ABATE of SC Coordinator Report

Written by FastFred Ruddock on March 9, 2007

I am happy to report both Dennis a.k.a. Dennis and Bad Bob seem to be healing quite nicely. However both of them have long roads to recovery ahead so please keep the thoughts, prayers, and good will coming. I feel as if I have been pulling double if not triple shifts as I prepare for my day in court, fulfilling my ABATE duties, and working another 40 hours a week to pay the bills. My day in court to fight the NC G.S. 20-140.4(A) helmet use law is just days away on Thursday March 15th as I sit here and write.

I am sure you are all aware of the dangers presented by the current SC gang bill though the call alert and our last newsletter. While we all know the youth gang problem needs to be addressed we must be careful not to allow any erosion of our constitutional rights. Remember the words of wisdom from Benjamin Franklin: “Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” Please act today to preserve your liberty and that of future generations.

Since my last report I have spent many hours, traveled many miles, and attended several meetings on your behalf as your coordinator. I met with even more bikers and recruited more than a few new members. However I saw even more of our members out and about recruiting: in particular I’d like to thank Walter publicly for his many efforts on our behalf.

During my travels and efforts I attended the first ever Western District meeting held in Asheville with our friends just across the border from Greenville and Spartanburg. We discussed several common issues including lack of involvement by average bikers in the Upstate and WNC. I was made aware of a group in the Upstate that is apparently violating ABATE’s copyright and causing problems in both of the Carolinas for our biker rights groups.

I took a cold wet ride the day after the Western District meeting; I rode in cold rain to appointments in Spartanburg before taking another soggy ride to the Greenville ABATE meeting I had been invited to attend. I was impressed by the number of bikers that attended this meeting in spite of the cold rain and nasty conditions. The meeting was worth the nasty ride and a lot of great information was shared by Scott, Bob, and others present. As an added treat I got to see Marty an old friend from Southern Lowcountry.

Our March legislative meeting was a huge success and well attended; seems many bikers would rather attend our legislative meeting instead of Daytona’s Bike Week. Legislative Team members such as Frankie, Jeff, Barbie, Ralph, Roach, and Screwy collaborated to collect information and create useful handouts. Barbie was also hard at work during the meeting taking notes. I really enjoyed this meeting and encourage you to attend the next legislative meeting.

Finally I attended a public Oyster Roast closer to home to help promote ABATE. Andrea and Walter worked together to get a table at Vickery's Oyster Roast and recruit new members. Other members showed up to help in various ways. All together about a dozen ABATE members worked this event in one way or another. Andrea managed to get most of us in for free to help work the crowds. This single event resulted in quite a few new members and even some renewals.

Photos and articles from many of these events are available for viewing at BikerEzine.com. I look forward to see everybody’s smiling faces at our April business meeting which will be brief so we can all ride in support of Bad Bob and attend his benefit at Anthony’s following our meeting.