ABATE of Michigan President ~ Gary Kopta

Hello everyone,

 It's been a busy week for ABATE of Michigan. 

 It started last Friday morning when the wife and I left for the Field Meet. 

What a great time. Merry and her committee did a great job. The new campground was amazing, the building where we held our functions was nice. We got to put the products trailer inside the barn in case of rain. (You may remember last year was monsoon season in Wolverine ha ha).

Then we had a good turnout for the auctions which turned out to be fun along with the tattoo contest (both good and bad tattoos). There were bike games and a new one I hadn't seen before called old man croquet.  Also, the bra bling contest was entertaining. I think the best part of that contest was when Tiny decided to model the one. Thanks Tiny. The bra bling contest was done to raise awareness for breast cancer. Great idea Merry and thanks to the contestants. The top gun challenge was an obstacle course run on a motorcycle then the golf carts went through the course to win awards. So, you can see if you missed the Field Meet you missed a lot. Next year’s Field Meet is scheduled for June 12-14 at the same place so mark your calendars. You aren't going to want to miss the next one.

 Then today is Wednesday and I just got back from the Freedom Rally in Lansing. I must say this event has turned into a big event. We had the fish fry again with all the fish caught in the great lakes. It's some of the best fish I have ever had. Along with the fishermen was the timber guys. These guys brought in 3 tractor trailers, some had logs, some had equipment on them and what a great bunch of guys. They helped us with parking motorcycles and put on a great presentation. The timber guys are the group that brings in the Capitol Christmas tree. They also honor the family that donates the previous year’s Christmas tree. 

We also had great support from many motorcyclists. Not just ABATE members but members from some clubs and just people that care about their rights. So once again if you missed it, you missed a lot. Thank you to Scott Everett for coordinating the whole event, what a great job. It was a lot of fun.

 On the legislative side of things, I was fortunate enough to finally meet Senator Lindsey. He is the Senator that is working on our lane filtering bill. If you live down in Senate district 17 call Senator Lindsey and thank him for running our bill and ask him if we can do anything for him. Also announced that we are NOT giving up on this insurance fiasco. We fought over 35 years on the helmet repeal, and I hope we don't have to fight 35 years on the insurance bill but we are NOT going away. 

 The 50x50 membership drive is off to a slow start. In case you forgot I challenged all ABATE members to increase our membership 50% by our 50th anniversary which is May 2026. Just imagine if every member just got 1 person to join. That would be a 100% increase. I'm just asking for half of us to get one person to sign up. It can even be a junior membership. I would just like to see more riders care about our rights and give us some support. So, think about whom you could get to sign up even if it is just your grandchild or a neighbor. Anyone can join. I know we have people that don't ride motorcycles that are active members because they believe in freedom and our rights.

 Thanks for listening to me rant and brag in this article. I just wanted to mention that the lumber guys listened to our presentation, and I was grateful to our members for sticking around and listening to their presentation.

Ride Safe