President's Report

Greetings Brothers and Sisters of ABATE of Arizona. First I would like to say how honored I am that you have elected me, once again to represent you as President of ABATE of Arizona. I do not take this charge lightly. I promise to work hard to continue to keep ABATE the driving force in the motorcycle community of Arizona.

I would also like to take this time to congratulate Moon Shine and all the state officers who have worked so hard the past two years. They have had to deal with many issues and the Covid outbreak which caused the cancellation of many events including Too Broke for Sturgis in 2020 and a last minute approval to hold Too Broke 2021 with only a few weeks to pull it all together. Thanks guys you have done a Great Job!!!

We are an all volunteer organization and as any such group we depend on our members to step up and fill officer positions and various chairman jobs etc. Without all the dedicate individuals who donate their time and talents, the great work we accomplish could not be done. So thank you to every member who has stepped up to fill an officer position in their chapter or who has volunteered to work a membership table at an event or made phone calls and sent emails etc. Without you we would cease to exist.

Many of you know me from my previous terms as State President. For those who are new to our organization or might not be familiar with me let me give you my background. I am originally from Chicago. I grew up on the northwest side of the city about 4 miles west of Wrigley Field. I made the move to Tucson in 1996 with my family. I live with my wife and on the northwest side of Tucson. I own a small pool and spa service company in Tucson. I started riding motorbikes we built from bicycles with Briggs & Stratton lawn mower engines mounted on them when I was in grammar school. I eventually moved up to a ’71 Honda CB350 and that was the start of my love of motorcycling. I presently have two bikes that I ride, a 93 Harley Heritage Softail Classic and a 97 Electra-Glide Ultra-Classic.

I joined ABATE after picking up a Masterlink and reading an article on why ALL riders should join a SMRO. A group of us were out and happened upon a membership drive that the Tucson chapter was having and several of us signed up. I became active with the chapter, became Sgt-at-Arms and eventually was elected Coordinator when my predecessor Ron Kool moved on. I served as Chapter Coordinator for the several years. I was elected State President and served from 2016 through 2019. I need to step away as I was dealing with my ailing mother back in Chicago and several other family issues and I was also recovering from open heart surgery and was just not able to handle all that was required. I am a life member of ABATE of Arizona and I am also a member of MMA, MMAA, AMA and the MRF. I am also a member of several other ABATE’S such as Abate of Alaska, Abate of Northern Idaho and Abate of Florida.

I would like to thank the members from around the state that encouraged me to take on this position once again. Without your input I probably would not have taken the plunge. It is a little bit of a challenge for me to fulfill the duties of the state President while living in Tucson. It is a 4 hour round trip to make it up to Phoenix for meetings etc.. I am planning on trying to hold most meetings via video conferences which will make it easier on many of our officers who live across the state and have longer commutes than I do. We will meet in person approximately 3or 4 times and when the need arises. It should make it much easier for members from all over the state to participate in state meetings.

The ABATE Officers training had to be postponed due to the Covid surge that broke out after the Holidays. It will be rescheduled when it is possible to meet again. I want to invite all members to attend this training. If you are not an officer of your chapter but would like to learn more about the different positions and what they entail this is the perfect opportunity to do that. It is also a good idea for every chapter to have more than one person familiar with the duties of the various officers. We are all volunteers and we all have families and other responsibilities that take our time and attention. By having someone familiar with the duties, you can have someone to fill in if other responsibilities take an officer away for a time. I look forward to seeing you there.

Jim Butsback
State President
ABATE of Arizona