Legislative Update

As we are preparing for the election in November and the new session in January, workload is increasing. The voter guide is published and uploaded to the ABATE state website. Take a look and use it as a tool when you are making your choices as to who to vote for. It is just a tool, not the end all recommendation list.

UPCOMING:

Arizona Bike Week is coming this month. This will be a great time to make a membership push for your chapters.

The General Election is November 3rd. Be an informed voter. Vote like a motorcyclist. Then we roll into the holiday season. A few of us have plans to do some community service and outreach starting with Veterans Day all the way through the New Year. Keep an eye out for opportunities to get involved.

By the time this is published, Christopher and I will be back from Meeting of the Minds held in Indianapolis. Christopher was awarded the Young Activist Scholarship Award this year by the Motorcycle Riders Foundation Awareness and Education. Only two recipients from the entire country were recognized this year.

What is the Young Activist Scholarship Fund?

Biker “Freedom Fighting” activists have recognized for some time that our membership and leaders are aging, and that there is a need to encourage younger people to become involved in motorcyclists’ rights. To that end, the Motorcycle Riders Foundation Awareness and Education (MRFA&E) has created a scholarship fund to recognize deserving candidates who are a minimum of 18 years old and not over 30 years of age who otherwise may not be able to attend the MRF’s Meeting of the Minds conference. The MRFA&E has dedicated a limited amount of seed money to the scholarship fund to get things rolling. The MRFA&E is looking for additional contributions from individuals, national, state and local organizations and businesses that would like to participate in the program. You can go to mrfae.org to make a donation to the YAS fund.

Since 2004, the MRFA&E Young Activist Scholarship is a successful program to activate our youth into defending biker rights for the future. The program started with the MRFA&E donating $750.00 the first year to get it rolling and generous donations from MRF members. The first year the MRFA&E could afford to send one candidate and the second year this program doubled to two winning candidates with larger donations. Our third year we doubled the winning candidates to four. Individuals, National, State, and Local Organizations and Businesses are encouraged to continue their donations so we can grow this program even more for the future. Grants are being explored as a way to fund this but it still is a ways down the pike.

Christopher is the second ABATE of Arizona member to be awarded the accolade of Young Activist. The first was Charity Stuart in 2012. As we incorporate our younger members to become more involved in the fight for motorcycle rights, we must continue to develop the future leaders. With that said, we will be providing leadership training for those who would like it. 2021 will be a great year for ABATE of Arizona. Get off the bench and get involved.

Mike Infanzon
Legislative Director