This column starts off many years with a headline similar to that. However, I don’t think anyone can argue that 2020 has been quite the year. Unfortunately, it ain’t over yet.

 

Many of us hoped that somehow all this COVID stuff would be over with by the time January rolled around. With Indiana reaching new highs every day and more of a surge predicted as flu season goes full steam, we definitely are not out of the woods yet. 

 

Pretty much all of our events (at least through May) will be including a reminder to check the website for the most updated information regarding the status of scheduled events. 

 

We have concerns about being able to conduct the Awards Banquet and will continue to evaluate daily. 

 

We usually have ABATE Day at the Statehouse pretty early in the legislative session. At the time of this writing, the Indiana General Assembly (IGA) is still not absolutely certain just how they will actually conduct the business of the state. 

 

If we have ABATE Day and Kids’ Day, I suspect they will look a lot different than they usually have. The IGA is suggesting there will be more virtual activity and very minimal personal interaction this session. Our events may utilize a similar format. 

 

Our friends at Renfro Productions and Management were forced to make the difficult decision to cancel the Indiana Motorcycle and Powersports Expo for 2021. The Indianapolis Boat Sport and Travel Show had been held for 68 consecutive years. The global pandemic has forced these and many other events, including ABATE events, to cancel. We still plan to begin rider course enrollment on February 19th. 

 

Please note that we are desperately searching for a new home for our Indianapolis and northern Indiana training sites. 

 

Details related to registration and rider course information will be found on the website. The good news is that we feel pretty confident about classes in 2021 and look forward to applying what we learned in 2020 to make them even better this year.

 

Another bit of good news, is that ABATE of Indiana now offers multi-year memberships. This takes away some of the hassle of having to remember when to renew each year, saves you a few bucks, and helps support ABATE when we need it most. 

 

Ride Safe,

Ride Free,

Hang in there,

 

Jay Jackson