State Meeting Notes – June 15, 2024

MEETING NOTES: June 15, 2024 Moragne Park, Gadsden, AL
In attendance:
Matthew Schroeder
Shane Coker
Sarah “Limey” Maddox
Rodney Green
Kris Cook
Blythe Joslin
Sueanne “Backfire” Elam
Wayne “Wolf” Littrell
Garland Medlock
Carolyn Schroeder
Richard Comston
David Hoha
Kris passed out meeting notes from the previous meeting, along with a treasurer’s report. There was a motion by Blythe and a second by Matt to accept the notes from the 4/20/24 meeting and treasurer’s report as presented. On a voice vote, these documents were approved and are now a part of the records of Dixie ABATE.
We talked about sourcing t-shirts more cheaply than our current vendor does.
David Hoha gave the MRF report. He is the Alabama State Representative to the MRF and is also the new assistant to the Membership Director of the MRF. He reported on our trip to Washington, DC in May to meet with all of Alabama’s Representatives and Senators.
Chris Litteral lost his dad on June 14, 2024. Dixie ABATE to send a card.
We set our 2025 Legislative Day for Wednesday, February 19, 2025. Matt to set it up with Chief Hamilton.
We need to start getting back into Drivers Ed classes this fall. Let Kris know if you know any high school principals, superintendents, or drivers ed teachers. KC to try to round up information and get a letter out this summer.
We have an opportunity to set up in Mobile for Bill Stitt’s bike night at Bill E’s Bacon on Wednesday, September 4, and also to set up at the CVMA 28-8 charity ride in Foley on Saturday, September 14, 2024.
We talked about trying to get the DMV to introduce a few questions into the written driver’s test to include questions about motorcycle awareness. We need to take a look at the existing tests and see if there are already any questions on it like this.
Michael Stieber introduced new business by proxy (Kris), asking if we could have cards printed up that will have our mission statement and a QR code for our website. KC to work on this and hopefully have them before the next meeting.
Wayne and Donna Nunez want to have a joint Georgia/Alabama rally near Talladega. They will come to our next meeting to discuss this. They run the Gina McLeod Memorial Foundation/Georgia Motorcycle Safety Alliance. This rally could bring us a lot of visibility.
KC to get our Dixie ABATE/Law Tigers tent from Fred, and maybe get it to Michael Stieber so that he can set up down in the Mobile/Baldwin County area.
KC to set up the Dixie ABATE tent at the Antique Automobile Club’s car show at the Orion Amphitheatre in Huntsville the weekend of October 25. Dixie ABATE sponsored the North Alabama chapter with a thousand-dollar sponsorship. We should gain some good visibility there, as it is also a bike show.
KC to send Michael Dixie ABATE things to give away as a door prize at Bill E’s bike night. They are the first Wednesday night every month. In conjunction with giving away a door prize, he will get mic time to be able to speak about Dixie ABATE. We get good participation in that area.
We still need to find access to the actual crash data / police reports for motorcycle fatalities in Alabama. We need help finding the people who can grant us access to this data.
We encourage all members to join the MRF and attend the Meeting of the Minds conference in St. Louis the last weekend in September. After the Meeting of the Minds, on Sunday, September 29, we are all invited to Matt’s Mom’s for a cookout. The address is 6515 Mulberry Acres Lane, Cedar Hill, MO.
The next meeting will be at 2 PM on Saturday, August 17, at The Secret Bed and Breakfast, 2356 AL Hwy 68W, Leesburg, AL. Call and reserve your room for Friday and Saturday nights! 256-523-3825.