Dark Clouds Lifting For ABATE Of Colorado
Monday, March 23rd, 2015
ABATE will hold its annual Blessing of the Bikes on May 2.
No one said it in so many terms but the total of what was all said Sunday at the ABATE District 10 meeting indicates ABATE of Colorado is moving beyond its recent troubles and will survive.
Having defaulted on its usurious loan, the group now has a judgment against it for about $32,800. Plus, following a complaint with the Colorado Secretary of State’s office in regard to alleged misuse of funds raised for downed bikers, the group will be required to bring the total in that account up to around $5,000 and then, having stepped completely away from the Randy Run–its former fundraiser for downed bikers–the money will need to be passed along to another group with that same purpose.
That would seem like a lot of bad news. How is it that the clouds are lifting?
Well, turns out, State Coordinator Bruce Downs was contacted by ABATE of Indiana, which is in need of training bikes, and ABATE of Colorado has arranged to sell 53 bikes to Indiana. These are bikes that are currently just being warehoused and are not needed here in Colorado for ABATE’s own rider training program. The money from that sale ought to go a very long way toward putting things right.
As a sign of better times, the group has taken one paid employee back onto the payroll and will also be bringing in an accounting temp to handle the day-to-day bookkeeping. And there is even talk of recreating the organizational newsletter, the Spokesman. Publication of the Spokesman was terminated in the depths of the recent financial crisis. While the decision to bring the newsletter back will necessarily have to wait till the future sorts itself out a little more, the discussion nevertheless points out the change in prospects for the future.
As ABATE backs off somewhat from the former size of its training program, it is at the same time turning its focus back more to being a motorcycle rights organization (MRO). And its moves to work more cooperatively with the Colorado Coalition of Clubs (COC)–with which there had been antagonism for some years–the very first prominent result of that rapprochement is the National Coalition of Motorcyclists annual convention being held here in Colorado, as I mentioned last week. Seems NCOM has a rule that it only holds its conference in states where the local MRO has a good working relationship with the COC.
So the optimism is still guarded, but the signs are saying that ABATE is back. Which, considering that we do need someone at the state capitol advocating for our interests, is good news for all motorcyclists in Colorado.
That said, I will make the aside here that in recent weeks I have been in communication with two different people who are talking about creating alternative MROs. It could be very interesting to see where these efforts go.
Biker Quote for Today
Murphy’s Motorcycle Laws: 2. The fact that your keys are still in your pants pocket will become apparent after you put your gloves on.
