June 2013
A publication supporting the rights, safety and freedom of all motorcyclists through education and legislation
VOLUME XXII, ISSUE II
Nonprofit Org US Postage Paid Permit #1662 Phoenix, AZ
ncom 2013
Photo courtesy of Johnny D
abateofaz.org
ABATE of AZ. 7509 N. 12th St, #200 Phoenix, AZ 85020
Unity and Inclusive Cooperation with Coalitions, Confederations, ABATEs, MMA, (SMROs) and Independents Working Together was the Theme at NCOM 2013
The National Coalition of Motorcyclists (NCOM) Conference 2013 this year in Reno, NV had a very different “air” about it. Early on you were hearing it stated over and over again and sometimes in different words. Words like “all working together”, “bridging the relationships”, “Independents and Clubs being unified” and “opening the door to SMROs into Coalitions or Confederations” had many old timers stopping in their tracks. Also, many times the BOD of NCOM mentioned the Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF) in comments to move on from the past issues and facilitate a current relationship with them too. AMA was also included in the discussions. It really was about “everyone letting go of the past and starting new relationships that could be helpful to all for the future of our motorcycling community. In order to make change and get more tasks accomplished we must all work togeth-
er to establish relationships and bridge the gap between Clubs and Independents within the motorcycling community in each state. Most of these conversations were started after listening to the success story of Washington State and their journey in passing the first Anti-Profiling Bill into law about 2 years ago. “It was a long and many times frustrating task, but will worth it” was the comment Double D stated at the end of his presentation.
From the first Board Meeting of NCOM, each Board member discussed what was going on in their respective state. It was shared to the group that working together with ALL the motorcycling community was bringing about more support and inclusion when legislation or decisions were being made. The collaboration with SMROs and other groups within each state was encouraged by the NCOM BOD. The Coalitions and Confederations were seeing more getting done and less division within their state when reaching out to key individuals that were involved with their SMROs.
In fact, when Double D of the Outsiders MC stood up and talked about
Washington State’s Anti-Profiling Bill in his presentation, the FIRST task he gave to all of us was “Unity in the whole Community”. This could and would be accomplished by building the bridges into each entity that was involved with the motorcycling community within each state. He talked about everyone being a part of the process with each organization or group taking their community and assisting with grass root efforts in getting the word out when needed. The US Defender Program is the best way to do this efficiently and effectively. As the momentum was going forward, it was proven that this process worked well for Washington State. So, as the days went on for the NCOM Conference, you could hear it over and over how well most states were “getting along” and using this unity and inclusion process to broaden the amount of participation and successfully getting results that were positive and favorable for the whole motorcycling
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