ABATE OF FLORIDA, INC.

Transcription

1 A B A T E merican ikers imed oward ducation rotherhood gainst otalitarian nactments ABATE OF FLORIDA, INC. Bi-Monthly Newsletter February/March 2016

2 Peace River ABATE Contact List President Big John Little (317) Vice President Dave Adams (941) Secretary Danielle McCarty (919) Treasurer Bill Bird (941) Sgt-At-Arms Eddie McCarty (941) State Rep Bill Bird (941) State Rep Bill Neal (941) Membership Annette Rohler (941) Products Carol Borden (941) Public Relations Susan Hurst (941) Newsletter Ads Susan Hurst (941) Legislative Billy Neal (941) Safety Nick Stamis (561) Chaplain Paul Pawlicki (941) Chapter Newsletter Editor Susan Hurst (941) Webmistress Peace River ABATE of Florida WHO WE ARE We are a non-profit organization of motorcycle enthusiasts from all walks of life. We lobby and educate the government and the general public to promote motorcycling in a safe and positive image. We endeavor to enlist the cooperation and participation of all organizations and individuals that share a similar interest in preserving our American tradition of FREEDOM. We promote motorcycle safety, training, and political awareness. We ARE NOT A CLUB OR A GANG. We fund our work through toy runs, poker runs, camp-outs, and other motorcycle activities. We are your neighbors & friends who work, pay taxes, and get involved with our community. We serve and support our country and believe in freedom. We use all legal means to protect our rights without infringing on the rights of others. OUR GOALS: To become a powerful and viable political force in legislative matters concerning the motorcyclist. To promote the safe riding habits without infringing on individual freedoms. To motivate the bikers to write letters to their legislators before, during, and after the legislative session. To furnish our members with a newsletter to keep all bikers informed in regards to upcoming legislation.

3 President - Big John Little Hello brothers and sisters, I hope everyone had a good holiday. Now it's time to move forward with the new year. As you know the capital is in session early this year. Unfortunately, we will not be doing the ride to Tallahassee this year. Our stiffer penalty/vulnerable road users bill has made it through committee's. Now, hopefully, it doesn't get shot down again this year. Our chapter was asked to host the state meeting in February, it will be at the Community Life Center on Edgewater Drive on February 13th. Looking forward to seeing folks from our chapter there. We should be able to have a good showing since it's here in our back yard. We are working on doing Run A Muck in May. If you have any ideas, feel free to share. Since season is here in full swing. Always be extra aware of your surroundings at all times. Make sure you give yourself time to react; it's not always that easy but try to anticipate your next move because those little old ladies and old guys may not see you. We are working on some new and fun things to do within the chapter. So, stay tuned so you don't miss out. Ride safe! Big John

4 January 24 Meeting Minutes - by Lyn McDonald Dave Adams at 11:00 am Pastor Paul elcome everyone. Make sure you have your raffle tickets. If you have any raffle tickets please give them to John, Dave or Bill before February State meeting on 2/13/16. Our Peace River Chapter will be hosting the 2/13/16 State meeting which will be located at the Community Life Center (19048 Edgewater Drive, Port Charlotte, FL 33948). We will need volunteers to help set up beginning at noon. CMA will be serving the State Meeting Dinner at approximately 3:00-3:30 pm. Please keep Susan Hurst in prayer. Susan is in New York as her Dad passed away. Due to Easter Sunday (March 27), the March Peace River Chapter meeting is tentatively rescheduled for 7:00 pm Saturday, March 26 at Banditos (5665 S. McCall Road, Port Charlotte, FL 33981). This is the evening before Easter. John will firm up details and confirm time and location at our February Chapter meeting. Welcome to our new members Lila and Ray Nash Thanked all of the members for their prayers and help given to him and Michelle during their time of need. State meeting plans are pretty much set up. We just need to be there helping others during the meeting. Absent. No report given. Lyn McDonald took January minutes. Gave the Chapter s current balance. Upcoming expenditures should be for the ABATE State meeting lunch costs and a donation to the Church for the use of their facility. Absent. New T-Shirts are in $17 each. T-Shirts are priced at a higher cost due to the new sweat proof material and first time printing fees. Printed on front and back.

5 January 24 Meeting Minutes Make sure you sign the attendance sheet Provided an explanation of the 50/50 Peace River Poker draw. 50% to the Chapter s Downed Biker Fund. We now have 305 members. Gave January and February expirations and Life Anniversaries. New members are: Lila and Ray Nash. Annette presented a Certificate to Starr and John Little who worked their butts off for the Benefit for Dave and Michelle on January 3. Noted that complete strangers even came and donated because they saw Dave and Michelle s story in the newspaper. This was a group effort and thanked everyone for their help. John Little noted that Life Membership fees have been raised to a one-time fee of $600. $400 goes to State/$200 goes to Chapter. The $30 Annual Membership fees remain the same. Bill Neal noted that the main reason for the increase in Life Membership fees is because nearly 2/3 of ABATE is Life Membership and this creates no further revenue. Absent. Please send any and all pictures from any events that you have taken to Susan so they can be added to the newsletter/website. Posters other promotional material are available for anyone to take. Since September 2015, the number of emergency medical calls to EMS has nearly doubled Bikers Beware! Reminder that we are still in Snowbird Season so please be careful. Bill, Carol, Greg, Susan and Bill attended the December legislative meeting. Special Speaker Matt Hudson, FL Rep House Bill 253 passed two committees Senate Bill 332 Transportation committee The Vulnerable Road Users Bill (stiffer penalties) has passed the 1st Senate and House Committee meetings. Open Carry Bill (firearms) is not moving. Looks like there may be a different alternative being looked into (unintentional weapons display) Looks like there may be some future changes to Stand your Ground as well as possibly removing red light cameras. You can sign up for to get alerts via though the Peace River ABATE or the ABATE State website (click on the Legislative link to sign up). ABATE State Party will most likely not be held in Avon Park next year. Possibly Lake Placid in There is discussion of an additional State Party to be held in October/November.

6 January 24 Meeting Minutes Safety supplies money: Our State Lobbyist is once again going after the State with regard to the extra $2 license tag fee that every motorcyclist pays with their registration (tag) fee. This extra $2 fee is supposed to be used for motorcycle safety supplies. The state is handling the money poorly. No report. No Pre-Daytona Event this year. Run-A-Muck event plans are currently being discussed. We are looking into a different location and will be continuing this as a one day event. Looking to get others involved. i.e. car shows, etc Any ideas? April/May: Nominations are coming up. Please consider running for a position. Michelle stated that Dave has a traumatic brain injury. They were contacted and wanted to pass it on to everyone that there are motorcycle specialty license plates available. Proceeds go to this organization. Pastor Paul stated that the Bikers Church will continue to be held at Community Life Center (19048 Edgewater Drive, Port Charlotte, FL 33948) every Saturday morning at 10:00 am. Everyone is welcome. Pastor Paul stated that the Christian Motorcycle Association ( CMA ) Annual Easter Son- Rise Services will be held again at Bay Front Center in Punta Gorda at 7:00 am. Donuts/Coffee. This is a Biker Service. Pastor Paul stated that the CMA High Noon Ride held on New Year s Day welcomed in 90 bikers. Great Ride. Hope to see you again next year! Larry Crow of Post 103 Legion riders stated that they will be having a State Ride In May 15. All are welcome to attend. Kermit stated that he spoke with Bonnie Stevens who made a quilt using the past Toy Run ABATE t-shirts. Bonnie will be back in Florida and will be attending the February Chapter meeting to raffle off the quilt. Just a note that Kermit will be moving to Tennessee at the end of the year. Peace River Poker draw 50/50 (Bill Neal) NO WINNER Motion to adjourn the meeting, meeting adjourned at 12:12. Respectfully Submitted Lyn McDonald

7 Goals and Purposes of ABATE * To print a newsletter keeping all bikers informed in regards to legislative actions and events around our state and throughout our country * To become a powerful and viable force in legislative matters concerning motorcyclist rights * To promote voter registration and motivate members to write to their legislators * To promote the safe riding habits without infringing on individual s rights * To provide for a lobbyist Our monthly meetings are held every 4th Sunday of the month! We meet at the Pt. Charlotte American Legion - Post :00am - 12:00 noon 3152 Harbor Blvd., Port Charlotte

8 $30 New Membership or Renewal of Membership $600 Life Membership

9 Perfection - by Chaplain Paul Perfection Do you live a perfect life, in a perfect neighborhood with a perfect family? Have you, or anyone you have known, attain perfection? Yes, there are a few delusional people who claim they are as close to perfection as humanly possible as we witness their horrific acts on the daily news! They are arrogant, cold and self-righteous. They are known as religious. After a recent Saturday morning Hard Road Ministries service I was challenged by a member over Islam. He overheard me correctly stating that Muslims worship the same God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as do Jews and Christians. Boy did I strike a nerve! Those of us who have studied Islam, Judaism and Christianity know that those three religions worship the God of Abraham and that the term Allah is merely the Arabic word for God and is used in both Aramaic and Arabic Christian Bibles. I am not wasting my time defending Islam but should you ever read a Quran read Sara 2. Al-Baqara for clarification. Why then do we have such hatred? The answer is simple. Judaism and Islam are under the curse of the law! As such they ignore the grace of Christ and His salvation by strictly adhering to the law they are incapable of adhering to. In the Hebrew Bible it is written: For everyone who depends on legalistic observance of Torah commands (law) lives under a since it is written, Both Muslims and Jews live under the law and the Muslims, in particular, have forgotten that we worship a Creator and not destroyer as they blindly follow the adversary. They seem to have ignored that our Creator wishes mercy and not sacrifice. In the Aramaic Bible it is written, You are from (religious zealots, atheists and halfwits) the devil, John 8:44 Perfection is beyond the grasp of humans and is why God offered His son as a sin offering for us. In doing so, the imperfect becomes perfect. I thank God that His arms are longer than mine! May you find the love, joy and peace of Jesus Christ in the New Year! In His Service- Chaplain Paul Hope to see you at our Saturday Morning Service at 10 AM at the Community Life Center, Edgewater Drive, Port Charlotte. And please don t expect perfection- we only teach salvation.

10 Legislator Contact Information: Marco Rubio RFL United States Senate 317 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, DC PH: FX: Tampa Office: 3802 Spectrum Boulevard, Ste. 106 Tampa, FL Nancy Detert Dist Senate Office Bldg. 404 South Monroe Street Tallahassee, FL PH: District Office: 417 Commercial Court, Suite D Venice, FL PH: FX: SENATE FOR SOUTHERN SARASOTA COUNTY Bill Nelson DFL United State Senate 716 Hart Senate Office bldg. Washington, DC PH: FX: Ft. Myers Office: Justice Center Annex Building 2000 Main Street, Suite 804 Ft. Myers, FL Vern Buchanan FL Dist Cannon House Office Building Washington, DC PH: FX: Sarasota Office: 235 Orange Ave, Suite 201 Sarasota, FL PH: FX: Tom Rooney FL Dist Longworth House Office Bldg. Washington, DC PH: FX: District Office: 226 Taylor Street Punta Gorda, FL PH: FX: Connie Mack FL Dist Cannon House Office Bldg. Washington, DC PH: FX: District Office: 804 Nicholas Pkwy E, Suite 1 Cape Coral, FL PH: FX: Ken Roberson Dist House Office Bldg. 402 South Monroe Street Tallahassee, FL PH: District Office: 17825B Murdock Circle Port Charlotte, FL PH: Ken.roberson@myfloridahouse.gov Bill Galvano Dist Senate Office Bldg. 404 South Monroe Street Tallahassee, FL PH: District Office: 1023 Manatee Ave West Bradenton, FL PH: Lizbeth Benequisto Dist Senate Office Bldg. 40 South Monroe Street Tallahassee, FL PH: District Office: 1926 Victoria Ave 2nd Floor Ft. Myers, FL PH: Doug Holder Dist House Office Bldg 402 Monroe Street Tallahassee, FL PH: District Office: 8486 S. Tamiami Trail Sarasota, FL PH: Doug.holder@myfloridahouse.gov Support these advertisers that support Peace River Chapter

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13 Benefit for Dave and Michelle SUCCESS!

14 Saturday Night Dinner Ride This event has been resurrected from a few years ago! It does NOT take away from the Wednesday night Therapy Ride! The Saturday night, prior to our Sunday morning Chapter meeting, we will meet at the BP gas station (located on the corner of 776 and 41 in Port Charlotte). Rain or shine, we take off for an unknown foodie destination. We leave promptly at 6pm. We generally chose a restaurant that s close by. There s always a few hundred to chose from! Even if the weather is not conducive to riding your motorcycle, show up in your car or truck! Restaurants are still serving food even if the weather isn t cooperating. It is a ton of fun when a bunch of us get together. I ve yet to have one of these dinner rides be a bummer or a waste of time - it s just the opposite! I look forward to this every month! I hope you will too!

15 Membership Report - Annette Rohler February Expirations Liz Barton Irene Bazan Gary Bensley Rick Billitteri Jerry Chamberlain Bill Dame Tyrone Edwards Ken Klein Gino Lombardi Bernie Lynch Al Masini Bill McLaughlin Cindy Muxlow Paul Nottingham Keely Oellrich Chuck Philbrook Reggie Philbrook Charlotte Pittman Jim Pittman Rich Poglajen Jason Polisson Ed Sharkey Doc Thompson February LIFE ANNIVERSARIES Joan Albritton - 10 years Daina Bird - 16 years Mike Dixon - 20 years Walt Fuller - 16 years Danny Hoop - 6 years James Hoy - 8 years William Hutmacher - 21 years Roger Jones - 20 years Darrell LaCourse - 10 years Susan Lucas - 16 years Mary Lou Murray - 9 years March Expirations Ed Garrett Lorelie White Lee White Diana Wilson Marina Ortel - 16 years Timothy Ruppert - 6 years Pat Russell - 18 years Allen Sakacsi - 16 years Larry Shorter - 11 years Jacquelyn Todd - 13 years Syd Vickers - 7 years Betty Weirbach - 10 years Mike Weirbach - 10 years Brian Willette - 19 years Jason Willette - 16 years March LIFE ANNIVERSARIES Frank Alfonso - 14 years Doug Becraft - 18 years Emmett Bower - 20 years Jim Gallagher - 12 years William Groom - 12 years Michael LaMarca - 3 years Anthony Lanzetta - 20 years William Pallman - 15 years Gary Robinson - 19 years Nancy St. Pierre (Fuller) - 13 years Bonnie Stevens - 18 years

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17 Wednesday Night Therapy Ride I would like to welcome our northern riders back! We are glad to see you again this season. We have been fortunate on having warm weather to ride in lately. I'm sure we'll have some chilly night rides but, it's better than ice and snow elsewhere. We always welcome new suggestions of places to ride and we still have a few old favorites. Come on out and join us. We meet at the BP gas station on US. 41 and El Jobean Rd. and we leave promptly at 7:00 pm. Hope to see you! Billy Neal

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21 It s Nomination Time! It s that time of year where we ask you to consider running for a position in our chapter. There are all kinds of positions where your talent and expertise can be used! If you are interested in learning more, contact any board member. The pay isn t that great, but the return of your time and talent investment is infinite. My closest and dearest friends I met through the Peace River Chapter of ABATE. It s true and something that I wouldn t trade for the world. Looking forward to hearing from folks that want to step up and make a difference! Thank you in advance for your consideration!

22 Pictures from the Vault