THe dreAm LIveS On – every Weekend
To See Why Motorcycling Is So Important To Kids And Families, Look No Further Than Your Local Riding Area. By James Holter
It’sa sunny Saturday at the Fox Valley OffRoad riding park in northern Illinois, and kids and families are everywhere.
They’re laughing together in the pits, cheering each other at the racetrack, practicing their skills on the trails, and making new friends all around.
The common elements? Smiles. Hugs. Encouragement. Bonding. And the best kind of family time you’ll find anywhere.
The event is an end-of-year awards gathering and riding day at the Wedronbased track, a fixture of AMA District 17 (Central, Western Illinois). But in most ways that matter, it’s also a typical Saturday at the Fox Valley Off-Road riding park, where this kind of fun, growth and excitement happens nearly every weekend as families make a point to spend time with each other doing something they love.
It’s also the kind of experience that will evaporate if the federal government’s ban on the sale of youth-model motorcycles and ATVs is not lifted for good.
No one knows better how devastating that would be to families who treasure motorcycling than the families themselves.
On a recent weekend day, many of them
shared some of their personal insight into motorcycles, family time and the CPSIA “lead law.” They also told us very clearly why it’s so important that the AMA’s 2009 Motorcyclists of the Year—kids—be allowed to continue to enjoy something as simple as a relaxing weekend doing what they love.
WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT
Ask a parent, and they’ll tell you that motorcycle racing and riding is not just about competitive success.
Families with kids who ride say that motorcycling builds relationships, teaches kids responsibility, encourages healthy activity and allows them to spend time together that they wouldn’t normally have.
That’s clearly the case for the family of Bryce, 11, and Eli Otterbach, 9, of Mendotta, Ill., who are enjoying the day with their Dad, Kenny. Most weekends, Kenny says, the family, including mom, Kathy, can be found at a hare scrambles race somewhere in District 17. Motorcycle racing is just a part of their lives.
“It’s a nice family sport for us,” Kenny says, “We work through the week for Sundays, the day we go out and ride. It’s
just a great day for us.”
Other families here share that sentiment. Nick Christman and wife Holly, also from Mendota, have five kids. Two of them, Kelly, 14, and Nicholas, 12, have joined them today. It’s a time that is precious to the family, Nick says.
“Just a couple years from now, Kelly will go off to college,” he says. “Here and now is your time to spend it with your kids because once that time is gone, you can’t get it back.”
Holly adds that riding “is part of our life now.”
Jeff Oldenburg, from Ottawa, Ill., has two granddaughters who ride, Autumn, 9, and Jaden Torres, 6. Oldenburg says he got his granddaughters involved in riding so he could teach them about a sport he loved growing up. The girls have taken to the sport well—particularly Autumn, who flies around the Fox Valley kids’ track. Oldenburg says they’re hooked.
“If I was ever to go riding alone now— which I could never do—somebody would be heartbroken,” he says. “And these two just got a new little sister four weeks ago, and it will only be a matter of time before
Clockwise from left: Eli and Kenny Otterbach; Jeff Oldenburg and his granddaughters, Jayden and Autumn Torres; Nick Christman, his wife, Holly, and their kids, Nicholas and Kelly.
she’s riding, too.”
Although many families’ roots in the sport go back generations, some have just discovered it. Rob Kelly, who also calls Mendota home, has two sons who race, Logan, 14, and Luke, 13. Last year, Kelly bought a couple used bikes, and the two kids started playriding. This year, Logan and Luke started racing hare scrambles. In just their first year of competition, they’ve raced in 19 events.
“When I get them out of bed, they always have smiles on their faces on Sunday,” Kelly says. “Once we pull into a race, they get signed up, go put on their gear. They’re excited about it. It’s great for them.
“This was a great summer of Sundays,” Kelly says.
REAL BENEFITS
Although quality time is a nearly universal benefit of riding together, families say there are a number of other reasons to ride.
“It’s an individual sport,” Kelly says. “On the track, it’s just the kids and their bikes,
and I think that it gives them a sense of freedom when they ride.”
Otterbach says his kids have learned how to build relationships.
“They’ve made a lot of new friends because we’re traveling all over,” he says. “They get to know kids from other towns because they’re with them every weekend. So, they make a lot of new friends, and I believe they get a lot out of it.
“They also learn to respect other kids,” he says. “The camaraderie they share with the other kids—that’s what I enjoy, because they make all new friends and they just get along so well together.”
Kelly says that he’s seen racing bring his sons closer together.
“They get off the bikes, and I have one who always finishes ahead of the other one, so he’s waiting to see where his brother is,” Kelly says. “Then they’ll talk non-stop for 25 minutes about how they got over a log or something. Then, all week, they talk about the race, at least until the next one starts.”
The sportsmanship lessons don’t end with the kids. Although the families say that racing, like all sports, is competitive, everybody knows how challenging off-road racing is, and a helping hand is nearby during the races.
“At an off-road kids’ race, all the parents are usually around the whole track, and that’s what’s nice about it,” Otterbach says. “Everybody gets along really well. So if, say, my son gets stuck in a mud hole, there’s usually another parent there who will help him out. Everybody helps each other out.”
Christman says fun is the bottom line.
“You’re not going to get rich, and you’re not going to get famous doing this,” Christman says. “It’s all about having fun,
whether that means you beat someone you’ve never beaten before, just enjoyed yourself or just finished the race—that was my goal.”
Kelly adds: “It also teaches you a lot of responsibility, and not just at the track. It’s become a bargaining chip. I can get them to do a little more around the house. If they want to go race on Sunday, they wash their bikes, clean them up and change the oil in them. They’re learning a valuable skill, to take care of things.”
Brian Doughty, from Utica, Ill., has four kids. He’s brought two, Donovan, 11, and Shea, 7, to Fox Valley today. He says that riding with his kids keeps them out of trouble and provides “a little stress release.”
In addition to what they get out of it now, Doughty says riding also prepares his kids for any motorcycling ambitions they may have later in life.
“As they get older, if they decide to get on a motorcycle when they’re adults, they’ll be more experienced if they’ve ridden and raced as kids,” Doughty says.
EFFECT OF THE ‘LEAD LAW’
Looking around at all the families having fun together, it’s chilling to think that all of this could have begun vanishing when the CPSIA went into effect in early 2009.
Aimed at eliminating lead from children’s toys, it also unreasonably ensnared motorcycles and ATVs because of lead in motorcycle parts. And for a while, bikes, ATVs and even replacement parts were pulled from dealer showrooms.
Ultimately, the voices of tens of thousands of parents and concerned motorcyclists prevailed. The enforcement of the law was delayed for two years, allowing
Brian Doughty and sons, Donovan and Shea.
time to permanently revise the CPSIA.
But the threat is still out there. And the families at Fox Valley are hopeful that the lead issue will be fully resolved.
All those interviewed for this story were baffled when motorcycles and ATVs were suddenly targeted. They figure it must have been a mistake—an unintended consequence of good intentions.
“I don’t think they planned on it,” Oldenburg says. “I think it was a good law for toys, for babies that chew on toys, but I don’t think they knew what was coming, what it was going to do to the motorcycling community.”
Otterbach saw very real consequences from the law, when bikes and ATVs were actually pulled off showroom floors as the issue was sorted out.
“We already had our bikes for this year before the law, but there were other families that were looking for bikes, and they weren’t able to get them,” he says. “I don’t believe lead in motorcycles is a problem at all. I don’t really understand why there would be an issue with lead in a motorcycle.”
Others faced real difficulties in maintaining their bikes due to the law.
Terry Virgil is at Fox Valley with his grandson, Jay Pelka. Jay is 8 years old. Both Virgil and Pelka, who rides a Yamaha
TTR-50, had to deal with the law this spring.
“It was a nightmare,” Virgil says. “You couldn’t buy parts. The only place I could get parts for that Yamaha was in Canada. Now I can buy parts, but earlier in the year when there was more of an issue I had to go through Canada to get OEM Yamaha parts.
“I was real unhappy. I had a brand new 2008 Yamaha, and he couldn’t use it. It shut down our family time.”
Although the stay on enforcement has alleviated the problems some families faced earlier in the year, they are aware that their pastime is at risk if there isn’t a more permanent fix.
Otterbach says that his kids’ lives would be very different without motorcycles.
“The kids would probably sit home and watch TV,” he says. “They’d just be cooped up in the house. Racing gets them out, and it’s a good activity for them—for all of us, really.”
Virgil’s grandson, Pelka, says videogames would take over his free time.
“I’d play on my Nintendo DS,” he says. Grandpa says he’d ultimately get Jay back on a motorcycle, though.
“I’d go out of the country and buy a bike if I had to,” Virgil says.
If the lead law isn’t repealed and the stay expires, Oldenburg says families would be
able to keep riding for a while.
“There would be a lot of old bikes being rebuilt,” Oldenburg says. “Still, a lot of kids will miss out, and a lot of companies would miss out on a lot of money. They’ve already lost a few dollars.”
Eventually, though, Oldenburg says kids would have to stop riding.
“We’re not going to be able to rebuild those old motorcycles forever,” he says.
“We’re going to be doing a lot of bicycle riding, I guess, but I just can’t imagine no motorcycles in our family now.”
Oldenburg’s granddaughter, Autumn, can, and she doesn’t like what she sees.
“I would play something new,” she says. “And I would try to forget about dirtbikes.”•
Terry Virgil and his grandson, Jay Pelka.
Watching, Waiting and Working
The Lead Law That Threatens To End Motorcycling For Kids Could Still Destroy The Sport. The AMA And Others Are Trying To Ensure It Doesn’t. By Bill kresnak
“He does not believe that children should be riding motorcycles.”
Tim Cotter, MX Sports, speaking of U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.).
TimCotter knows an awful lot about motocross families and kids riding dirtbikes.
And he’s scared.
Cotter works for MX Sports in Morgantown, W.Va. He’s in charge of the long-running Air Nautiques AMA Amateur National Motocross Championships, presented by Amsoil. The event crowns the country’s best amateur motocross racers every year at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tenn.
It’s the premier amateur national motocross series in the United States, with 20,000 entries, including regional and area qualifiers. MX Sports’ sister company, Racer Productions, runs the Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series, which sees 15,000 entries a year. So Cotter has a close connection to many of America’s amateur racing families.
“What scares me the most is that Congress passed a law that literally prevents children from riding and racing motorcycles,” Cotter said. “It will take time to affect us, and by that time it will be too late to reverse it. It’s like arthritis. It hurts a little initially and doesn’t cripple you, but then later you’re crippled.”
“We anticipate a huge impact in years to come,” he said.
Cotter is talking about the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) of 2008—a federal law that went into effect on Feb. 10, 2009, though its enforcement has been delayed until 2011.
Sparked by concerns raised after certain toys imported into the United States from China were found to contain dangerous levels of lead, the law bars businesses from selling any product for kids 12 and under that has a specified amount of lead.
That includes motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), which have trace amounts of lead in the engine, brakes, suspension, battery and other parts.
The Coalition for Safe and Responsible ATV Use, meanwhile, made up of Honda, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Yamaha, Arctic Cat, Bombardier and Polaris, noted as recently as September that “half of the major ATV manufacturers are no longer selling youthmodel off-highway vehicles.”
UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES
Federal lawmakers approved the CPSIA, and President George Bush signed it into law on Aug. 14, 2008, to address dangerous levels of lead found in children’s toys.
It called for a ban on the making, importing, distributing or selling of any product intended for children 12 and under that contained more than 600 parts per million of lead in any accessible part. That threshold then dropped to 300 parts per million after Aug. 14, and will drop to 100 parts per million after Aug. 14, 2011.
With no way to quickly test and certify that their products met those limits, motorcycle and ATV manufacturers told their dealers to stop selling machines meant for kids 12 and under—along with some of the parts to maintain them.
Dealers pulled them from showrooms as motorcyclists and others, including politicians, started speaking out against the law’s unintended consequences.
“Congress didn’t intend ATVs and motorcycles to be a part of the new antilead legislation because kids are not going to eat or lick these vehicles,” Missouri state Rep. Tom Self (R-Cole Camp) said at a news conference at the Monster
Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, in St. Louis shortly after the law went into effect.
“The consequences of this ban are serious and have brought a wonderful family outdoor experience for hundreds of thousands of Americans to a near halt,” Self said. “Or, alarmingly, young ATV and motorcycle riders may choose to operate inappropriately sized vehicles since youthsized vehicles and spare parts are not available. Everyone knows this will lead to unnecessary crashes and injuries.”
A TWO-PRONGED COUNTERATTACK
With bikes and parts off-limits to buyers in February, the motorcycle and ATV industry immediately noted that the economic impact of the new law could be devastating, with estimates pegging the lost revenue at up to $1 billion a year.
“The potential losses for the powersports industry are massive at a time when this country cannot afford additional economic losses,” said Paul Vitrano, general counsel for sister organizations the Specialty Vehicle Institute of America (SVIA) and the Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC), with 300 members in the motorcycle distributing, manufacturing and aftermarket industry.
”With these vehicles sitting in warehouses instead of on showroom floors, the related sales of most protective gear, accessories, parts and services are virtually nonexistent,” Vitrano said. “Thousands of small businesses across America are impacted by this ban.”
As a remedy, the SVIA and MIC asked the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), which is responsible for carrying out the law, for emergency relief—seeking a temporary final rule to exempt motorcycle and ATV parts from the law altogether “to avoid major disruptions to enthusiasts, to the member companies’ businesses, and to the companies’ dealer networks of thousands of small, independent businesses” that employ tens of thousands of Americans.
The AMA acknowledged the economic impact of the law, but as an advocate for
“Half of the major ATV manufacturers are no longer selling youthmodel off-highway vehicles.”
The Coalition for Safe and Responsible ATV Use, in a statement released in September.
“They were astonished to learn that it has zero trade-in value.”
Dealer Bill Hearne on customers who discovered that dealers couldn’t sell kids’ bikes of any kind, including used ones.
“If these kids don’t have the opportunity to experience motorcycle riding because bikes aren’t available, or they are too expensive to purchase, they will find another sport, and we will lose them for good.”
Carrie Coombs-Russell, MX Sports Pro Racing
TIME IS RUNNING OUT
Clearly, the stay as it is currently written only delays the enforcement of the law. It does not remove the threat. And that makes people like Cotter worried. The promoter sees a potentially bleak future for youth riding under the law, and he also sees that few families are paying attention.
“The law is devastating,” Cotter said. “If children 12 and under can’t ride or be around a motorcycle, then there won’t be any motorcycle racing. It’s potentially a death sentence for amateur motorcycling.”
Parents aren’t concerned right now because it’s not affecting them, he said. Because of the economy, a lot of racing families are using their old machines anyway, rather than buying new equipment, and because of the stay, parents who want to buy new machines can find some.
“Every year that goes by we are going to see an increase in families who can’t ride,” Cotter warned.
“Some of our families who are politically savvy understand the issue, but most folks who aren’t as politically astute don’t know that it’s an issue,” he said. “They aren’t concerning themselves with it.”
“Ed Moreland has tried to keep the issue in front of his constituency but instead of paying attention, a lot of families went out racing,” he said.
Carrie Coombs-Russell, vice president and chief financial officer of MX Sports Pro Racing, which runs the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship, said the impact of the law on professional racing will be negligible at first.
“It is the trickle-down effect that will be most worrisome as the years pass and the quality and experience of new athletes becomes a concern,” she said. “Most
athletes at the top level started racing when they were 6, 7, 8 years old, if not earlier.
“If these kids don’t have the opportunity to experience motorcycle riding because bikes aren’t available, or they are too expensive to purchase, they will find another sport, and we will lose them for good,” Coombs-Russell said.
“That will have a direct long-term impact on professional racing, as the sport you grow up loving as a kid is one you love as an adult,” she said.
DEALERS FEEL THE EFFECTS
Motorcycle and ATV dealers said they’re not feeling much of an impact of the law now, but they certainly did during the period between when the law went into effect Feb. 10 and when the stay was announced three months later. That’s because they couldn’t sell kids’ motorcycles and ATVs.
Bill Hearne, owner and general manager of Outdoor MotorSports in Spearfish, S.D., a multi-brand dealership that sells machines from Honda, Yamaha, KYMCO, Arctic Cat, Lehman and Club Car, felt a definite pinch.
“The affected products accounted for about 6 percent of sales,” Hearne said. “The timing of the ban was also at the height of general economic distress, which doubled the hurt... so you had higher costs with zero sales. Not a good business model.”
He doesn’t know any dealers who have gone out of business because of the law, since youth products are a small percentage of sales. But “there probably were dealers that were just barely hanging on financially, and this loss of income may have been the final nail in the coffin,” he said.
Hearne also said that his customers thought the issue was silly, and if they wanted to trade in a kids’ machine toward a new one “they were astonished to learn that it has zero trade-in value” since a dealer could not resell even used bikes.
Following the issuance of the stay, Hearne said he is selling youth models and parts, with a few exceptions.
Jerry Abboud, executive director of
Jerry
Powersports Dealers
says it could take years to sort out the future sales of kids’ bikes.
Abboud of the Colorado
Association
stakeholders—manufacturers, dealers and consumers,” he said. “(That realization) resulted in the same OEMs who had for years lobbied together for tighter restrictions governing youth-sized powersports vehicles to go on the defensive in an effort to turn back the new (lead) requirements, and the loss of millions of dollars in revenue, they had instigated.”
MANUFACTURERS FEELING THE PRESSURE
Meanwhile, the Coalition for Safe and Responsible ATV Use said recently that “due to the risks of selling under the stay, many manufacturers and dealers are no longer selling youth model off-highway vehicles, and there is now a limited availability of these products for consumers.”
CPSC Commissioner Moore noted in the Federal Register that manufacturers have told the CPSC that even if they are able to make machines that would comply with the law, it would likely be model year 2011 or 2012 before such machines could be on the market because of the long time required to design and manufacture them.
To comply with the law, manufacturers are taking various steps in addition to not selling machines at all. Some are re-labeling their machines designed for kids 12 and under as machines made for kids older than 12 by removing speed-limiting devices, Moore noted, considering putting covers over battery compartments, and making valve stems inaccessible.
Sean Hilbert, president of Cobra Motorcycles, which is a producer of competition-level mini motocross bikes, said his company “got lucky” because research
“Congress didn’t intend ATVs and motorcycles to be a part of the new antilead legislation because kids are not going to eat or lick these vehicles.”
Missouri state Rep. Tom Self shortly after the lead law took effect.
and testing shows his machines meet the lead requirements of the law.
But once Cobra is forced to go through the required certification procedures, which will be Feb. 10 unless something is done, his company will probably be forced to close its doors. That’s because he estimates it will cost about two-thirds of the company’s annual revenue to get certified.
So the law could add several thousands of dollars to the cost of a kid’s motorcycle.
“I would prefer that powersports products be exempt from the law because there is no danger of lead poisoning,” Hilbert said.
“I think there will be a political compromise along the way.” he said.
UPHILL BATTLE ON CAPITOL HILL
Cotter, who with others at MX Sports has been working the halls of Washington, D.C., with the AMA lobbying to get changes to the CPSIA, said getting the law changed would be very difficult because key lawmakers see the law as a way to get kids off motorcycles.
West Virginia’s members of Congress didn’t realize the full impact of the law when they passed it, and now are “flabbergasted,” Cotter said. “Every congressman wanted to help” to fix the law, he said.
But he also noted that when you consider all the important issues that cross their desks, “it’s hard for them to focus on little motocross families.”
And then there are the opponents.
“It wasn’t until we went to see Sen. (Jay) Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), who chairs the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee that this bill comes through, that we ran into opposition,” Cotter said. “He was very much against us.
“He does not believe that children should be riding motorcycles,” Cotter said.
Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), who is the senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, is also an opponent, Cotter said, as is Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), chairman of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee that would consider any proposed changes to the law.
“Byrd and Waxman are the keys, because when a bill gets to their committees they can kill it,” Cotter said. “They’re not friends to motorcyclists.”
ACT NOW TO CHANGE THE LAW
“The law is so bad in so many areas that lawmakers must act to fix it,” Moreland said. “We need to ensure that the voice of youth riding is heard among all the various interests that will be clamoring for changes.”
You can find contact information for your elected officials at AmericanMotorcyclist. com. Go to Rights > Issues & Legislation, and enter your zip code in the “Find Your Officials” box.•
It’s Not Over Until It’s Over
The AMA Is Continuing To Fight For Kids’ Bikes and ATVs
By Ed Moreland, AMA vice president for government relations
When it comes to the battle over the future availability of kids’ bikes and ATVs, it’s too early to claim victory. Sure, we’ve moved the ball down the field, but the game isn’t over.
What we have now is a timeout. A chance to regroup and take a breath. The real fight looms in front of us. We have to execute our plan. And it has to be a team effort.
The CPSC’s two-year stay of enforcement simply delayed the implementation of that part of the law until May of 2011. It didn’t fix the longer-term issues of testing, certification and manufacturing. By that date, if the manufacturers have not devised a way to comply with the rulemaking, or the riding community hasn’t successfully removed kids’ bikes and ATVs from the CPSIA, we will be right back where we were when the machines were banned.
The AMA is working on a number of options. Among them is our active support of of H.R. 1587, introduced by Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.), to exempt kids’ motorcycles and ATVs from the CPSIA. And we are calling on Chairman Henry Waxman and Chairman Jay Rockefeller to hold hearings on the misapplication of the CPSIA on kids’ motorcycles and ATVs.
We’ve gotten this far because of AMA members like you, who, along with other riders, wrote letters, called legislators and made their voices heard. We have to keep up the pressure. Please go to AmericanMotorcyclist.com > Rights > Issues & Legislation and urge your member of Congress to support the Rehberg bill, and urge House and Senate leadership to hold hearings on this critically important issue.
It may be halftime, but until the final gun sounds, the battle continues. We have to play every minute like it’s our last—because it could quite literally be.
JAMES ABBOTT, DESTRY ABBOTT, JOHNNY ABLE, DARYL ABRAMOVITZ, GORDON ACKLER, RICHARD L ADKINS, STEVEN E AKER, MAX AKINS, DALE ALDRICH, ROBERT W ALDRICH, W C ALEXANDER, R KEITH ALLEN, PHILIP J AMMENDOLIA, THOMAS R ANDERSEN, VICKI ANDERSEN, MICHAEL J ANDERSON, WILLIAM T ANDERSON, MARSHALL W ANDERSON, DANIEL C ANDERSON, BLAKE E ANDERSON, JIM ANDRES, STANLEY B ANGLE JR, KARL A ANSTETT, WILLIAM L ARBOGAST, ROBERT T ARCHER, RICHARD D AREND JR, STEVE J ARETZ, RANDY ARGO, TOM ARMISTEAD, CHRISTOPHER R ASHBROOK, DON ASKEW, VICKI LYNN ATHERTON, DEAN K AUEN, MARK A BADER, THOMAS W BAER, DARRYL L BAER, DALLAS G BAER, RON BAILEY, RICHARD W BAKER, W J BAKER III, DEAN BALENTINE, TIMOTHY R BALL, ANDREW BALMER, DON R BANKS, JOHN M BARBER, SCOTT W BARINGER, JOE BARKER, THOMAS L BARNES, PETER R BARNOSKY, JERRY S BARNWELL JR, J C BARR, HANNAH J BARRETT, JIM BARRETT, KEITH D BARRY, PHILLIP F BARTH, JON BARTHOLOW, DENNIS G BARTOLETTI, PATRICK BARTON, JOHN R BASHAM, ROBERT BASKETT, NANCY I BATON, DAVID BAXTER, CHRIS BAY, THOMAS E BEAN, P BEAN, ANTHONY F BEATTY, ED BECKLEY, MICHAEL D BELLOMO, WILLIAM BENJAMIN, HEATH BENNETT, ROBERT W BENNETT, LANCE BESLANOWITCH, ROB BIBBINS, JERRY S BIEDERMANN, DAVID L BIELEMA, J BIERSTEKER, KEVIN G BINDER, JOSHUA BITNER, RUSS BLACKETER, BOBBY L BLACKLEDGE, WILLIAM E BLALACK, TRAY BLANCHARD, WILLIAM G BLOCHER, MICHAEL BLYTHE, CHARLES BOATMAN, DENNIS BOE, S BOLZ, DARREN L BORCHERDING, CRAIG BORDERS, RICHARD J BORGERSON, JIM D BORKOWSKI, RICHARD BOSS, PAM BOSS, JAMES B BOWEN JR, RAY BOWMAN, DANIEL R BOWSER, DANIEL R BOYD, ROBERT L BOYLE, BARRY D BRADFORD, JEFFREY P BRADY, LON BRAND, RICHARD A BRANDEIS, JAMES B BRANDER, CLIFF D BRECHT, SONNY BREST, EDDIE BRIGGS, JOYCE E BRODBECK, DENNY BRODBECK, JEFFREY A BROMLEY, LARRY P BROOKS, JOHN L BROWN, ROBERT L BROWN, JOEL E BROWN, STEPHANIE BROWN, BRUCE BROWN, MITCH BROWN, GARY D BRUCE, MIKE BRUIJN, CHRIS BRYNILDSEN, PAUL F BUETTNER, NOREEN BURCH, ROBERT T BURGER, CLIFF BURKE, NICK BURKITT, BARBARA S BURKY, JOHN D BURNS, KEVIN J BURNS, ROBERT M BUSH, KARTER BUSSE, DANNY E BUTLER, SAMUEL T BYRON JR, GARY CAIN, JUDY L CALMAN, ROBERT A CALVIN, JAMES E CAMACK, DOMINIC CAMPANA, JOHN W CARLSON, GREGORY CASE, MARK CASTILLERO, NEIL K CAVALIER, BILL CAVE, PAUL R CAVONIS, MICHAEL CESARE, GEOFF R CESMAT, LESTER G CHAMPION, DONALD L CHARLTON, DAVID O CHASE, CURT CHEVLEN, JIM D CHRISTENSEN, DOUG CHRISTENSEN, STEVE CLARK, KENNETH C CLARK, JAY S CLARK, EDWARD CLARK JR, HARLEY S CLARKE, JOE D COATS, RONALD COCHRAN, JOSEPH COHO, PATRICK D COLEMAN, MARK D COLLEY, ERIC COLVIN, PATRICIA C CONQUEST, JACK A CONRAD, MICHAEL E COOPER, MICHAEL V CORENTTO, GARY CORLEU, GLEN D CORSELLO, STEVE COTHERMAN, DAVID M COULTER, KIMBERLY COURTNEY, PAUL COVIELLO, GORDON B COYLE, DAVID J CRAWFORD, NICK CRAWFORD, SHANNON S CRAWFORD JR, BOB CREQUE, ROBERT T CRIMI, R SCOTT CROSSON, SCOTT A CRUCE, LEONARDO M CULOTTA, RALPH M CUNNINGHAM, DONNIE L CURD, BARBARA J CURRIE, JEFF A CURRY, MONTE GLENN CURTIS, JAMES D CUSHING, MELVA J DAHL, STEVEN R DAHL, JOHN J DANGELO, A BENJAMIN DANIELS, ROBERT K DARPINO, ROBERT DAVENPORT, DAVID M DAVIDSON, DARRELL L DAVIDSON, THOMAS DAVIS, JEFFREY DEMAIN, JEFF DEMENT, ELLIOTT T DENISON, PETER A DENZER, ROBERT W DERR, MARK DEYO, JOE DIBELLA, J R DICE, ROBERT M DICKEY, JIM H DICKSON, DANIEL R DIEDRICKSON, RONALD F DIEHL, DAVID DILLINGHAM, KATHLEEN L DILLON, CHARLES J DIPASQUALE, RANDY J DITSCHLER, HAROLD S DOANE, KARL A DODSON, LARRY DONALDSON, BRIAN DOTTERWICK, JAMES DOUGAN, BRYAN DOUGLAS, JEFF J DOWNS, PAUL A DOWNS, RANDY W DREXLER, MICHAEL E DRUM, TIMOTHY J DRYER, RICHARD DUDIS, KEITH DUMAINE, HAROLD DUNDORE JR, ROBERT J DUNN, JOE N DUNNING, JANE DUPUIS, JASON M DUTROW, RAYMOND DWENGER, MICHAEL H DWYER, STEVEN R EAKINS, JAMES EASTLEE, DONALD ECKSTEIN, WILLIAM J EDDY, ROGER D EDINGER, DAVE EGERDAL, DANNY C ELLER, RUSSELL L ELLIS, CRAIG A ENGDAHL, MARK C ENGEL, RHODA R ENGEL, DAVID A ENGLERT, MICHAEL ERDMANN, AARON ERNST, MICHAEL L EVANS, RAY J FADDIS, PAT W FAHERTY, JOHN FAIRGRIEVE, VICKI FARLEY, STEVE B FARLEY, WILLIAM D FARMER JR, REGAN W FAUGHT, STUART FERREIRA, JAMES FERRETTI, JOHN M FIGLER, TIM J FILIPPI, EDGAR I FINK JR, TERRY R FINKLE, MARK R FINKLER DVM, JEFFREY S FISHER, MICHAEL J FISHER, THOMAS J FITZPATRICK, PHIL FLEEMAN, PATRICK T FLETCHER, GREGORY B FOLAND, CURT FOLEY, MIKEY FOLKEN, RAYMOND S FORBES, WILLIAM Z FORNSHELL, ROBERT FOX, DONNA FRANCIS, BOB FRANCO, ROBERT C FRANKLIN, RONNIE L FRANKS, COLIN J FRASER, WILLIAM N FREEMAN, JEFF FREEMAN, TONI FRUEHAUF, DAVID G FUNKA, NORMAN E GAINES JR, ALBERT C GALLAGHER, JOHN E GANO, STANLEY J GANTT, T J GARDNER, TODD GARDNER, COOPER T GARZA, JOSEPH R GATHRIGHT, JEFFREY A GAUL, ROGER A GAY, TED GEERTS, RON GETTE, CHARLES GHILANI, TED A GILFERT, ROY I GILMAN, JOSEPH E GODLEY, TROY GOEHRS, HAROLD L GOODMAN, DAVID H GORHAM, PAUL G GOYETTE, CHRIS E GRABER, LAODICE A GRANGER SR, FORREST GRANLUND, KEVIN A GREEN, DONALD GREEN, GREGORY GREEN, KEVIN GREENE, AVERY H GREENE, JAMES R GREIDER, GERALD L GRIBBONS, JIM GRIFFIN, RICHARD A GRILL SR, RODNEY L GRIM, WILLIAM C GROVE III, EILEEN S GUILE, WAYNE HABERMAN, RONALD HAEFNER, STU HAFEN, W HAGER, SUSAN HAGLEY, KAREN J HAINES, JOHNNY HALE, PAUL HALEY, BILLY D HALL, THOMAS A HALL, AL HALSTEAD, ROD HALVERSON, WILLIAM G HAMILL, DON HAPKE, BRYAN K HARDIN, DANIEL J HARMON, DAVID S HARNER, ROBERT E HARP, GEORGE F HARP, DOUGLAS L HARRIS, JERRY HARRIS, PHIL L HARRIS, MICHAEL HARRIS, JON HARRISON, JOHN H HART, JAMES D HART, HUNTER HART, WARREN F HARTZ, STAN HASTINGS, CRAIG HATCH, NATHAN HAUPT, ROBERT O HAUSSER, JOHN C HAWKINS, TED H HEITSCH, MIKE HELMICK, JAMES K HENEBRY, THOMAS G HENRY, ROBERT F HERL, ROBERT O HERRICK, RICK A HESSER, MARK A HEUSDENS, THOMAS F HILL, GENE HODGE II, DWIGHT HOEGENAUER, JAY HOENK, LENI HOFFMAN, THOM HOFFNER, JAMES R HOGAN, KENNETH P HOGUE, MARK HOLASEK, JED A HOLLEY, HENRY A HOLMAN, STEVEN HOLT, ELWOOD W HOLZBAUR, JOHN S HOLZLI JR, JEFFREY B HOMAN, ZOLTAN A HORVATH, JOHN C HOUSLER JR, JOHN HOWLAND JR, ARVID D HOXIE JR, LEONARD E HUBERT, JOHN D HUDDLE, NANCY HUDDLESTON, STEVEN D HUDDLESTON, DANIEL HUDDLESTON, WILLIAM L HUGHES, MICHAEL HUGHES, MICHAEL A HUMPHREY, GREGORY HUSON, MARK HUTSON, GRAHAM A INNS, LEONARD INZEO JR, DWIGHT E IRWIN, DONALD L ISHMAEL, ROGER IWERKS, ROBERT M JACKSON, JOSEPH C JANEIRO, MARK JANES, BILL JANITOR, MATT F JAYICH, PATRICK J JEANY, FRANK E JENKINS, WILL JEWELL, MICHAEL JOBE, MARTHA JOHNSON, MICHAEL JOHNSON, DONALD N JOHNSON, MICHAEL L JOHNSON, GREG JOHNSON, ED JOHNSON JR, RAYMOND C JOHNSTON, MICHAEL JOHNSTON, WOODROW JONES, MARY JANE JONES, ARLEIGH JONES, KEITH A JONES, JERRY R JONES, PETER J JONSSON, JAMES R JORDEN, GARY JORGENSEN, RODNEY D JUDSON, RICHARD J KADAR, CARL KAFFEMAN, THOM KAINZ, JACK KAINZ, JIM A KAISER, LARRY KARNES, KEVIN L KASEY, SANDRA KELLER, ARDYS C KELLERMAN, PAUL J KELLEY, JIM KELLY, STEELE K KENNEDY, DAVID KERR, KIRK P KESSLER, GEORGE P KESTLER, ALEXANDRA KIEFFER, RON KIMBLE, W MICHAEL KIRBY, EVA KIRCHLECHNER, EDWIN B KITNERS, BRIAN E KLINE, NANCY K KLUNE, DOUG KOLONIA, FRANK J KOPETKO, THOMAS KUDLICK, RUDI KUGLER, RONALD W KUMMERLOWE, JOHN W LANCE, CAROL D LANDIS, DARREN LANE, PATRICIA S LANE, JAMES E LANG, BILL LANGENBACH, WILLIAM LASCHE, GARY LASHER, THOMAS W LASLEY, N PETER LAVENGOOD, DENNIS D LAW, BRIAN F LAW, DANIEL NATHAN LEE DD, DAVID J LEIBOLD, KENNETH E LEMLEY, LAWRENCE A LENTINI, CRAIG LENTZ, MICHAEL J LEO, JIM LESLIE, GARY LESTINA, JOEL LEWALLEN, RALPH E LEWIS, ROBERT J LICH, ROBERT LICHTENSTEIN, DARVON LIGHT, MARY LINDEMAN, STEVEN D LINDEN, DOUGLAS LINVILLE MD, SEAN LISKE, DAVID A LLOYD, MIKE LLOYD, RICHARD C LORENSON, PATRICIA LORENZEN, CHESTER R LOVE, DAVID B LOVE, DARYL A LUCAS, CHARLES LUEDERS, KRISTIN LUND, GARY LYON, HAROLD F MACDONALD, JACK B MACHUTA JR, BILL M MACQUEEN, ROGER MAEHLER, RODNEY P MAJOR, JOHN R MANFORD, MICHAEL J MAREK, MARK D MARESCALCO, BOBBY MARKHAM, DHANE B MARQUES, KENNETH MARSTERS, JEREMY MARTENS, VERN E MARTIN, DEREK L MARTIN, DAVE W MARTIN, JOEL MARTIN, FREDRIC E MARTINSON, MICHAEL A MASON, FRANK MATASKA, BILL MATCHUS, STEVEN E MATTESON, RONALD D MATTHEWS, ELISSA MATULIS MYERS, CARL R MATZELLE, JOHN C MAUN, DAVID C MCCARTHY, LARRY MCCARTY, JAMES E MCCOY, JAMES MCCULLAH, DONALD R MCCULLOUGH, TERRY MCDANIEL, CLAUDE MCELVAIN, RICHARD T MCGRATH, JOANN MCINTOSH, KEVIN MCKAY, ROBERT MCKEEVER, RON MCKENZIE, KEVIN MCKILLIP, BRENT H MCKINLAY, GARY E MCMAHAN, DANIEL MCMANUS, THOMAS E MCNABB, MARK W MCNABNEY, KEN E MCNATT, PAUL MCNAUGHTON, ROBERT B MEASE, KENNETH C MECKING, JOHN P MEDGYESI, KARL S MEDINGER, PETER E MEEHAN SR, DEAN J MELLOR, MICHAEL B MENAKER, DAVE N MERKLIN, DIANE MERRILL, KEN MEYER, JAMES P MICHIELUTTI, JASON MIDDLETON, ROSELOU MIETZ, DANIEL J MILLER, VINCENT MILLER, ROBERT W MILLER, DWAIN D MILLER, ROBERT L MILLER, JAMES I MILLER, DALE R MINER, EDWARD M MINNICK, CHRIS J MISSERI, JAMES MITCHELL, JOHN W MITCHELL, PETER S MOLESKY, ROBERT F MOLT, MIKE MONROE, JOHN P MOORE, MICHAEL R MOORE, NELSON MORENO, JACK MORIN, PAUL E MOSCOSO, LARRY D MOSER, WILLIAM H MOSES, JOHN A MULLIGAN, PAUL MULLIGAN, PATRICK T MURPHY, RANDY R MURPHY, JOHN BAGLEY MURRAY, MARK C MYERS, STEVE MYERS, JOHN T MYERS, JOHN C MYRIN, GEORGE NACHAJSKI, SHANE NALLEY, WILLIAM L NEANDER, JOHN NEIDENGARD, DAVID W NELSON, ROBERT NEVOLA, T NEWHARD, BEN NEWHOUSE, MARK NEWMAN, ANGELO R NICHOLES, NICK NICHOLS, JOANNA NICOLINI, BOB NIENABER, RANDEL NISSEN, MIKE W NIX, AL NOGUCHI, ROBERT A NORDT, DONALD B NORTON, MARK S NOTHOM, JOHN K NOVAK, BRUCE A NUGENT, GERALD F OBRIEN, JOSEPH ODEN, DAVE K OHLMAN, STEVEN OHLROGGE, JOHN OLEARY, DENNIS L OLSEN, THOMAS J A OLSHARK, KRIS OLSON, K J OMALLEY, WILLIAM M OMARA, JOHN ONEIL, RICHARD J OPPERMANN, PETER J ORECKINTO, BRIAN M OREILLY, DONALD L ORSINI, BOB OWEN, ERIC OWENS, ANTHONY C PAGGIO, STEVEN PALESCH, BRADLEY PARFITT, DEREK L PARIS, RICHARD E PARKER, KATHRYN PARKER, BRAD PARKS, JOHN J PARROTT, ELIZABETH PARTON, KRISTIN PARZYCH, DAVID PAULI, ALAN J PAWLEY, MERRILL PEGG, SCOTT H PEIRCE, CHARLES E PENOYER, LEONARD PERRONE, JON C PETERSON, THOMAS S PETERSON, DAN PETTIGREW, GERALD A PFEIFER, JERRY L PIEPER, ROBERT A PIERRO, KEVIN PINTO, DAVID PIRNER, RUSSELL POHL, CURTIS D POOLE, GEOFFREY T POOLE, KEVIN S POPAEKO, RICK PORTERFIELD, RUSSELL POUND JR, PAUL POVEROMO, CHRIS J POWERS, STAN W PRAPOTNIK, ROBERT PRESS, DON PREUSS, CHARLES E PRICE, JEFF PRITCHARD, DAVID K PROELL, JOHN R PROSSER, PHIL PSZENNY, TERRY E PUFFER, FRED PUYNKO, DIANE RACKOVAN, ROBERT C RANKIN JR, THOMAS A RANNEY, WILLIAM RANSDELL, ANNETTE M RASP, GARY H RATEKIN, HANS P RAUB, DENNIS B RAY, RONNIE A RAY, THOMAS J READING, TERRY A REAM, LOYAL E REAM, JOHN C REED, NATHAN REICHARD, KERI S REINMAN, BRAD RENSHAW, RUDY L REYNOSA, ROBERT G RICHMOND, BRUCE RICKARD, CURT RINGGENBERG, MIKE RITCHIE, ALAN ROACH, KENNETH G ROBERTS, BRUCE ROBERTS, JOSEPH ROBINSON, AVIS ROBINSON, WESLEY L ROBISON, GARY H ROCK, CARLO A RODRIGO, JOSEPH P ROGERS, DANIEL ROHLLF, ROBERT T ROMANS, TODD K ROPER, JOHN L ROQUEMORE, GREGORY A ROTH, EDWARD J ROYALS, FRANKLIN L RUCH, CLARK N RUNYARD, GARY RUSK, BRUCE D RUST, WARREN K RYAN, PATRICK RYAN, ROGER RYNEARSON, THOMAS L SAIERS, GENE SCHAETTEN, DAVID N SCHANI, LANSING C SCHANTZ, MARK SCHMIDT, JOHANN SCHNEIDER, MARTIN SCHNEIDER JR, ERICH SCHULER, BRENT S SCHUSTER, TERRY SCHWARK, BOB SCHWEGEL, WADE SCOTT, MARTIN W SCOTT, RUSSELL W SEIBOLD, DAN SEKELLICK, FORREST A SELMER, ROD SENTELL, ERIK J SHAFER, JAMES J SHANAHAN, DONALD E SHARPE, STEVEN P SHAUM, JOHN E SHAW, JAY SHELTON, CLYDE S SHERBONDY, DONALD E SHERIDAN SR, STEVE SHERMAN, CURTIS D SHIELDS, ERIC SHIELDS, SCOTT SHIVELY, MATTHEW SHOOK, PAUL SHOOK, GEORGE D SIEGLE JR, ROBERT E SIER, KURT SIMMERS, MARK J SIMMONS, TOM SIMON, MILAN SIMOVICH, JOHN S J SIMPSON, ANDREW J SITTON, ROBERT S SKINNER, URSULA B SKOUG, ELIZABETH SLADE, JAMES E SLADE, DAVID R SMITH, DAVID C SMITH, JEFFREY L SMITH, PETER D SMITH, MIKE SMITH, PHILLIP L SMITH, RONALD R SMITH, CHARLIE SMITH, RAYMOND SMITH, RICHARD C SMITH, KEITH SMITH, BILL F SMITH, RODNEY SMITH, RANDY W SMITH, LOUIS M SMITH JR, JAMES SMITHHISLER, OWEN SOMERFORD, DEBBIE SOUZA, CRAIG SPANGLER, JAMES SPECHT, PHILLIP H SPRAIN, JOHN L STAEHLI, DAVID STAFFORD, STAN STAGG, MIKE A STAHLMAN, GARY STAMMER, CHARLES H STANLEY, RAYMOND C STEFAN, DENNIS M STEINKE, WAYNE A STELLY, GERALD STEWART, TED STICKLER, ROY S STIENEKER, LEONARD M STINCHCOMB JR, DAVE L STOCKTON, JERRY A STOECKIGT, JASON STONE, RONALD STORM, BRADLEY STRANG, ERIK S STRASEL, JACK R STRAW, ROBERT STREETS, JAMES C STRUKE, TED A STULL, MARK SULLIVAN, STEVE SUMNER, KENT SUNDGREN, ALBERT T SUPPLE III, ANGUS SUTHERLAND, JOHN H SWAFFORD, BRIAN J SWARTWOOD, SANDRA B SWEGMAN, MARK A SWYGERT, LARRY A TACK, MARK TAGLIAMONTE, CLEVELAND TAYLOR, RICHARD TAYLOR, ANDREW TEATES, TIMOTHY TEVES, PETER THOMANN, KEITH THOMAS, JAMES A THOMAS, GEORGE THOMAS, ROLAND D THOMPSON, MICHAEL THOMPSON, ROD D THURLEY, JACK TIERNEY, JARRETT A TIPPING, DANIEL TODD, GARY T TOLLEFSON, ANTHONY TOMASELLO, PAUL M TOMSCHE, BILL TRAPP, JEFF TREML, CHARLES L TRYON, DOUG S TSOUHNIKAS, JOHN TULLIS, DEREK R TURNER, HAROLD A TYNDALL, BRUCE D UNDERWOOD, STEVEN A UNDERWOOD, CECIL UPTON JR, CODIE A VAHSHOLTZ, PAUL A VALENTINE, STEVE VANATTA, JEFF VANDEN BOOGART, ROY A VANDERVEUR JR, RAYMOND M VANDEVORT, DOLLY VARNES, BOB VERNER, LOUIS VICKERS, THOMAS VIELE, PATTI J VOLLMER, FRANK H VOLLMER III, ART VONROEMER, HARRY K VROMAN, PERRY M WACKER, DAVID J WADDLE, PATRICK L WADE, JOE M WADE, A J WAGGONER, RANDALL A WAGNER, DENNIE R WAGNER, KENNETH L WAGONER, LINDA WALDHEIM, KRIS WALL, WADE WALLACE, SCOTT WALLACE, LEONARD P WALLS, BRENDAN L WALSH, SANDRA WALSTROM, JAKE G WALTERS, LARRY P WAMBOLD JR, JOHN L WARD, CARYL BUD WARNER, CHADWICK L WARRIX, GARY R WASHBURN, CHADOM WATKINS, RONALD G WATSON, SAM WATSON, GREGORY WAUGH, THOMAS A WEBER, MIKE L WEBSTER, JOHN A WEDDLETON, ROBERT A WEINDORF, MICHAEL WEINER, MAUREEN WELCH, THOMAS ALLEN WELCH, TODD WENDLE, ROBERT L WENGER, ROBERT M WENTZEL, LYNN E WENZBAUER, CHRISTINE WERDER, RUSTY WERNER, BILL WERNER, MARTY WERTHEIM, HENRY W WEST, MARTYN J WHEELER, RICHARD WHITMAN, MARCUS P WIELOSINSKI, BARRON L WIGGINS, STEVE WILBURN, MARIE F WILHELMY, DANIEL C WILLIAMS, JAMES A WILLIAMS, JOHN A WILSON, JANET R WILTSHIRE, JOSHUA WINCHELL, JOBY A WINDMILLER, JOE D WINKLER, RUTH J WITMAN, TOM WOLF, JACK E WOLF, DEBBIE WOLFE, DALE L WOOD, ROGER B WOOD SR, DON WRAGG, BOB WRIGHT, ROBERT WRIGHT, BRIAN L WUBBEN, SCOTT WUBBENA, RICHARD WYKOFF, SURESH YADAV, DAVID R YANKUNAS, RODNEY YENTZER, JOHN YORKS, JOSEPH E ZIERMAN, CHERYL L ZIMMERMAN, DAVID ZUNIGA, RICHARD ZUPKO II, RICHARD ZWIEBEL.
Congratulations to everyone who became an AMA Life Member this year, and thank you for your support!