The weathers getting warmer and I’m seeing more and more bikes one the road, mine included. Remember people in cars have gotten a little rusty on their ability to look for us. That is those that developed the skill in the first place. Give them a little more time and space to see you. I really don’t want to spend time in the ER, Hospital or worse visiting my friends this year.

   This brings us to May being Motorcycle Awareness Month. (I know it’s only April) Let’s get out and get as many proclamations as possible this year. It put in contact with the local powers that be and that’s where grass roots advocacy starts.

   The Awareness rally has been moved up to April 30 this year. I guess we could frighten the re enactors that will be there on the first weekend in May. Bring those proclamations to the State House. Let’s remind the Government and the people of this great state that ABATE is a force to be reckoned with. We have a lot of work to get done this year. This is open to anyone, so bring a friend. If they’re not an ABATE member, ask them why. We don’t mind fighting for their freedom too, but a little help couldn’t hurt. Rain or shine I’ll see you there?

   Again I ask, “IS THIS THE YEAR?”

   Enjoying the ride
    Ed Schetter
    Proud Executive Director
    ABATE of Ohio Inc.
Here are the updates from the hard working Bylaw Review Committee. If you have anything to add or an issue you think is unclear our needs addressed, please drop me a line.

Constitution motions passed at the March 2011 BOD meeting that were proposed at the November 2010 meeting. Motion 70: Add Article 8, Paragraph B: “No contract may be signed or executed when the officer signing has a conflict of interest within said contract. A conflict of interest is present whenever the officer a. Is biased because of his/her financial, contractual, organizational, or other interests which relate to the contract, or b. Obtains any unfair competitive advantage over other parties by virtue of his/her office in ABATE of Ohio, Inc.” Self Explanatory. Motion 71: Add Article 11: Miscellaneous, Paragraph C “ABATE logos, emblems, publications, both printed and electronic, and any other designs or intellectual properties are sole property of ABATE of Ohio, Inc. and may only be reproduced by permission.” Self Explanatory. 3rd reading and voting on Constitution motions made at the January 2011 BOD meeting will be at the May 2011 meeting: Motion 72: Change Article 5, Section 4, Paragraph B to “A voting member of the BOD who holds more than one voting BOD office or proxy will be counted only once for quorum but may vote one time for each BOD voting office or proxy held.” Eliminate Article 5, Section 5, Paragraph G. “Votes from proxies held by a current voting member of the BOD will be counted separately from the vote made in the commission of their held BOD office.” By adding “or proxy” to Paragraph B, Paragraph G becomes redundant. Motion 73: Clarify Article 5, Section 5, Paragraph H. “The proxy holder must vote as directed, unless new information unknown by the voting BOD member at the time the proxy was issued is presented and the proxy holder believes the information would have changed the voting BOD member’s direction, had it been known. Then, the proxy holder must “abstain due to new information” for the vote.” Self explanatory. Motion 74: Add Article 5, Section 5, new paragraph. “A proxy is not transferrable by a proxy holder.” Self explanatory. 2nd reading of Constitution motions made at the March 2011 BOD meeting will be at the May 2011 meeting: Motion 75: Change the title of Article IV from “Organization” to “Corporate Organization”. Self explanatory. Motion 76: Add “of organized regions” to Article IV, Section 3, Paragraph B and Change “recognized” to “considered organized” in Article IV, Section 4, Paragraph B. A region is recognized as a geographic location but is considered organized when required officers are in position. Motion 77: Add “of organized counties” to Article IV, Section 4, Paragraph A and Change “recognized” to “considered organized” in Article IV, Section 5, Paragraph B. A county is recognized as a geographic location but is considered organized when required officers are in position. Motion 78: Change the title of Article V from “Board of Directors” to “BOD Organization” Self explanatory. Motion 79: Clarify Article V, Section1, Paragraph C. Self explanatory. Motion 80: Delete “Proxy shall not name another voting member of the BOD.” from Article V, Section 2, Paragraph D. Section 2 addresses attendance policy, not proxy policy. Motion 81: Clarify Article V, Section 5, Paragraph A. Self explanatory. Motion 82: Clarify Article VI, Paragraphs B and C and delete Article VI, Paragraph D. By inserting “These offices are filled by a vote of the BOD” into Paragraphs B and C, Paragraph D becomes redundant. Motion 83: Replace “activities” with “endeavors” in Article VII, Section 1, Paragraph B. This clarifies the statement. Motion 84: Add Article VII, Section 4, Paragraph C: “To serve as the Chairman of the ABATE PAC Fund.” Self explanatory. Motion 85: Remove “Lifetime Achievement” from Article III, Section2: Types of Membership. Lifetime Achievement is an award that receives Lifetime membership. It is not a form of membership. Bylaw motions passed at the March 2011 BOD meeting that were proposed at the November 2010 meeting. Motion 1: Remove “not a motorcycle club” from Article 1: Organizational Identification, Section 1, Paragraph A. Self explanatory. Motion 2: Remove Article 1, Section 1, Paragraphs B, C, and D. These paragraphs are not part of the Identification of ABATE and are part of Article 2 of the Constitution. Motion 3: Clarify Article 1, Section 1, Paragraph B to expand the physical property identifications and separate to Paragraph D the statement of unauthorized use. Self explanatory. Motion 4: Add Article 1, Section 1, Paragraph C to define the intellectual property identifications. Self explanatory. Motion 5: Add Article 1, Section 2, Paragraph A “Membership in ABATE of Ohio, Inc. is open to anyone, including members of other groups or organizations (including motorcycle clubs).” Self explanatory. Motion 6: Replace Article 1, Section 2, Paragraph B (originally Para A) “ABATE members tend to reflect all socio-economic levels of the general society and all walks of life. This diversity leads to a dynamic organization with varying opinions and the ability to analyze topics from different points of view.” Self explanatory. Motion 7: Replace Article 1, Section 2, Paragraph C (originally Para B) “Members are prohibited from actively promoting the philosophies / objectives or conducting the business of any other organization at or during ABATE meetings or events that interferes with ABATE business.” Self explanatory. Motion 8: Move Article 1, Section 3, Paragraph B to a new Article 5: Qualification of Officers. The new article will appear immediately before the election procedures to define the qualifications for each office. The new section will be modeled after the existing “Qualification Guidelines for Officers” in the Policies and Procedures (pages 24-27). It is our intent that the section belongs in the Bylaws, not the Policies/Procedures. Motion 9 was withdrawn at the March 2011 BOD meeting and replace with Motion 18 Motion 9: Remove Article 1, Section 3, Paragraph C. Self explanatory. 3rd reading and voting on Bylaw motions made at the January 2011 BOD meeting will be at the May 2011 meeting: Motion 10: Introduce new Article 2: Board Meetings. Establishes expectations of an ABATE board meeting. 2nd reading of Bylaw motions made at the March 2011 BOD meeting will be at the May 2011 meeting: Motion 11: Introduce new Article 3: Committee Meetings. Establishes expectations of an ABATE committee meeting. Motion 12: Rename Article 2 “Organization Functions and Activities” to “Events” Self explanatory. Motion 13: Clarify Article 2, Sections 1 and 2 and eliminate Section 4. Simplifies the expectations of an ABATE of Ohio, Inc. event and clearly states what is needed for sanctioning. Motion 14: Replace Article 3: Membership Dues, with new Article 3: Membership. Self explanatory. Motion 15: Replace Article 4, Section 1: Property of ABATE of Ohio, Inc., with new. Self explanatory. Motion 16: Add new paragraph “All officers must maintain Ohio residency during their entire tenure.” to Article 1, Section 3: General Officer Identification. Self explanatory Motion 17: Add new paragraph “All officers must maintain membership in good standing during their entire tenure.” to Article 1, Section 3: General Officer Identification. Self explanatory Motion 18: (An error was found, Motion 9 is withdrawn and replaced by this motion.) Remove Article 1, Section 3, Paragraph C. Self explanatory

    Oh the brotherhood and unity I’ve seen in the last month.

   Jim Sprague, Jim Elgin and myself drove into “that state up North” to attend ABATE of Michigan’s State seminar. We were welcomed with open arms and asked for our participation and input, along with Jay Jackson from ABATE of Indiana. I was able to attend their break out sessions and general meetings looking for information and methods of doing things that we might be able to use to strengthen our fine organization. I collected a lot of good information and would like to congratulate them or a job well done. I was amazed by their spirit, fighting to be a choice state since 1975 and still fighting the good fight. Gave me a little more of the never give up spirit that make us strong. And even though I attended The Ohio State University, the Buckeye jokes and cracks were kept to a minimum. I’ll admit, and Jim Sprague will support, I did try to reignite the border war a couple of times. I’ll was in good fun and we acquired a gas powered blender incase of a power outage or an emergency requiring frozen drinks while camping.
   A month later Jim Rhoades, Jinx and Patty Rahn, and several other members of ABATE of Michigan attended our State Seminar. Jim is their legislative officer and has been a part of the motorcycle rights movement for a long time. Man we have a lot of names starting with “J” in this article. We had an outstanding Seminar and their contributions made it even better. We were able to show off the spirit, drive and talented we have here in Ohio.
   A quick break to thank all of those who helped put on the Seminar, all those in attendance, the legislators who attended, and all the sponsors that made it possible. Back to my ramblings, Michigan needs our help getting their helmet law reformed. And Ohio needs their help getting our ROW bill passed. The purpose of this article is really not to tell everyone what meetings I’ve attended. But, with the membership of ABATE of Ohio standing together strong and knowing our neighboring organizations are standing with us in support of the cause; our opposition doesn’t stand a chance. I ask you again this month “IS 2011 THE YEAR?”

    Enjoying the ride,
    Ed Schetter
   Proud Executive Director
   ABATE of Ohio Inc.

    I have a question for all members of ABATE of Ohio:

Is 2011 the year?

Is 2011 the year we:

    With the talent and the commitment we have here within our great organization, any and all are possible. But, it’s going a lot of work and in many cases it won’t be easy. I’m asking for everyone’s help to make our goals happen. No one person can do it alone, a small committed group can give it a good fight, but if we all band together we can achieve.
    State Seminar is February 4-5th in Columbus. This is our “Spring Training” where we will hone our skills, discuss and develop strategies to make these goals happen. I would ask all who can to attend. Kristy and the rest of the Seminar Committee have worked hard to plan an informative and interactive event. I look forward to learning a few new things myself. Let’s plan on celebrating a few victories this year. Yea…..I think 2011 is the year.
    Oh and did I mention the NTSB’s call for all states to impose a mandatory helmet law. Kentucky has already had one proposed and they’ve only been a choice state for a few short years. For the record, I’m not anti helmet, I’m anti Helmet Law. Ride however you feel safe. I’m sure there will be more on this to come.

   Enjoying the Ride,
    Ed Schetter

    And the Bylaw review committee has been busy. Have an idea? Want to join in? Here’s the updates:

Constitution motions passed at the January 2011 BOD meeting that were proposed at the September 2010 meeting.

Motion 41:
Add “When applicable, prepare information for publication on the State Website.” To Article 7, Section 1:
      Duties of all Officers of ABATE of Ohio, Inc.
	Self explanatory.

Motion 42:
	Change the title “State Webmaster/IT Administrator” to “State Technology Director”. 
   Change the title “Region Webmaster/IT Administrator” to “Region Technology Officer”.
             Self explanatory

Motion 43:
	Remove “Web Team” from Article 7, Section 16:  Duties of the Webmaster/IT Administrator.
	Article 7 is duties of officers not duties of committees.

Motion 44:
	Change the title “Web Team” to “Technology Committee”.
	Self explanatory.

Motion 45:
	Clarify Article 7, Section 16:  Duties of the State Webmaster/IT Administrator.
	Self explanatory

Motion 46:
Add “When applicable, prepare a written report for BOD, RBO, CBO meetings.” To Article 7, Section 1:
      Duties of all Officers of ABATE of Ohio, Inc.
	Self explanatory.
Motion 47:
	Clarify Article 7, Section 17: Duties of the Ohio MRF Representative.
	Self explanatory

Motion 48:
	Change the title “Ohio NCOM Representative” to “Regional NCOM Co-Director”.
	Self explanatory.

Motion 49:
	Add Article 7, Section 18: Duties of the Ohio NCOM Representative.
	Self explanatory.

Motion 50:
	Add Article 7, Section 19: Duties of the ABATE of Ohio Foundation Board Seats A & B.
	Self explanatory.

Motion 51:
	Add “and assist” to Article 7, Section 1: Duties of all Officers of ABATE of Ohio, Inc., Paragraph F.
	Self explanatory.

Motion 52:
	Add “To promote membership in ABATE of Ohio, Inc.” to Article 7: Section 1:
    Duties of all Officers of ABATE of Ohio, Inc.,
	Self explanatory.

Motion 53:
	Clarify Article 7, Section 20: Duties of a Regional Director.
	Self explanatory

Motion 54:
	Clarify Article 7, Section 21: Duties of a County Coordinator.
	Self explanatory

Motion 55:
	Add Article 8 Contracts.
	Wording clarified, and due to importance, has its own section.  Moved from other areas of the Constitution.
Motion 56:
	Clarity Article 9, Paragraph A.
	Self explanatory.

Motion 57:
	Clarify Article 9, Paragraph D replacing 2 issues with 90 days and adding publication to the State Website.
	Self explanatory.

Motion 58:
	Clarify Article 9, Paragraph E adding publication to the State Website, adding placement of article 
    and replacing one publication with minimum time limit.
	Self explanatory.

Motion 59:
	Clarify Article 9, Paragraph F adding annual clarifiers.
	Self explanatory.

Motion 60:
	Clarify Article 9, Paragraph G. and Article 7, Section 7: Duties of the State Secretary, Paragraph B.
	Self explanatory.

Motion 61:
	Clarify Article 9, Paragraph H, adding county level offices.
	Self explanatory.

Motion 62:
	Add “Annual List of Changes” and “to be located at the State Office” to Article 7, Section 7: 
   Duties of the State Secretary, Paragraph D. To amend the corporate notebook to include the Annual
   List of Changes for archival purposes and to specify its location.

Motion 63:
	Remove Article 9, Paragraphs I and J.
	If motion 62 is approved, this is redundant to the amended Article 7, Section 7: Duties of the 
   State Secretary, Paragraph D.

Motion 64:
	Change Article 9, Paragraph K to: 
  At the direction of the BOD, a new dated version of the Constitution, Bylaws, Policies/Procedures and/or 
  Forms will be published with all changes incorporated that have been approved since the last printing.
	The ABATE of Ohio Organization Manual will consist of four sections: Constitution, Bylaws, 
  Policies/Procedures and Forms, each with separate publication dates.
    This will allow partial republication to reduce expenses and improve document quality.

Motion 65:
	Add Article 9, Paragraph L:
When the BOD establishes a committee to review the ABATE of Ohio, Inc. Organizational Manual, 
either the Chairman of the Board or the Executive Director shall chair said committee.
	Self explanatory.

Motion 66:
	Change Article 10, Paragraph A from “furtherance “ to “advancement”.
	Self explanatory.

Motion 67:
	Add “printed and electronic publications” Article 10, Paragraph B.
	Self explanatory.

Motion 68:
	Remove Article 11, Paragraph D.
	If motion 55 is approved, this is redundant to the new Article 8, Contracts.

Motion 69:
	Add Article 11, Paragraph E:
Any and all issues not addressed directly by the Constitution, Bylaws or Policies and
 Procedures of ABATE of Ohio, Inc. will be governed by the current edition of Robert’s
 Rules of Order.
	Self explanatory.

		3rd reading and voting on Constitution motions
 made at the November 2010 BOD meeting will be at the March 2011 meeting:

Motion 70:
Add Article 8, Paragraph B:  “No contract may be signed or executed when the officer signing has a
 conflict of interest within said contract.  A conflict of interest is present whenever the officer 
a.- Is biased because of his/her financial, contractual, organizational, or other interests which relate to
 the contract, or....
b.-Obtains any unfair competitive advantage over other parties by virtue of his/her office in ABATE of Ohio, Inc.”
Self Explanatory.

Motion 71:
Add Article 11: Miscellaneous, Paragraph C “ABATE logos, emblems, publications, both printed and 
electronic, and any other designs or intellectual properties are sole property of ABATE of Ohio, Inc. 
and may only be reproduced by permission.”
Self Explanatory.

2nd reading of Constitution motions made at the January 2011 BOD meeting will be at the March 2011 meeting:

Motion 72:
Change Article 5, Section 4, Paragraph B to “A voting member of the BOD who holds more than one
 voting BOD office or proxy will be counted only once for quorum but may vote one time for each 
BOD voting office or proxy held.”
Eliminate Article 5, Section 5, Paragraph G. “Votes from proxies held by a current voting member
 of the BOD will be counted separately from the vote made in the commission of their held BOD office.”
By adding “or proxy” to Paragraph B, Paragraph G becomes redundant.

Motion 73:
Clarify Article 5, Section 5, Paragraph H.  “The proxy holder must vote as directed, unless new information
 unknown by the voting BOD member at the time the proxy was issued is presented and the proxy holder
 believes the information would have changed the voting BOD member’s direction, had it been known. 
   Then, the proxy holder must “abstain due to new information” for the vote.”
Self explanatory.

Motion 74:
Add Article 5, Section 5, new paragraph.  “A proxy is not transferrable by a proxy holder.”
Self explanatory.

	3rd reading and voting on Bylaw motions made at the November 2010 BOD meeting will be at
 the March 2011 meeting:

		

Motion 1:
	Remove “not a motorcycle club” from Article 1: Organizational Identification, Section 1, Paragraph A.
	Self explanatory.

Motion 2:
	Remove Article 1, Section 1, Paragraphs B, C, and D.
	These paragraphs are not part of the Identification of ABATE and are part of Article 2 of the Constitution.

Motion 3:
	Clarify Article 1, Section 1, Paragraph B to expand the physical property identifications and separate to
 Paragraph D the statement of unauthorized use.
	Self explanatory.

Motion 4:
	Add Article 1, Section 1, Paragraph C to define the intellectual property identifications.
	Self explanatory.

Motion 5:
	Add Article 1, Section 2, Paragraph A “Membership in ABATE of Ohio, Inc. is open to anyone,
 including members of other groups or organizations (including motorcycle clubs).”
	Self explanatory.

Motion 6:
	Replace Article 1, Section 2, Paragraph B (originally Para A) “ABATE members tend to
 reflect all socio-economic levels of the general society and all walks of life.
  This diversity leads to a dynamic organization with varying opinions and the ability to analyze
 topics from different points of view.”
	Self explanatory.

Motion 7:
	Replace Article 1, Section 2, Paragraph C (originally Para B) “Members are prohibited from
 actively promoting the philosophies / objectives or conducting the business of any other
 organization at or during ABATE meetings or events that interferes with ABATE business.”
	Self explanatory.

Motion 8:
	Move Article 1, Section 3, Paragraph B to a new Article 5: Qualification of Officers.
	The new article will appear immediately before the election procedures to define the
 qualifications for each office.  The new section will be modeled after the existing
 “Qualification Guidelines for Officers” in the Policies and Procedures (pages 24-27).
  It is our intent that the section belongs in the Bylaws, not the Policies/Procedures.
Motion 9:
	Remove Article 1, Section 3, Paragraph C.
	Self explanatory.

2nd reading of Bylaw motions made at the January 2011 BOD meeting will be at the March 2011 meeting:

Motion 10:
	Introduce new Article 2:  Board Meetings.
	Establishes expectations of an ABATE board meeting.

    Here we are, a New Year, a new legislature to work with, and a new set of officers. This is a kind of rebirth if you will. With the seating of the 129th general assembly here in the great State of Ohio comes a new set of challenges.
    Maintaining the relationships we have developed in the past, strengthening our position with those who have stood with us in the past. Developing new relationships with those who will stand with us in the future, these are necessary to increase our numbers and replace allies that are no longer in the legislature by their choice or by the choice of others.
    We also face the challenge of introducing new legislative action and reintroducing the bills we have not been able to get passed. Let’s hit the ground running from the beginning and see how far we can advance motorcycling with the 129th assembly. We have a R.O.W. bill to get passed along with a lot of other work to do (distracted driving, description of a motorcycle, random roadside motorcycle specific checkpoints, and the list goes on.) We have a lot of work to do. Thank you to all who stepped up and took a leadership roll for 2011 in ABATE of Ohio, Inc. I look forward to working with all of you on our quest for freedom and motorcycling. We have the best and most dedicated membership of any organization I’ve ever worked with. Let’s spread the passion for motorcycling that we feel and increase the membership to the numbers we deserve. I look forward to seeing everyone at seminar in February.
            Enjoying The Ride,
            Ed Schetter
            Executive Director, ABATE of Ohio, Inc.

    Oh yea……..BYLAW REVIEW

Motion 30:

Motion 31:

Motion 32:

Motion 33:

Motion 34:

Motion 35:

Motion 36:

Motion 37:

Motion 38:

Motion 39:

Motion 40:

3rd reading and voting on Constitution motions made at the September 2010 BOD meeting will be at the January 2011 BOD meeting:

Motion 41:

Motion 42:

Motion 43:

Motion 44:

Motion 45:

Motion 46:

Motion 47:

Motion 48: Change the title “Ohio NCOM Representative” to “Regional NCOM Co-Director”.

Motion 49:

Motion 50:

Motion 51:

Motion 52:

Motion 53:

Motion 54:

Motion 55:

Motion 56:

Motion 57:

Motion 58:

Motion 59:

Motion 60:

Motion 61:

Motion 62:

Motion 63:

Motion 64:

Motion 65:

Motion 66:

Motion 67:

Motion 68:

Motion 69:

2nd reading of Constitution motions made at the November 2010 BOD meeting will be at the January 2011 BOD meeting.

Motion 70:

Motion 71:

2nd reading of Bylaw motions made at the November 2010 BOD meeting at the January 2011 BOD meeting:

Motion 1:

Motion 2:

Motion 3:

Motion 4:

Motion 5:

Motion 6:

Motion 7:

Motion 8: Move Article 1, Section 3, Paragraph B to a new Article 5: Qualification of Officers.

Motion 9: