ABATE of Indiana - Board Meeting Minutes 2022-10

Executive Director Jay Jackson opened the meeting at 10:15am with the Pledge of Allegiance. Those in attendance were: Region 02-Don & Leann Tunis; Region 03-Scott Bowman; Region 05-inactive; Region 06-Mark Thomas, & Jim & Maggie Farmer; Region 07-Dave Howell, Jennifer Wainscott, Donju Taylor & Jeff Britton; Region 08-Ethan Herrera, & Ricky & Cathy Burch; Region 09-Mo Kintner; Region 10-Suzanne Eckert; Region 11-Pat Haggard; Region 13-Aaron Meyer & Christian Harper, Reno Richardson joined later; LCRP-Rayce Guthrie; DIRT-Roy Garrett; MRF-Roberta Meyer; Administrative Assistant Kelly Jackson; Secretary/Treasurer-Tina McCormack. Regions 00, 01, & 04 notified previously of their prior commitments.

ITEM 1: Tina McCormack requested a motion to approve May/June financials.

MOTION 1

Tina acknowledged that minutes from our August meeting have not been broadcasted. The board will receive a copy today and the minutes will be broadcasted to the group next week. She then reviewed the July/August packet distributed at this meeting, and explained the financial highlights for the period. This year’s Boogie profit and loss statement is included in this month’s packet.

ITEM 2: Jay stated that he, Elizabeth Hanes and Dan VanDame have completed some outdoor maintenance at Freedom Hall. There has been no progress with a quote for the fire suppression system. Jay, Tina, Elizabeth and Marc Falsetti will attend an online Gaming Seminar next month.

ITEM 3: Rayce Guthrie announced that we have located training bikes for Dirt Bike School (DBS). We have four DBS classes left this season. The Iron Man, the largest off-road event in the country, will take place in Crawfordsville the end of October. Rayce is in discussion with three groups regarding renting LCRP for their event in 2023. Selective timber harvest at LCRP should begin in November.

Roy Garrett announced that the annual national dual sport/adventure ride at Stoney Lonesome last month had the highest attendance since its inception in 1988. Both Rayce Guthrie and Roy Garrett are founders and were honored at this year’s event.

Jay discussed us hosting an advanced DBS.

Rayce reminded the group of the upcoming Halloween Campout, with an adventure ride and night ride, at LCRP.

ITEM 4: Roberta Meyer reviewed her experience at this year’s Meeting of the Minds (MotM) hosted by the MRF. She stated that Jay Jackson, Gary Sellers and Kirk ‘Hardtail’ Willard were inducted into the MRF’s Hall of Fame. Europeans are attempting to develop an alternative fuel for motorcycles, such as hydrogen, wind, solar, etc.

Jay stated that the MRF’s legislative agenda will be posted on their website soon. Autonomous vehicles’ recognition of objects is a concern. Jay then discussed the advancement of electric vehicles. He said that Hardtail will attend the Federation of European Motorcycle Association’s (FEMA) meeting in Belgium later this year regarding alternative fuels. Jay also discussed the increase in pedestrian incidents.

Scott Bowman, Mo Kintner and Christian Harper then shared their experiences at MotM. Jay conveyed comments from Mike and Edie Seiler regarding their observations of the event. Discussion ensued regarding the “New Hampshire Seven”, the motorcyclists that were killed in a vehicular collision.

ITEM 5: Jay recently attended the State Motorcycle Safety Administrators (SMSA) conference in New Hampshire. We plan to host a Site Coordinators’ meeting the Sunday of Fall Seminar. Pat Haggard asked about a rider ed site in Indianapolis; Jay replied that while we have made many contacts, nothing has come to fruition. Jay announced that Indiana saw two separate motorcycle fatalities involving a school bus within a week. He then discussed motorcycle fatalities related to a vehicle making a U-turn. Left turns causing motorcycle fatalities was also discussed.

Jay announced that our Merrillville site will conduct their first Rider Skills Tests (RST) today. We could end the season with approximately 1,500 RST applicants tested this season. Our Tiny Tots program has been utilized again this year. We took the promotion to the State Fair earlier this year.

ITEM 6: Jay began discussion regarding the Fall Seminar, scheduled for November 19. Tina distributed tentative dates for 2023 state events, and requested the directors submit their dates no later than November 10. Donju Taylor asked about the brick order deadline; Tina replied the due date is March 1 each year so we can have them produced and delivered to LCRP by May 1 for Motorcycle Safety & Awareness month. She referenced the order forms on our website.

ITEM 7: Director Prep is tentatively scheduled for January 20-22, 2023. Discussion followed regarding inviting assistant directors.

Aaron Meyer asked about a date for ABATE Day at the Statehouse. Jay replied that we have not decided upon a date yet.

ITEM 8: Jay read minutes from Monday’s AdComm meeting. They discussed the budget, and hope to have it available for the November BOD meeting. Other topics discussed were the fire suppression system for Freedom Hall, our rider ed program, Wi-Fi at LCRP, expense for the membership foam insert, Boogie numbers, and our ABC applicants. With the Midwest Pet Refuge in Jay County, we’ll need to research that organization before consideration; Pat Haggard has asked for more information from Morgan County Special Olympics with no response; AdComm recommends only awarding the Shriners of Kokomo at this time.

MOTION 2

ITEM 9: Jay reviewed current membership numbers.

Boogie 2023 theme is Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. We are working on Boogie entertainment. The VIP privilege will be enhanced.

Recognition Committee Chair Suzanne Eckert requested award recognition procedures from each region.

Mo Kintner inquired about two positions that were removed from our By-Laws; Jay stated that those positions are not voting positions, so they were relocated to our policies.

ITEM 10: There was no old business to discuss.

ITEM 11: Jay informed the board that ABATE and LCRP were each served notice by an attorney this past week. ABATE for a “slip and fall” at Freedom Hall in March, and LCRP for the incident during the festival there in June.

The Town of Bargersville is resurfacing the alley behind our office; we are awaiting a quote from the contractor to extend the new asphalt to our overhead garage doors.

Aaron Meyer began discussion regarding lateness of the golf carts during Boogie this year. Mark Thomas inquired about the electric service to Boogie vendors. Suzanne will solicit a quote from an ice vendor in her area, for Boogie service.

Tina stated that our current plaque vendor will be out of state the first of February, 2023. We need the region awards lists submitted to the state office by December 15 this year.

ITEM 13: Meeting adjourned 12:05pm.

MOTION3

Respectfully submitted,

Tina McCormack

Secretary/Treasurer

The next Board of Directors meeting is scheduled for Friday November 18, 2022 at the Rodeway Inn, Indianapolis.

MOTIONS

Motion 1: Pat Haggard made the motion with a second from Mark Thomas, to approve May/June financials. Region 09 voted no, all other regions present voted yes; motion carried.

Motion 2: Pat Haggard motioned to approve the AdComm’s recommendations for ABC awards, Scott Bowman seconded. All regions present voted in favor; motion carried.

Motion 3: Aaron Meyer motioned, with a second by Suzanne Eckert, to adjourn the meeting. All regions voted in favor; motion passed.