Fear and Loathing in Dublin....
I’ve just returned home from our annual Legislative Seminar in Dublin, Ohio just outside of Columbus on Saturday, February 5th. I spent the whole weekend there from Friday to Sunday and had a blast. It’s been a while since I attended one of these and I missed ‘em.
The hotel it was held in, Embassy Suites was absolutely fantastic! Kristy Hawthorne came up with this place, arranged the booking, and worked her butt off all weekend keeping everything organized. ALL the rooms were “suites” with a bedroom, a living room (with a fold-out daybed) and even its own kitchen with a micro-wave and refrigerator....virtually a small apartment. And for those of you who might come next year, a bunch of people can sleep comfortably in one suite (with even two separate sleeping rooms) if necessary for financial reasons.
The building is eight stories tall and has a one-hundred foot high atrium in the center of it. Glass-paneled elevators whisk you up to your floor, allowing an awesome view of a waterfall cascading into a pebbled pond, surrounded by the greenery which abounds on the spacious multi-leveled ground floor concourse as you ascend. The eighth is a “smoking” floor, and many of us tobacco addicts took full advantage of that. Each room was accessed by a wrap around balcony overlooking the atrium. And the separately roomed swimming pool was certainly a treat after my not having swum since last summer. They also have a gym, which I briefly glanced at (of course) on my way to the pool. It certainly was great to be respectfully treated to the luxuries to which I’m accustomed. I’ve been thrown out of WAY worse places than this. Nobody even complained (as far as I know) about the noise, the trash, or even the shady behavior of some of the people traipsing in and out of my room for two days.
TJ, Mary Kay and I got there early Friday evening to find a bunch of people waiting in the hotel’s atrium bar (they have two) ready to begin the weekend. The hotel even provided us with free refreshments for a few relaxing hours. There I ran into my old buddy Rod Taylor, our official ABATE attorney. He and I discussed some of the differences between motorcycling legal issues in his home state of Indiana and here in Ohio. The rest of the evening was spent finding out what’s been going on with friends I haven’t seen in years and making a few new ones, including two crazy Canadian engineers from Toronto who happened to be staying there while at the local Honda plant for a few days. Man, those Canucks know how to party!
The next day (Saturday) began early as we settled down to the actual seminar after a great, free, real breakfast provided by the hotel (instead of that cereal and/or a donut Continental crap most places usually offer). Then, in one of the spacious meeting rooms provided, we were welcomed by our Executive Director Ed Schetter (who moderated) and by our Legislative Director Scott Wood, our Safety and Education Director Mike Stock and Jim Sprague for the ABATE Foundation.
Business began with hearing from various speakers, political and otherwise, who shared their wisdom and experiences. A Silent Auction was referred to benefitting our PAC fund which would receive bids on various cool items donated from throughout the state. All day long anyone could view and bid on these items which were kept on display in a separate conference room alongside our ABATE products.
A free lunch was provided by the ABATE of Ohio Foundation. Rob Dingman, National President and CEO of the AMA reassured the long-standing bond between his organization and ours during his luncheon speech.
Assorted sessions continued with A Government Panel consisting of various officials discussing how motorcycling issues are addressed within their authority, and how we can impact the process. Scott Wood led An Open Discussion to determine ABATE’s agenda for the 129th General Assembly. Mike Stock spoke of the Drivers Education-Share the Road with Motorcycles Program and how to get the program started in our regions. State Treasurer Lynn Hardin, Ed Schetter and our Chairman of the Board Jim Elgin jointly led the topic Running ABATE as a Business, which was about the nuts and bolts of what we do and how to keep them tight. Scott Wood’s Grassroots Advocacy told us how to get involved in the legislative process. Mike Stock spoke of the Motorcycle Ohio Safety and Awareness Campaigns, describing the statewide efforts and what materials are available.
I also attended one called Putting ABATE’s Best Face Forward concerning how to increase membership, participation and enthusiasm, very ably hosted by Ruby Worchuck, Director of Region 4. There, I voiced the suggestion to the group that we establish a separate, possibly non-voting, public-relations position on the state board, singularly devoted to increasing public awareness of our organization for support, and getting new memberships (something I’ve urged for years). This officer would be required to show progress, failure and success to the assembly at each and every state board meeting. And everyone whole-heartedly agreed. This person might form a committee to brainstorm and act as a clearinghouse for ideas to utilize on the state level, and to share throughout the regions. We NEED this people, ASAP! I can’t stress enough how important I think this could be!
As is usually the case, someone from the crowd further suggested that since I voiced the idea, I should take the position if one is created. But like I told them, I’ve managed to maintain my devotion to ABATE for over 25 years, while many others have burned out, simply because I’ve learned to firmly say “no” at times. I was certainly flattered by everyone’s enthusiastic confidence in my questionable abilities. BUT I’d also like to say here and now that though we might laugh at the reaction someone might give when they themselves are expected to follow through on ANY idea they’ve come up with....that also might actually keep some people from ever voicing new ideas. I just happen to be a lazy old sumbitch and I’m not ashamed to say it. Besides, ideas are in themselves hard work and sometimes they tax my head-bone, as it does every month when I do exactly what I’m doing right at this moment (especially today).
Later in the day, we had a General Session and heard what’s going on with our involvement in the National Coalition of Motorcyclists. Then Jim Rhodes, Legislative officer for ABATE of Michigan, spoke and told us What’s Going On Up North in his address
We took a break and were once again treated to free refreshments provided by the hotel before we sat down to a delicious buffet-style banquet dinner provided as part of our seminar package. Legislator of the Year Award winner, Senator Tim Schaffer, was our Keynote Speaker. Later still, the Silent Auction winners were announced and then various state and regional awards were given including the Lifetime Achievement Award which was presented to Mike Stock from Region 7. Closing Remarks were provided by my old (and I do mean OLD) friend Ex-Officio Officer Jim “Goofy” Bown.
Saturday night, a bunch of people ended up in my room where we partied, laughed, sang, listened to old music and talked ABATE well into the night. I awoke this morning (Sunday) feeling fuzzy, wondering where the hell I was, how I got there, and how I was getting home. Then I remembered that TJ and Mary Kay had my back, so I stumbled next door to their room just to make sure they hadn’t left without me. We then went down to the restaurant and I managed to consume a little bit of the (once again) free sumptuous breakfast before we loaded up the van and scooted away into the bright (and I DO mean bright) sunshine of the day.
Now, the reason I wanted to give such a detailed step-by-step accounting of my own personal impressions of this particular event while everything is still somewhat fresh, (even though others might also write about it) is to give you an idea of what one these important annual seminars consists of in the hope that even more of you might come next time. They’re not only extremely valuable regarding shared information that we can use for ABATE, they’re also mini mid-winter get-away vacations (and I sure needed this one).
We have a two year contract with this hotel, so we’ll be doing it there again in 2012, unless they have a problem with that “Bummer Taking a Naked Midnight Shower Under the Waterfall” incident. Just kidding.......I really think it was a dream (if not......oops). As you’ve seen, the out of pocket expense was well worth it considering what the venue provided in food, drink and accommodations.
Moving on to other things..... Naw, we’ll just wait and do that next month when I’ll be mentioning two important upcoming events. This has gotten to be a bit long, and I still have to unpack. Before I do that, where the HELL is my tomato juice and aspirins?
Bummer
