ABATE of Indiana - Board Meeting Minutes 2025-08

Jay Jackson opened the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance at 12:02pm. Those in attendance were: Region 00-Jerry & Sherri Gordon, Cheryl Cone, Heather ‘Stormy’ Gamble, Ernie Crowder, & Cheryl Crowder; Region 01-Russ Zawacki (arrived at 12:40); Region 02-Glenn ‘Junior’ Susnis; Region 03–Scott Bowman & Angie Pier; Region 04-Lori Bussell; Region 05-Mike Roberson; Region 06–Jim Farmer; Region 07–Ben Koughn ; Region 10–Erick Taylor; Region 11–Pat Haggard; Region 12-Willie Vance, region proxy; Region 13–Christian & Heidi Harper, & Leslie Meyer; Region 99–Rene ‘RD’ Diaz; AdComm–Rick Thompson & Justin Kennedy; LINC–Aaron Meyer; Spiritual Director-Pastor Jack Smith; Marketing Committee-Mike Seiler; State Administrator-Kelly Jackson; Secretary/Treasurer–Tina McCormack; Regions 08 & 12 notified they would not be attending; Region 09 was absent.

ITEM 1: Jay introduced Elizabeth ‘Izzy’ Hanes. Izzy is our Freedom Hall manager, as well as Administrator & Coordinator for our Fort Wayne rider ed site.

ITEM 2: Jay conducted a tour of the building.

ITEM 3: Tina McCormack reviewed the May/June financials.

MOTION 1

ITEM 4: Jay addressed social media comments post Boogie. The group discussed possible improvements to Boogie processes. We need order takers preceding the box office. RD Diaz volunteered his group to oversee the order taking.

We have some vintage clothing to use for a fundraiser.

Erick Taylor shared a suggestion from a Boogie attendee to install lights in the waterless toilets. Another attendee complained that recorded music was played all night on Pervert Row. The group conversed about the Boogie ice order.

ITEM 5: Roy Garrett continues to recover; Rayce Guthrie is out of state. Jay added that scheduling for Dirt Bike School (DBS) has been a challenge this year. We currently have only three DBS coaches.

ITEM 6: Jay explained Indiana’s current law concerning the renewal of a motorcycle learners permit. He then discussed recent shortcomings with our rider ed processes. The office staff ultimately resolves the errors. We experience similar issues with counties and regions. Jay explained that we need our people to be accountable for their responsibilities so that office staff isn’t overly tasked.

Jay spoke on declining student enrollment this year. All rider ed providers in Indiana are experiencing an over saturated market.

ITEM 7: Meeting of the Minds will be held in Louisiana this year, then Wisconsin in 2026. The MRF currently does not have a host for 2027. ABATE of Indiana will host the event in 2027 in the event no other SMRO offers.

ITEM 8: Jay began discussion regarding the termination by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of the Motorcyclist Advisory Council (MAC). The MRF intends to persist with the committee, to advise of motorcyclists’ concerns regarding roadways and infrastructure.

ITEM 9: Jay stated that we are searching for sponsors in Indiana to assist with legislation concerning autonomous vehicles and ethanol labeling at gas pumps. Aaron Meyer updated the group that Lassus has officially joined our Biker Approved Gas (BAG) program. He encouraged everyone to patronize BAG stations, and solicit gas stations to join the program. Ben Koughn informed the group of a new gas station in Seymour that has labels on their pumps.

Aaron urged everyone to attend their local town hall meetings. Glenn ‘Junior’ Susnis shared his experience attending a town hall meeting in his area. Aaron then stated that ABATE of Indiana will need 200 attendees for ABATE Day at the Statehouse in 2026. He reiterated that we need 10,000 members in ABATE of Indiana. We are close to achieving that number, so please recruit new members. Aaron believes we will have a mass email service in place prior to the General Assembly convening next year. He then established the Municipal Matters Committee, with Mike Seiler, Christian Harper, and Erick Taylor. The committee will present issues of interest to the board at the October meeting, and establish position statements for the February board meeting. Aaron then presented a book he wrote, “Rebellion with a Roadmap”.

Angie Pier requested 2 part carbonless membership applications. Jay agreed that having various options may be helpful, and encouraged utilizing online memberships and the paper applications we offer on our website.

ITEM 10: The seminar and banquet will again be combined into one event. Consensus from the group is that we will conduct the event in February. Jim Farmer suggested breakout sessions for the seminar. After discussion, it was determined that incoming officers should receive the Guidebook prior to the seminar so they can be prepared with questions. Scott Bowman offered that short videos would be helpful. Glenn Susnis shared that he liked when groups were separated at the seminar, so attendees were sitting with people outside their group.

ITEM 11: Director Prep will be conducted in January.

ITEM 12: Justin Kennedy reported on the latest AdComm meeting. Mike Potter was introduced as the financial advisor, replacing retired member Gino Johnson. Mike and Gino will meet to review the state of ABATE. The Hoosier Motorcyclist (HMC) will become a quarterly periodical beginning in 2026. AdComm suggested a March/June/September/December schedule. Projects at both Freedom Hall and Bargersville were discussed. Other items considered during their meeting were Bargersville real estate, LCRP, Boogie, ABC program, strategy for 2026, and upcoming elections. Directors agreed to the quarterly schedule for HMC. One of our pending ABC applicants has withdrawn, two others are awaiting further information, and the fourth will be revised, and offered to present at our October board meeting.

Kelly Jackson noted that with the quarterly HMC schedule, we will need 2026 sanctioned events from the regions no later than our October board meeting, if we are to print the 2026 calendar in the December 2025 edition. Christian Harper asked if there will be intermittent information from ABATE to the members in addition to the HMC. Jay and Aaron added that we plan to have the ability to email information to the members.

ITEM 13: Jay conveyed his displeasure with sparse volunteers to help with Tiny Tots during the Indiana State Fair this year. The fair was an excellent opportunity for exposure, but we did not have the manpower to make the most of it.

Meeting adjourned to Executive Session, 2:34pm.

MOTION 2

Respectfully submitted,

Tina McCormack

Secretary/Treasurer

The next scheduled BOD meeting is October 11, 2025 at LCRP.

Motion 1: Jim Farmer made the motion to approve March/April financials, Jerry Gordon seconded. All regions present voted yes; motion carried.

Motion 2: Aaron Meyer motioned to adjourn, Glenn ‘Junior’ Susnis seconded. All regions present voted in favor; motion carried.