This phrase might make you think of the Beatles, Woodstock, Joe Cocker, or The Wonder Years. It makes us think of how we are able to offer the best quality, national award-winning rider education to people statewide. 

 

Nobody can truly do everything by their self, so we all need help from our friends. There are many components and aspects to presenting rider courses, and fortunately, we have a lot of friends.

 

Of course we have instructors, examiners, site coordinators and administrators, sponsors, range aids, mechanics, logistics facilitators, office staff, students, alumnus and all sorts of supporters, each critically important to the success of our program. 

The “friends” that I’d like to talk about at this time, are the hosts for our rider training sites across the state. As we’ve mentioned in this article before, “ya gotta have a place”. We must have a facility capable of housing a riding range, which means having a piece of pavement pretty close to 160’x260’ (about the size of a football field).

 

We have been extremely fortunate over the last 40 years to have the support of many wonderful and generous property owners, including our current partners; International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150 in Merrillville, The Waste Away Group and Southgate Crossing in Elkhart, Kendallville Powersports, Coliseum Bingo in Fort Wayne, Inventrek Technology Center in Kokomo, The Indianapolis Airport Authority, Thompson’s Motorsports in Terre Haute, Southeastern Career Center in Versailles, the City of Evansville Department of Parks and Recreation, and CC Powersports in Clarksville.

 

We would like to also share a story about one of our former hosts. The Elkhart County Sheriff’s Office provided use of their parking lot from 2012 through last season. During the 2019 season, we were notified that the ECSO would need the property to expand some of their programs, so it would no longer be available for rider training. Despite an exhaustive search, we were unable to find a new home. When we advised the ECSO of our dilemma, Sheriff Jeff Siegel allowed us to remain an entire year longer, even though it created additional challenges for them.

 

Support and commitment like this exemplifies the character of the type of folks that work with our program. This is just one of the reasons that Elkhart County Sheriff Jeff Siegel was named 2020 Law Enforcement Officer of the Year by ABATE Legal Services and ABATE of Indiana’s Motorcycle Safety Division.

 

Thanks again, to all of the people that make it possible for us to continue to provide this invaluable, life-saving, community service to Hoosier riders.

 

We get by with a little help from our friends.

 

Ride Safe,

Ride Free,

Jay Jackson  

 

P.S. As of the time of this going to press, we have yet to secure a new site for our Indianapolis training site.