06-05-2003

03LR06 - May 5, 2003

MRF LEADERS' REPORT
Motorcycle Riders Foundation
P.O. Box 1808
Washington, DC 20013-1808
202-546-0983 (voice)
202-546-0986 (fax)
wyld@mrf.org (e-mail)
http://www.mrf.org (website)

#03LR06 - THE LEADERS' REPORT - Ride With The LeadersTM - June 5, 2003

TO: The Leaders of the American Motorcyclists' Rights Movement

FROM: Tom Wyld, VP-Government Relations, Motorcycle Riders Foundation

WILL "BEST" BE THE BEST EVER? . . . Looks that way! BEST of the West is the Motorcycle Riders Foundation's premier regional leadership summit for the western states, so if the American West is your home, YOU BELONG AT BEST OF THE WEST! Co-hosted by ABATE of Colorado, the MRF believes we may have record-setting attendance at the June 20-22 conference in Aurora (just outside Denver) with nearly 200 motorcyclists' rights and safety advocates pre-registered!

You can still register for BEST of the West, although you must do it soon to ensure a ticket to the banquet and to obtain hotel reservations at the conference site. And if you can't make it to the BEST in person, don't miss out on your opportunity to be a conference sponsor. Visit the MRF website for details (www.mrf.org/events.php) regarding both conference registration and sponsorships.

REMINDER: If you are pre-registered as a member of a group and plan to attend the banquet at BEST of the West, your $25 payment must be received before June 10th to guarantee enough meals for everyone. Contact Bev ASAP at the MRF office (bev@mrf.org or 202-546-0983) if you have not already paid for your banquet ticket.

EPA'S KNOCKIN' ON YOUR DOOR - ARE YOU KNOCKING ON THEIRS? . . . The Environmental Protection Agency is likely to lob its final rule on street motorcycles right into your garage. In a matter of days! You have one last chance - one small break in the traffic - to level what may be the last questions the powerful agency should answer before the rule is final. Have you called your U.S. Representative and asked him/her to sign the letter to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) penned by U.S. Reps. John Shimkus (R-Illinois) and Ted Strickland (D-Ohio)? If you did, great! CALL AGAIN! If you haven't called, you need to call...TWICE!

Here's the scoop. Both Congressmen Shimkus and Strickland have heard from some Congressmen, but most of the calls are just expressions of interest. Courtesy phone calls. Now we need SIGNATURES! If your Congressman (or his or her staffers) told you that he/she will "look at the letter," that's good. Now we need more. Now it is time for you to call them again and ask, "What did you think of the letter? Won't you SIGN THIS LETTER - to ask these important questions - for ME, at this most critical time?" Again, if they have questions you can't answer, I am happy to help.

Some of you asked for more time to do your good work, and I've gone to bat for you. Both Congressmen Shimkus and Strickland have agreed to postpone sending this critical EPA letter ANOTHER FIVE DAYS - just so you can persuade your Congressman to sign this letter. They trust you to do the right thing - by keeping the calls and e-mails going to your Congressmen. I promised these Congressmen that you would do it. I've told them you will not let up until your Congressman's name is on this letter.

They are counting on you. You've got until next Friday, June 13th, to persuade your Congressman to sign on. You can do it. WE must do it. And...DO NOT RELY ON SNAIL MAIL. There's no time. You need to telephone or email your Congressman TODAY. You can find your Congressman's email address and phone number at www.house.gov. Phone calls to your U.S. Representative's district office are welcome. Make the call today! Make copies of this LEADERS' REPORT and take them to a riding event this weekend!

PROSPECTING FOR MOTORCYCLE SAFETY . . . MRF Board Members Carol Simpson and Lynn Oldenburg attended the 2003 Spring Meeting of AASHTO (the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials). Among the attendees and presenters were Michael Jackson, Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation; Dr. Jeffrey Runge, Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; and Mary Peters, the Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration and, as a motorcyclist and good friend of "Priest" of MMA of Arizona, a kindred spirit.

Lynn and Carol had individual, positive conversations with these individuals and many more. The consensus of the conversations was that we are going to move from talking about each other to talking to each other. In addition to listening, Lynn and Carol did a lot of talking - for motorcycle safety - chiefly Initiatives Two and Three of our joint SMRO-MRF Agenda for the reauthorization of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century. We expect a lot of good results from this coalition building.

See you soon - hopefully in Aurora, Colorado, for the best ever BEST of the West!

Yours for the right to ride, and your friend,

Tom

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(c)All Information contained in this report is copyrighted. Reproduction permitted with attribution. The Motorcycle Riders Foundation, incorporated in 1987, is a membership-based, national motorcyclists' rights organization headquartered in Washington, DC. The first motorcyclists' rights organization to establish a full-time presence in Washington, DC, the Motorcycle Riders Foundation is the only Washington voice devoted exclusively to the street rider. The MRF established MRFPAC in the early 1990s to advocate the election of candidates who would champion the cause of rider safety and rider freedom.

The MRF proudly claims state motorcyclists' rights organizations and the very founders of the American riders' rights movement among its leading members. The MRF is involved in federal and state legislation and regulations, motorcycling safety education, training, and public awareness. The MRF provides members and state motorcyclists' rights organizations with direction and information, and sponsors annual regional and national educational seminars for motorcyclists' rights activists, as well as publishing a bi-monthly newsletter, THE MRF REPORTS.


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