Greetings to all my fellow Freedom Fighters!
As I sit to write this report, I just recently returned this week
from Winslow Arizona and our annual fund raiser event,
“TOO BROKE FOR STURGIS”! As most of you should be
aware, this year’s event came real close to not happening at all.
Mormon Lake Lodge and Campground was sold this past
year. The new owners did not respond in any way to our
multiple requests to get a contract and lock in dates for our
event for this year. Because of this we were forced to try and
find another location that could provide what we need to
hold this event. Luckily we were put in touch with the new
owners of the Winslow Rodeo Grounds. They had recently
acquired the facility and had plans to turn it into an event
center. After touring the area and meeting the owners and
representatives from the city of Winslow, we decide to go
ahead with holding our event in Winslow Arizona.
Due to the late date we had to work with we were forced to
not only change the location but also the event dates. This
was a major undertaking for all who volunteered to help
organize it. There were many advantages with this new
location. First of all we have much more room for camping,
almost double the acreage. The arena is much larger and the
location is less than 2 miles from downtown Winslow, and
the “Standing on the Corner” plaza.
I want to take the time to thank absolutely everyone who
was in any way involved in planning, volunteering or in any
way working to make this year’s “TOO BROKE” happen. It
was a major effort and I am in awe of all of you who worked
so hard to pull it off. I also wish to thank our hosts, Lonny
and Sharon Gose, who are the owners of the Winslow Rodeo
Grounds. They have only owned the property since last fall
and did an amazing job completing all the improvements
that needed to be done for our event. I also want to thank
Mayor Cano and her staff for all they did to make this event
happen. The support of the City of Winslow and the various
groups that helped us was second to none.
To all the sponsors and
vendors who came out and
took a chance on an outdoor
event in a new location and a
new date, THANK YOU for all
your support. I hope to see all
of you back again in 2024!
We will work hard to make next year’s event bigger and better.
As always happens when putting on an event such as this there
were several problems and issues we had to overcome. Some
were small and easily handled but some were larger and took
special effort by the staff. Thanks to all who helped put out those
fires and kept the ball rolling in the right direction.
There were a few disappointments with this year’s event. I was
saddened by the lack of attendance by the membership of ABATE
of Arizona. As I walked the grounds and talked to many of the
attendees, I was surprised that most of the people there were not
members of ABATE. We were fortunate to sign up many of these
folks. “Too Broke for Sturgis” is the one statewide fund raising
event put on by our organization. We hear from the membership
that they want us to continue to work hard at the State Capitol
and with local governments to protect our rights and safety. We
can only do this by raising enough funds to support those efforts.
We need our members to come out and support our efforts to
raise the necessary funds to do our work. If I had to make a guess I
would say we had less the 15% of our membership in attendance.
I ask ALL ABATE members; please make an effort to come out for
next year’s ‘Too Broke for Sturgis’. Mark your calendars and start
putting a few dollars aside so you can attend. If you are not a
camper, there are many hotels and motels in the area. If you
cannot make the entire weekend, please at least come for one
day and show support for our organization.
Next year’s event will be held on June 20th through 23rd. We also need our members to step up and work this event to make it a
success. If are interested in helping please make sure to contact the committee when they are recruiting volunteers. Many hands
make light work.
We had a great turn out for the T-shirt contest, and for the people games. The bike games were also well attended and a lot of fun
and laughs. Plan on coming and joining in the various events next year. The committee strives to put on an event that is a real value
for the cost of admission. For your admission fee you get three nights of camping along with three nights of live music. You also get
to participate in the games and bike show etc. There is also the vendor village where you can sample different foods and shop. I do
not know of any place you can get all that for less than $15 a night.
Please plan on joining us at next year’s ‘Too Broke for Sturgis’.
Ok, enough of that now on to other business. It is once again that time of year where we need to start planning for our future. It is
time to open nominations for officers for the upcoming terms. On the State level, anyone interested in running for a state office
should submit nominations to the MasterLink Editor by September 15th so they can be published in the October issue. Please include
a campaign article/speech including your reasons you are running and a photo if possible. Please remember that all State officer positions are for a two-year term.
On the Chapter level all officer positions are one year term. Chapters should be accepting nominations at this time and elections
should be conducted by the November meeting at the latest. After Chapter elections are finalized the Chapter Secretary shall provide
the State Secretary with an updated officers list and contact information for all the officers. I want to thank all officers who step up to
fill these positions. Without your dedication our organization would not be able to survive.
Jim ButsbackState PresidentABATE of Arizona
