Welcome to the Warren County Newsletter page! Each month we will post our Coordinator's letter which will appear in the OUTSPOKIN' (The ABATE of OHIO, Inc. monthly magazine) for our online friends. This letter will keep you posted on the latest developments from Region 5 Warren County ABATE!

Read on, Dear Brothers & Sisters!

Warren County Coordinator's News

March 2002

Hey, Warren County!

March is here, and even though the weather outside is still cold, things are really starting to heat up for all of us, ABATE-wise! There’s a lot to talk about, so let’s go! Those of you who made it to last month’s Motorcyclists Rights Seminar in Columbus already know we had a great time! Speakers from all over the country involved in the rights movement gave us news, inspiration, and new ammunition to use in our quest to preserve the lifestyle and freedoms we enjoy so much. The breakout sessions kept all of us busy learning new ways to be more effective freedom fighters for our rights, and you’ll see some of them implemented throughout the year. The evening found all of us enjoying a great meal at the banquet, and after our bellies were full, the awards presentations began. The keynote speaker, Rick Gray, a long-time rights activist from the AMA gave a shocking yet amusing tale about the launch of a new motorcycle line that each of us has dreamed about, the “Big Johnson”, and even though the press release about the fictional motorcycle model was a spoof, it was presented in a way that conjured up mental images of a huge press conference attended by the media…Of course, after everyone finished laughing, Mr. Gray got down to business and presented a very poignant and inspirational address to the seminar attendees.

Following that, our various Region Directors presented the yearly regional awards, and this year’s Region 5 Award was presented to our old friend and brother, John “J.P.” Pennington. J.P. has worked long and hard for ABATE here in Region 5, and is very deserving of the honor, so next time you see him, give him your congratulations and a pat on the back for all his dedication! A special award was presented to Ray Phipps, owner of Aces & Eights H-D for all the work that they have done in signing new members and being a GREAT business sponsor and supporter of ABATE. Ray announced that he is actively working to bring other motorcycle dealerships into the ABATE family! Look for your local Harley, Honda, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Indian, and other motorcycle dealer to become involved soon! Ray and his wife Anne also made a generous surprise donation to our ABATE PAC fund! Way to go, Ray and Anne!

I told you earlier that there are a lot of things going on in March, and here are the details: Long time friend of ABATE and former State Representative George Terwilleger will be the guest speaker at this month’s meeting on the 17^th. George supported ABATE on many legislative issues while serving at the statehouse, and we look forward to his presentation for the Warren and Clermont County members. Yes, I said Warren AND Clermont counties, because for this month, we are combining the meetings! Due to space considerations, there’s also a special meeting location for this one. It will be held at the regular time of 1PM, but the location will be at Tabby’s, 5524 Parkside Dr. in Mason. It’s easy to find, it’s on the corner of SR741 and Kings Mills Rd.

Don’t forget that it’s not too early to begin collecting the Motorcycle Safety and Awareness Proclamations from your local government entity! We have a standard form that they can use to create the proclamation, so just contact Dick Higgins or myself to get a copy of it on floppy disk. It makes the process so easy for you; just ask your local city council or township board of trustees to do one for you, then hand them the disk. Of course, we use the proclamations for the big state Awareness Rally and Parade in Columbus each year!

Oops! I ran out of room, so I guess you’ll just have to get to the meeting to hear more!

See ya on the two-lane,

Duke

Phone: 513-932-1863

Email: duke@cinci.rr.com