ABATE of Oklahoma

Hello Friends! I hope this finds all of you doing well and enjoying the cooler weather as we head into Fall. Your State Motorcyclist Rights Organization is keeping active on your behalf, and the Autumn season signifies to us that it's time to start formulating strategy for the 2010 Oklahoma Legislative Session. It's important that we hear from the Riding Community on Motorcycling-related issues they'd like ABATE to bring before the State Legislature, especially as we approach the annual ABATE Legislative Breakfast in February. The key elements we'll address for 2010 include the State Rider Education, Safety and Awareness Program and our "Red Light" Bills, which have been carried over to next year for consideration. ABATE and Confederation Of Club members are busily circulating petitions in support of allocating three dollars to fund Rider Safety and Awareness, so I hope all of you registered motorcycle owners out there have signed one. Getting this bill passed will directly contribute to reducing motorcyclist deaths and injuries in our state. I read in mid-August that Billy Stroud of Cashion was killed on his bike by a drunk driver in North Texas. His Marine son was just killed in Afghanistan, was buried with full Military honors, and a week later Billy was run down from behind by somebody who had two prior DWI convictions. I was glad to hear the perpetrator was charged with murder, as something must be done to stop this needless carnage! Incidents like this certainly reinforce the need to put more teeth in Oklahoma's "Jaggers' Law" penalizing negligent drivers who hurt or kill others. ABATE is currently interfacing with both the State Highway Safety Office and Department of Public Safety on getting TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS of allocated money to where it's needed-namely to get the Motoring Public to watch out for Motorcyclists and Share the Road! At this time, the State doesn't want to be bothered with putting Pro-Motorcyclist announcements on its electronic billboards, and that has to change! Paul Brinker, ABATE's State Safety Officer, has volunteered to continue in that capacity for next year, so he'll be very involved in these issues. Paul's been at the forefront of this fight for a long time, being a qualified Senior Rider Education Instructor.

ABATE has so much going on these days that the State Board voted to hold meetings every month instead of skipping in August and December, like we used to do. We're proud that all twelve of our active Chapters are committed to supporting ABATE's Charter Goals, and that they've been holding the Torch of Freedom high in our state. Every Chapter has been hosting events designed to improve the positive image of Motorcycling, and a bunch of new members have been signed up, to the extent that ABATE has its largest membership roster in years! I also want to thank groups like the Naysayers MC, one of ABATE's oldest friends, for renewing their Sustaining Memberships. After you read this, be sure to thoroughly check out all of the ABATE of Oklahoma Biker Journal, our redesigned newspaper. Barbara, our new editor, has been doing a terrific job. We're still in the process of changing over our State Website management and format at www.abateofoklahoma.org, so I apologize for the information being outdated. That's going to change in a hurry, but you can still download and print a Membership Application from the Newsletter files that exist there! I'm proud to announce that Tulsa's Carol King has been appointed to serve as the Oklahoma Representative to the Motorcycle Riders Foundation. She'll be ably assisted by AJ "Jester" White of Woodward. Both of these fine people are very enthusiastic riders, and firmly committed to furthering the cause of Biker Freedom in our state. Jester has also volunteered to moderate a Yahoo Group Site for all ABATE members. It'll serve as an excellent vehicle where members of all the Chapters can exchange information, air their views, and share opinions. Be sure to sign up for it by requesting an invitation from Jester-his e-mail address is listed in the NW#69 Chapter section of the Contacts List in the ABATE Biker Journal.

Autumn in 2009 also signifies that we're approaching our ABATE State Officer Elections. At present, we have Garry "2R" Canaday of Three Sands Chapter nominated for State Coordinator; Brook "X-Man" Bullock, also of Three Sands, running for re-election as Secretary; John Kirchen of Central OK District stepping up to run for State Treasurer; and "Shooter" Kelley of ABATE's NW #69 Chapter campaigning for State Sgt-at-Arms. All these folks are eminently qualified to ably serve in these key positions, and I expect other dedicated Freedom Fighters will step forward to run as well. However the elections turn out, I'm confident we'll have excellent leadership in place as we usher in ABATE of Oklahoma's Twentieth Anniversary at the 2010 State Membership Meeting in January at the Quartz Mountain Resort. As to what yours truly is planning, I'm certainly not intending to fade away, but fully expect to continue actively battling for Riding Freedom, both in our state and Nationwide. I'll stay on with the NCOM Board, and I'm honored to continue as Liaison to the OK Confederation Of Clubs, for starters. The cause of Motorcycling Liberty is too big to fail, and we are fortunate to have lots of wonderful people in ABATE who will insure that it doesn't! While I'm talking anniversary, ABATE is producing T-Shirts for the "Big 20" with a terrific design, so look for them-you're definitely going to want to fly one!

Tiger's Tip O' The Month:

Well, that'll do it for this month, and I look forward to seeing as many of you as can make it at the ABATE State Party at the Westlake Recreation Center in Enid October 2-4. It's slated to be an awesome event, so don't miss it! I also look forward to seeing a large number of my ABATE Brothers and Sisters at the Mid-South M.I.L.E. coming up October 16-18 at the Best Western in Emporia, KS. We have an excellent line-up of educational and informative seminars planned, and the MRF, NCOM, and AMA will be represented. In fact, Kirk "Hardtail" Willard, MRF President, will be attending. You can obtain information you need by logging onto www.midsouthmile.org ABATE of Oklahoma is committed to showing up with the largest number of members, so I hope our twelve Chapters can follow through on that, for the benefit of all! As I close, I want to emphasize how much I miss Mike Bruno. Mike (or "Bruno" to his friends) had a history of heart problems, and had Heart Valve Replacement Surgery a couple of years ago, which kept him out there riding his motorcycle awhile longer. Bruno had been active with ABATE in the Tulsa area since the late '70s, over a decade before we organized on the State level. He was a Charter Member, holding Card #004, a number which will be retired. I first met him when I'd been in Oklahoma around a year after transferring to Tinker AFB in 1988 with the USAF, when I'd first joined Central OK ABATE. Not long after, the National Coalition Of Motorcyclists' Ron Roloff came to Oklahoma City to help us organize. Bruno represented ABATE of Oklahoma on the NCOM Board of Directors before my predecessor Louis Watson. Mike was a passionate supporter of Biker Rights, and loved ABATE and Liberty. His raspy voice and one-liners were a staple of his Master of Ceremonies role at events like the Pawhuska Bike Rallies, and the Mayfit and Biker Days In The Osage won't be the same without him. He'll be sorely missed by his many friends--please remember his family and loved ones in your thoughts and prayers. Ride Free Forever, Bruno!! Ride Safely, Sober and Aware, my Motorcycling Family, and I'll see you as Football Season ratchets up, and as we start seeing ghosts and goblins haunting Oklahoma-BOO!

Keep It On The Black Strip Between The Trees,

Tiger Mike