Greetings to all my Brothers & Sisters
of ABATE of Arizona. May is upon us
as this issue comes out. Spring has
finally come to the entire state of
Arizona. Those of us in the desert areas
have had good weather but the high
country and mountain areas of our great
state are now fully into riding weather.
As always the calendar is full of events
and we all look forward to getting out
and seeing friends and associates
around the state that we may not have
seen since last fall.
May is also Motorcycle Awareness
Month, throughout this great country of
ours organizations and municipalities
are issuing proclamations and holding
events to increase awareness of motorcycles on our nation’s roads and highways. Please help spread the word and
let folks know that it is everyone’s
responsibility to be careful and to
“Look Twice-Save a Life”. If you attend
any of these events please take photos
and report back to us what is being done around our state to bring attention to this cause.
May is also the month that we celebrate
our Moms! Mothers Day is May 14th. I
would like to express ABATE’s best wishes
to all of the Mothers out there in our ranks.
I hope all of our Mothers have a very special Mother’s Day and for those who are no
longer with us, we will cherish those memories of our Mother’s Love.
The month of May is also very significant
because it is also the month that we honor
our Veterans! It is the month we observe
Memorial Day! This year Memorial is May
29th. Memorial Day was originally called
Decoration Day, a day of remembrance for
those who have died in service to our great
Nation. There are many stories of how this
day had its beginnings but it all culminated
when General Logan gave his official
proclamation in 1868. Many of our members have served our country and many of
us have friends, relatives etc. who have
served or are still serving. Without these
brave men & women we would not be able
to enjoy all the freedoms we enjoy today. I
thank all of our service members for the
dedication and sacrifices they gave. So
honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice
for us and DO NOT EVER FORGET!!
The month of May is also the month that
the MRF hosts Bikers inside the Beltway.
This is a day when motorcycle rights
activists from around the country gather in
Washington DC to meet with our
Congressmen and Senators to discuss
issues important to all of us who ride. Our
Lobbyist Mike Infanzon will be attending.
Unfortunately due to family issues I am not able to attend.
As many of you have heard, this year’s Too
Broke for Sturgis Fund Raiser was on the very edge of being cancelled due to not
having a venue. We were contacted by a
gentleman who is the owner of Winslow
Rodeo Grounds and a motorcyclist who has
attended Too Broke in the past. He had
heard of our predicament and said that he
has a arena and approximately 20 acres and
would like to work with us. He has plenty
of area for dry camping and will build a
stage etc, for our use.
I contacted the State Vice-President Paula
who lives in Winslow and asked her to contact him and look over the property. She set
up a meeting with him and went out and
toured the grounds and took photos. The
Mayor of Winslow who also had heard
about the meeting also attended and spoke
with Paula about the City’s interest in the event.
After reviewing the information that Paula
we decided that we needed to have a group
go up and get a better look at the area. On
March 22, 23 we set a meeting with Lonnie
Gose and his wife Sharon along with both
the Mayor of Winslow, Roberta Cano and
the City Manager David Coolidge.
We had a very informative and productive
meeting which included a tour of the property as well as a tour of the entire town and
area. The Mayor informed us that the City
is very interested in hosting our event and
will work with our organization to make it
happen. Do to the late date and all that will
be involved in holding this event at a new
location we have decide to push the date
back to where it was traditional held in
July. This year’s event will be July 26 -30,
with the 26 as a set up day and gate to open
Thursday at noon and the event to close
Sunday.
As this is a new venue and location there are several advantages and also some disadvantages. Nothing is perfect. It looks like we will be able to sell beer and liquor and make a profit from that which we never were able to do in the past. There are no cabins but there are many hotel/motels in the Winslow area for those who do not camp. There are not trees on that property so we are looking into large tents to provide a shaded area.
It is a great area for riding. The Rodeo
grounds are less than 2 miles from the
“Standing on the Corner” site. The city is
located right on Old Route 66. The Historic
Meteor Crater is about 27 miles to the west.
The Painted Dessert is about 61 Miles to
the east as is the Petrified Forest. The
famous Wigwam Motel is 33 miles to the
east in Holbrook, AZ. For those who look
for a longer ride the Grand Canyon Visitors
center is about 140 miles away.
The weather in Winslow for July averages
highs in the low 90’s and lows in the low to mid 60’s. The area only averages 3 rainy days for the entire month of July. We are working with the Winslow Visitor Center and we will be providing more information in the future.
Our next step is to get to work! We need
everybody to step up and help make this
year’s event work! We will need volunteers
to help work the event and set-up. We need
volunteers for every job! I would like to see
every Chapter represented on the committee and volunteer list. If you want to help, contact me directly
Jim ButsbackState PresidentABATE of Arizona
