Passes & Canyons Blog

I went to the Denver Police substation yesterday to try to get confirmation and details, but apparently because this reported action came from the District Attorney’s Office the PD didn’t have it on their computer. I haven’t had time to contact the DA yet. So be advised that so far, all I’m about to tell is hearsay.

I heard from two people on Friday that Terry Howard, the former state coordinator for ABATE of Colorado, had been criminally charged. One of the two sources included the information that the charges were forgery and theft.

Update 12-10-14: I learned today directly from the Denver District Court that Terry has been charged with theft, not forgery.

This whole story has been exploding all around me. Because I seem to be the only one with journalistic pretensions following it, many people who have an interest and know about the matter has been contacting me. I definitely appreciate everyone who has contacted me but it’s going to take me awhile to sort through it all.

The greater number of the folks I have spoken with tend to have tried and convicted Terry in their minds. It was very interesting then to receive the email from someone who supports Terry and stands by her. There are a whole lot of interesting statements in her note that I hope to learn a lot more about.

For instance–and again, this is still only hearsay–apparently the organization needed a loan quickly to meet obligations but was not able to qualify for a loan from a bank. So Terry took out a $28,000 loan in her name–or personally co-signed for a loan, I’m not sure which–with the money going to ABATE. This person also says that “Terry also started finding discrepancies in the books. Before she could present her findings, and the day the check cleared for the $28,000 to keep ABATE afloat, she was suspended on suspect of theft and fraud and subsequently forced to resigned.”

Now, obviously, that sort of action doesn’t rule out the possibility of having committed forgery and theft, but it does put a little different light on the person who is accused. Likewise, some of the very negative information I’ve been given about Terry’s management of ABATE could very well be true–and I suspect some of it, maybe even a lot of it, is true–but that would not lead inevitably to the idea that she is also a forger and a thief. Nor would it suggest that she is not. They aren’t necessarily related at all.

I really see at least two linked but separate stories playing out here: First, how did ABATE get into this horrendous financial bind? And second, was there actually forgery and theft, and if so, who was the forger/thief? And in the meantime, there’s just too little information for anyone on the outside to make an informed judgment. Of course, that’s why we have courts and juries. We just hope that true justice prevails, whichever direction that may lead.

I will keep talking to people; I’ve barely gotten started. My pace will be slow. I’m not interested in getting the story first; I’m interested in getting it right.

Biker Quote for Today

Any bike can be taken off road. The question is: How much fun did you have doing it?

First let’s address the investigation into possible financial misdeeds at ABATE of Colorado:

At our District 10 meeting on Sunday, Metro Regional Representative Larry Montgomery confirmed that, at State of Colorado direction, the Denver Police fraud unit was brought in on the matter. To recap, the ABATE board discovered some financial irregularities, investigated, and ended up firing State Coordinator Terry Howard for a “failure to perform” her fiduciary duties. The situation was then reported to the state, as required by law governing 501(c)3 organizations. At the October D-10 meeting we were told that the state would decide what happens next.

The state decided that going to the fraud unit was what was next, and Larry said that unit did an investigation and has now turned their report over to the District Attorney to decide where it goes from here. There is no timetable as to when any decision will be made or any action taken.

Now let’s turn to the group’s financial woes, which are in fact a fight for life or death.

Bruce Downs, a long-time ABATE member, has been chosen the new state coordinator by the board, pending resolution of one minor issue regarding who can serve as state coordinator. Bruce spoke at length about the problems, how we got there, and how we hope to get out of them. I’ll try to cut it down to the basics.

A number of years ago ABATE was one of only a few organizations offering motorcycle rider training in Colorado. ABATE was bringing in more than $1 million a year in training revenue, and the organization became dependent on that cash flow. In recent years new competition has emerged and the landscape has shifted a good bit as well. However, no one at ABATE was sounding the alarm and things continued as before, even though the revenue picture was changing.

Update 11-25-14: I’ve been contacted by Ben Hochberg, who ran the training program for several years, and he assures me he was sounding an alert, but nobody listened. I’ll have more on this soon.

In January of 2013 a $40,000 loan was taken out and later that loan was replaced by another one. The terms of the second loan were onerous. Service on that loan is now costing ABATE $287 a day. Larry and Bruce both declined to name names or provide details, but said that a lack of organizational oversight permitted this bad deal to be made. Now the group has to get out from under this “deadly” (Larry’s word) burden.

Bruce told us that “ABATE is now being run by committee.” This means that one arm of the organization cannot commit the group to anything without the OK of the other, relevant arms, and the board makes all final decisions.

As part of that, he also said, ABATE will focus on its true mission, being a motorcycle rights organization, with rider training a secondary pursuit. Training classes are being cut and training bikes are being sold. Revenue from these bikes will be a significant part of making ends meet for the immediate future. Each district in the state will raffle off one bike, several will be placed with a consignment house for sale, and others will be listed on craigslist.

All paid staff members have already “fired themselves” and are performing essential duties on a volunteer basis. The printed Spokesman newsletter will be published online only next month and will cease publication after that. From then on, Bruce will issue an update every other week on what is happening and where matters stand, and the district reps will be expected to pass this along to their members.

Meanwhile all the districts in the state have been asked to send all their funds, minus $50 to keep their checking accounts open, to the state. District 10 voted on Sunday to do that. An appeal has been put out to members for donations and the Motorcycle Riders Foundation, the national equivalent of the state-organized ABATEs, passed along the appeal nationwide. Responses were immediate, ranging from a couple pledges of cash to “Your problem–too bad.”

If possible, ABATE would like to raise $40,000 from investors to purchase a certificate of deposit, which would be used to secure a loan on better terms so as to pay off the “deadly” loan. Those who put in money for the CD would be paid back with interest at the end of the CD’s term, seven or eight years. Bruce estimated the payments on the new loan would be around $500 per month, versus the current $287 per day. If the group defaulted on the new loan, the bank would take the CD and all the investors would lose their money.

Although Bruce expects it to take at least a year to get the organization fully sorted out and on a new, more sustainable path, whether or not it will survive to carry out these plans is currently the biggest issue. It should be decided within the next two month, he projects.

These were Bruce’s closing remarks:

“It’s time for the choir to start singing. This is not going to be Bruce’s organization; it can’t be one or two people. . . . I know everybody gives a lot of time; you’ve got to give more. I don’t know what else to say, right now we’re sink of swim. We’ve got maybe 30, 45 days, to figure it out. We’ve got to make ABATE a business like it should have been all along and we’re going to do that, if that’s what everybody wants to do. If everybody wants to sit back and say, ‘Ah Larry will do it or Bruce will do it,’ it ain’t gonna happen.”

Biker Quote for Today

You wouldn’t be riding a motorcycle if you weren’t an optimist.

Do you think it’s a good idea to have an organization that stands up at the state level for motorcyclists’ rights? That’s what ABATE of Colorado does. When there are laws proposed that would be harmful to us, we have someone down at the Capitol fighting for us because we have ABATE. But for how long?

I was very surprised to open my email this evening and find two messages. First this one:

The financial picture presented at the SBOD Meeting on November 15th was extremely dismal. ABATE of Colorado is in a very serious financial situation. With training income diminishing this time of year, our cash flow is severely negative. Our current past-due bills, plus those that will become due in December, greatly exceed our liquid funds and accounts receivable. The Financial Oversight Committee has done everything possible to keep the doors open, but this requires the efforts of all ABATE of Colorado members and districts as, collectively, we are ABATE of Colorado.
Actions taken to date include Deb, Perrie, and Don voluntarily “laying themselves off” and then coming in to keep vital functions going on a volunteer basis. Bills are getting paid as money is available.
We discussed many options to increase our cash flow at the SBOD Meeting, such as: selling excess training bikes; raffling off bikes; posting bikes on Craig’s list; consigning bikes for sale in Colorado Springs; donations from members, sponsors, and other SMROs; and soliciting investments in a CD so we can secure a loan. While these are good ideas, none get us “immediate” help.
One way to help us pay our bills right now would be for each district to forward to the State account all but $50 or so of their district treasury. Please consider our dire need and give what you can. Keep in mind that districts do not exist without the state organization being viable.

And then this one:

Due to various circumstances, ABATE of Colorado has found themselves in financial dire straits. In an attempt to overcome this situation, we’d like to secure a loan to help us through the winter months.
A bank we contacted will give us a loan equivalent to the amount of a purchased Certificate of Deposit (CD). We’re asking supporters of ABATE to invest in a CD. We realize your investment wouldn’t be a “great” return on investment, but it would enable ABATE to secure a much needed reasonable interest loan to pay off our extremely high interest / short term loan.
When the CD matures in about 7 to 8 years, your investment will be returned along with the appropriate interest earned. Your investment will be deposited in a separate account until enough money can be secured to purchase an appropriate CD (which we hope will be only a few weeks) and will not be used for anything else. We’ll contact you when the CD is purchased with the mature date and rate of return. A signed receipt will guarantee the above promises.
Thank you for supporting ABATE and investing in a CD to help our financial situation. Please respond by Friday, November 28, 2014.
Below is a temporary receipt for investment, to be followed by a formal official receipt for investment from the ABATE State Office.

I will be digging in my pocket. Even if you don’t choose to be a member, if you think what ABATE is doing is valuable, I urge you to help out, too.

Biker Quote for Today

It’s not about the bike nor the ride; it’s about the adventure in life we all seek. Great memories are made of taking the trail less traveled and explored.

I wouldn’t have missed my ABATE District 10 meeting Sunday for anything. Theoretically Rocky, our newly drafted district rep, was to inform the membership of the issue that led to the firing of Terry Howard as state coordinator and read a prepared statement from the board.

Before the meeting got started there was no discussion of the issue, which led me to wonder if a lot of these folks had no idea or if perhaps everyone knew a lot more than I knew and for them there was nothing to discuss. Then I heard a little veiled, discrete mention so I suspected it was the latter.

We got to this topic in the agenda and again there was almost nothing said and no one asked any questions. This was too much for me. I said that if I hadn’t received a tip that something was going on and if I hadn’t pursued that to where I received a copy of the board’s statement, I would have been sitting there asking “What the hell are you people talking about??!!” And I got some questions answered. Here’s what I’ve learned.

As we already knew, Terry was removed because the board concluded that she had not fulfilled her fiduciary responsibility to the organization. Apparently there were some expenses that were paid for more than once. I have no idea if there was anything more than that. And something of that sort could easily happen by accident–heck, I’ve paid the same bill twice myself once or twice. So the board is wise to phrase it the way they did. You can be bad at managing money without being a criminal.

I asked if there was a criminal investigation underway. The internal investigation is continuing, we were told, and in compliance with the law regarding a 401(c)3 organization, a report has been made to the state and to the City and County of Denver. What happens next may depend a lot on the response from them. That response is not expected for a couple weeks.

So that’s not a lot but it’s something. It’s more than I knew before. And I really did feel like everyone else in that room knew way more than I did, but most of them are officers or state staff members or whatever–insiders–and I’m just a member, nothing else.

Oh, and as for Rocky reading the board statement, up to that point he still had not seen it himself. More than one person suggested strongly that this whole business be made known to all ABATE of Colorado members immediately. This sort of delay is unconscionable.

Biker Quote for Today

The good news is that heaven has a motocross track. The bad news is you’re racing next Tuesday.

Sad. That’s the word that, for me at least, sums up this bit of business.

I got a tip the other day that something was going on at ABATE of Colorado, that Terry Howard, the state coordinator, had been removed under very unpleasant circumstances. I immediately started trying to find out what the situation was.

Not surprisingly, the state organization is being pretty close-mouthed but they did prepare an official statement. Here is that statement.

In September, 2014, the ABATE of Colorado Board of Directors was made aware of discrepancies in one of ABATE’s bank accounts. At the September BOD meeting, in keeping with the fiduciary duties of the Board of Directors to the membership and the organization as a whole, a committee was formed to investigate these issues.

Although the investigation is far from being completed, by the end of two weeks, the committee had found enough evidence to support the allegations of Breach of Fiduciary Duties the State Coordinator. An emergency meeting of the Board of Directors was called for Saturday, October 4, 2014, at which time the decision was made to terminate the employment of [then] State Coordinator, Terry Howard.

The future of ABATE, and where we go from here, will be formally discussed further at the November (and future) board meeting(s). Don Enninga, assistant State Coordinator, will be acting as State Coordinator while we transition.

One plan at this time is that ABATE will be going back to a volunteer State Coordinator position. Interested parties should submit a Letter of Intent to the Board of Directors.

Please be assured, the Board of Directors and the ABATE office staff are working diligently to prevent future issues and will be keeping you, the membership, updated.

At this point that is all I know. Obviously, I’ll try to learn more and will report on what I find.

But again, the whole thing, to me, is very sad. I’ve known Terry for a number of years now and I like her and I’ve always thought she was doing a heck of a job as state coordinator. Regardless of what the facts of this matter are, ABATE will no longer have her there doing this job.

Let me give you an example of her efforts.

A number of years ago I unknowingly set some wheels in motion. I was doing a lot of work at that time as the National Motorcycle Examiner for Examiner.com. I was (and am) an ABATE member and I got to wondering why it was that the sportbiking crowd and the various state ABATEs were generally unfriendly with each other. So I posted on some sportbike forums asking opinions of ABATE and the reasons.

Boy did I get a response.

It turned out that the sportbikers, who for the most part are ATGATT folks, dislike ABATE because they saw these groups as being anti-helmet. Perhaps some state groups are but in my experience they are more anti-helmet law, which is to say, they prefer to have government stay out of it and let the rider decide. I know ABATE of Colorado strongly encourages wearing helmets, but is against having a law requiring them. That’s my own personal opinion as well.

But in the course of all the discussion there was a comment from someone in the Colorado Sportbike Club who said his group was not down on ABATE the way so many groups in other states are.

Terry Howard was reading these articles and the discussion they were generating and when she saw that statement she immediately contacted that person and when the dust had all settled ABATE of Colorado and the CSC had formed an alliance and the two groups have been working together on issues of concern to all bikers ever since. I may have set the stage but Terry was the one who made that happen. Colorado may be the only state in the country where these two groups are united. And I hope this relationship weathers this storm. I don’t see why it shouldn’t but you never know.

So yes, I think it’s incredibly sad. I don’t know what Terry has or has not done and I don’t even know what she is accused of having done. But I do know that ABATE is a loser in all this. There are no winners. It’s just sad.

Biker Quote for Today

If people focused on the important things in life, there’d be a shortage of dirt bikes.

Change is afoot for ABATE of Colorado. The motorcycling advocacy and training organization will soon be moving into a new home and is also looking at significant changes in its financial structure.

First off, that run-down old farmhouse you see in the picture above will soon be the headquarters for the state organization. Owned by Larry Montgomery, resigning District 10 representative, it is being rehabbed in a couple of “barn-raising” weekends. With all the volunteer labor going into it, it is being referred to as “Habitat for ABATE,” a play on the Habitat for Humanity organization that builds homes for poor people. ABATE currently pays $2,500 a month for office space and Larry will be charging about $500 a month, with all the money ABATE puts into renovations counting toward rent. Thus, $6,000 put into renovation will cover the rent for a year.

ABATE is also considering cutting back publication of the “Spokesman,” its membership newsletter, to bi-monthly from monthly, saving about $1,500 for each of the six months not published by doing so.

Cost savings need no justification if they do not hinder an organization’s mission but in this case they are also needed. Membership has been declining and as of January 1, 2015, changes in the Colorado Motorcycle Operator Safety Training (MOST) program will have an additional impact on the group’s revenues. At that time the state intends to switch the way the program operates so that instead of paying money to the training organizations, MOST money will be rebated directly to students.

The MOST program was set up to use an extra fee tacked onto all motorcycle license renewals to help decrease the cost of rider training. The idea being that the more riders who receive training, the fewer accidents and fatalities. Significant recent changes in the way the MOST program is administered have not set well with the training organizations so the program that organizations such as ABATE were instrumental in creating is now falling more and more out of favor with these very organizations.

Meanwhile, according to ABATE State Coordinator Terry Howard, this latest change will mean that the price ABATE charges for its training courses will increase and with every increase she expects to see fewer numbers of students signing up. Specifically, it costs ABATE $253 per student to put on a Beginning Rider Course. ABATE currently charges $215 and MOST kicks in $35. After January 1, says Terry, ABATE will need to charge $253. The ultimate cost to the student will remain the same essentially but the higher up-front charge is expected to dissuade some percentage of potential sign-ups.

Biker Quote for Today

The 3-percent rule: If you want to go faster, ride with people who are 3-percent faster than you.

A poker run to raise money for injured bikers has been put on hold this year due to a lack of people to do the grunt work of getting it organized and promoted.

ABATE of Colorado’s annual Randy Run was to have been held on June 21 but the event has been scrubbed.

The Randy Run started out as an ABATE District 10 event, named for Randy Savely (in photo) who lost a leg in a crash where a driver turned left into him as he crossed an intersection. ABATE members came to Randy’s aid and support after his mishap and it was decided that a run to raise money for such situations would be a good thing.

After a couple years, the state organization took the run on as a state event, lifting some of the load off the members of District 10, although it was still D-10 members who volunteered to do most of the work. In addition, the state organization agreed that all districts would contribute a portion of the money they make on their own runs and other events to the Randy Run fund, so that the fund would not be dependent solely on the Randy Run itself.

The only constant is change, however, and that includes the situation in D-10. Many of the members most active on this event have dropped away from the group and Randy himself is not in a position to do much. Lay-offs at his job have resulted in him having to work six 10-hour days a week, and he has developed some health issues related to his leg as well.

At the most recent state board meeting the decision was made to pull the plug on this year’s event, although the fund will continue and requests for aid will still be met. There just won’t be a Randy Run this year. A decision will be made on a 2015 event later once it becomes clear what support there would be available.

Biker Quote for Today

Ride for the soul!

Sunday was the January meeting of my ABATE District 10, for the first time in our new meeting space–and definitely a step up!

For as long as I’ve been a member we have met at the Frontier Club out on East Colfax, which is kind of a dive bar. It wasn’t bad but apparently some people objected to the idea of a biker organization that promotes riding safety to be meeting in a bar. So we moved to Noonan’s over at the Heather Ridge country club, in a private meeting room. Some members opposed the move and unfortunately, they were noticeable at this meeting in their absence.

So if anyone ever wonders about how motorcycle events come to be held–poker runs, rides–this meeting was a demonstration of the answer. Almost the entire meeting was taken up with two areas of focus. One was the safeguarding of riders’ liberties and the other was planning events.

On the safeguarding liberties front, a guy who goes by Stump was there. He is the ABATE of Colorado legislative liaison and he was there talking about a lot of bills or potential bills in this new session of the Colorado legislature.

One was a proposed bill to prohibit anyone under the age of 8 from being a passenger on a motorcycle. This had the appearance of a solution looking for a problem. The representative behind this thing is Joann Ginal, a Democrat from Fort Collins. According to Stump–and I do acknowledge that Stump could be biased–this thing got started with Ginal was approached by a couple constituents who didn’t think this was safe, and that the legislature should do something to protect kids. Apparently, however, no one–not the Colorado State Patrol, CDOT, or anyone else–thought there was any need for such legislation. Also, it seems one of the people who approached Ginal was the wife in a divorcing couple, and her to-be-ex likes to take their kids for rides–which she does not like. Let’s get the government involved!

Lacking no good statistics on the number of accidents with motorcycles involving kids, it appears the bill will go nowhere. But that’s the kind of thing ABATE tries to look out for. And by the way, ABATE has a new logo, that includes the wording, “Dedicated to Freedom of the Road.”

The events planning portion was total nuts and bolts. Although each event has its own committee, some of the details get hammered out at the district meeting. For instance, we talked about the upcoming (July 12) Iron Azz ride, a 500-miles in 12 hours ride. Would there be T-shirts? Would they be included in the $25 registration fee or do we sell them?

Or the Blessing of the Bikes, in May. Do we continue to sell the little pigs that are the trinket of the event (they cost 97 cents and sell for one dollar) or does everyone just get one? The suggestion was raised that not all traditions are worth continuing, but the response was that the riders always want something as a token of the event. So the decision was to keep the pigs, give them at no extra charge to all participants, but revamp the registration so instead of $10 per rider and $5 for the passenger, everyone just pays $10.

Yeah, it’s pretty mundane, but you can bet these sorts of discussions go on for every event you attend. They don’t just spring into the universe fully formed.

Biker Quote for Today

Adventure begins when your plan falls apart.