So far this year has been a very busy one at the state Capitol. I want to thank our legislative team of Mike and William for all the amazing work they have put into following those items important to motorcyclists. I know Mike will detail all that they have been working on and what is already in the planning and organizing stages for next session so I will leave that to him.

I want to thank everyone who came out to Motorcycle Day at the Dome on March 4th. This year was a little different as we held it on a Saturday and it was more of a rally than a lobby day. With the election of a new Governor and her new administration we could not get a assigned date during the week until at least the end of May. They also cut back on allowing events on the lawn in front of the Capitol building. Because of these changes we jumped on the first available date and held our rally on a Saturday. We had hoped that because it was not a work day for most folks that we would have a larger turn out. For the first time doing it this way I thought it went off pretty well. I want to make sure that I thank the ACMC and especially Billy for bringing their sound system and letting us use it. We learned a lot this year and we look forward to improvements for future events.

This past month I have had the pleasure of several of our relatives being in town escaping from the end of winter back in the Midwest. It is an annual thing; they finally had enough of winter by around March 1st and come down to visit and thaw out. Their annual visit reminds me how very lucky we are to live here in Arizona where we have miles of wide open spaces and roadways. We can ride all year at least in most of the state. We can ride from desert to mountains, city to rural areas, all in a few hours. Living in Tucson, in the winter we go from the desert up to Mount Lemmon and play in the snow. There are miles of off road trails for those who wish to ride in the dirt and plenty of historical routes like route 66 for those who want to do that. Every year at TBFS there are several groups who run up to the Grand Canyon or to many of the other locations around the northern part of Arizona.

We are blessed that we ride in relative freedom here in Arizona, but that freedom can disappear in a flash if we do not keep diligently watching and fighting for our right to ride free. In order to keep up the good fight we need to work on increasing our numbers and talking to our fellow motorcyclists about getting involved. I challenge all the members around the state to each recruit one member to join our ranks. If everyone in ABATE of Arizona signed up one new member a year our numbers would be staggering in no time and the powers that look to infringe on our right to ride free would cower when we speak.

Let us all, ABATE of Arizona members, try to continue this positive momentum and do all we can to help promote Motorcycle Rights and Awareness and the benefits of membership in ABATE of Arizona. There are many events coming up in the next couple of months where we can spread the “gospel” of our great organization. Think about whom you know or who you may encounter while going about your daily business or when you are out riding that would be an asset to our organization. ASK THEM to join! Many people say when asked why they are not members, that they were never asked. When you are attending Bike Nights and other organization’s events and runs, PLEASE wear your ABATE shirts and paraphernalia. Let them know that you are an ABATE member and that we are supporting their event. We cannot expect other groups to support our events if they do not realize that we are supporting their event because we are not advertizing who we are. Make sure that every time you go to any of these functions that you have several ABATE membership flyers with you so if someone expresses interest in what we do you can leave them with the Information.

In closing I just want to encourage everyone to keep up the good fight! Our efforts really do pay off and our voices do get heard. It is a long process so do not get discouraged if a bill does not pass or if it feels like you are not getting through, YOU ARE! Keep on writing those emails and making those phone calls. It is not only your right but I feel it is our obligation to let our elected officials know how we feel and that we are paying attention to what they are doing. It is important that you know who your elected officials are both here in Arizona and also in Washington D.C. And it is also important that because of your efforts and calls etc. that they learn who you are!

Jim Butsback
State President
ABATE of Arizona