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ABATE OF WASHINGTON

NOVEMBER 2023 UPDATES

State Coordinator's Report

Greetings from hunting camp!


Thank you to everyone who attended the Oyster Run. Abate of Wa had a booth with some of our products. Lots of folks stopped by it was great talking with everyone. Thanks to Phil Schultz, Carrie Saagim and Billi & Jeff Bowen for volunteering to help out.


If you missed STEAM and/or BOD you missed out. It was a great turnout for both days. Thank you to the board members for mentoring new volunteers, for members comments and questions and to Billi Bowen and Chris McAfee for setting up everything.  


I would personally like to welcome Kirk Ball as our new Position 3 Chapter Rep, Tri Ericson as our new Position 4 Chapter Rep, John Calabrese as our new Position 5 Chapter Rep, and Michael Semenez as our new State Parliamentarian.  Volunteers are what keep us going and I appreciate you all. Click to read more...



Andy McAfee

State Coordinator

BOD/STEAM 2023

ABATE POSITION OPENING

We are in need of a new State Products Coordinator. If interested, please contact Bubba Bowen at srdeputy.abateofwashington@gmail.com. A special thank you to Cheryl Holtquist for all her hard work.

American Income Life - FREE Accidental Life & Dismemberment

If you are a current non-expired member of ABATE of Washington, you will be receiving, or have already received a ‘beneficiary card’ in the mail from American Income Life (AIL).  


These cards are mailed out annually to ABATE members as a reminder to update your beneficiary or add some ‘life insurance’ for yourself and/or your family. AIL provides a free ‘accidental death and dismemberment’ of up to $4000 to any non-expired ABATE member. What this means is: if you are involved in an accident and die or lose an arm/leg/eye, etc. AIL will pay you or your beneficiary up to $4000. AIL also offers other life insurance, and if you are interested in getting any type of life insurance or adding to what you already have, they can help you out.


What I’m asking of you members is, please, when they call, be considerate. They are just trying to do their jobs.  If you are not interested in any other insurance, let them know and ask them to send you your certificate. If you would like to hear more about the insurance they provide, they will schedule a meet-up with you and give you other options. If you feel that you are being harassed after saying no, please get the person's name and phone number and send it to me.


I cannot stress enough about making sure your beneficiary is up to date with AIL or any other insurance policy you have. Finding out, after the fact, that someone you did NOT want to be the recipient of your demise is too late!


Please, this is a FREE benefit that AIL provides to non-expired ABATE Members, be courteous to them. Click here to read more…  


Andy McAfee

State Coordinator

NOTES FROM THE EDITOR

Thanks to all of you who have submitted articles, chapter reports, and photographs for our Freedom Newsletter. 


I will send an email confirmation of each submission I receive. If you do not receive written confirmation from me, the submission did not arrive as planned. Please reach out to me so that I can ensure your submission is included in the next month's newsletter. I will respond with an email confirmation. As always, thank you for sending your submissions by the 15th of each month.


With respect and gratitude,


Shari Carlsberg

ABATE Freedom Newsletter Editor 

newsletter.abateofwashington@gmail.com  

BLACK FRIDAY 2024 - SAVE THE DATE

It's time to start thinking about Black Friday!


Black Friday, this year, is January 19, 2024. 


Wait...what? What is Black Friday?

This is when motorcycle riders travel to Olympia and meet with legislators regarding laws that impact motorcyclists. Together, we can make meaningful changes for riders here in Washington! Read more...

MOTORCYCLE RIDERS FOUNDATION

Congress Talks Right to Repair


Last week the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Innovation, Data and Commerce held a legislative hearing to discuss several bills within its jurisdiction. One of the bills on the agenda was H.R. 906, the REPAIR Act. The REPAIR Act is one of the Motorcycle Riders Foundation’s (MRF) key legislative priorities. The MRF believes the ability for consumers and aftermarket shops to have access to the parts, tools and information needed to repair products is critical to the motorcycling community. Read more...

Speaker of the House


Recently, much of the drama in Washington D.C. has surrounded the office of Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. While little will get done at the capitol while the Speaker’s office remains vacant, there is one Speaker of the House in New England whose ties to the motorcycle community run deep. Read more...

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

“Texas” Larry Walker

Legislative Affairs Officer, ABATE of WA

360-271-9285


Background:

“Texas” Larry Walker is a nationally certified Rider Coach for novice, intermediate, and advanced training. He is the Senior Instructor for Navy Region Northwest, a long-time motorcyclist rights advocate with over 45 years of riding experience.

Black Friday Protocols


Before you know it, it will be Black Friday, and it is never too early to get ready. The issues being directly addressed are Lane Sharing, Right Shoulder Riding, and Removal of the Weight Fees on Motorcycles. Here is what you need to know:  Read more...

SAFETY AND EDUCATION

Stay Safe Out There

Let's talk about our safety when riding for a moment.


I'm not talking about gear, intoxication, speed. I'm talking about mindfulness.


You can talk about what's right, all day long. What your rights are, who's at fault, how those who "don't see us" are killing us.... all the live long day. Uh huh. Does that keep us alive? Does anybody's righteous indignation or knowledge of the law keep them alive?


No. It does not. Because there is always someone on the road with you that isn't thinking about your life and your safety.

Read more...

IN THE WIND

RUNS AND EVENTS

Irish Chicken Dinner

November 5, 2023

CLICK IMAGE TO VIEW FLYER

SKCC 2023 Veterans Parade

November 11, 2023

CLICK IMAGE TO VIEW FLYER

RIDER REIMBURSEMENT


Complete a State-Approved Rider Safety Course to receive $50 reimbursement & more!


CLICK IMAGE TO VIEW FLYER

CHAPTER REPORTS

EPCC

Hello, All! 

A quick note from EPCC – Four of our members attended the delightful STEAM and BOD weekend in Yakima. (Some photos attached.) We found our carpool drive over & back much easier than we expected, the Red Lion next to the Convention Center was great, and the weekend was well-attended. Thanks to all who put together the informative STEAM, congratulations to the award winners, and our gratitude to those stepping down for their years of service.

READ MORE

FOOTHILLS

Greetings from STEAM & BOD! Very busy productive weekend! Thank you to our excellent leadership team for everything you do.  


Upcoming events for Foothills is Terry Home Christmas Run on December 17th, details to come. In the mean time we will be out supporting our communities, on November 17th we will need handing out turkey dinners with BASH, Bikers Against Statewide Hunger starting about 8am, please join us!! See you out & about, get out there and support where you can. Have a blessed holiday season!

Billi Bowen

Coordinator

KEY PENINSULA

Greetings from the Pen!


Been a pretty busy month for our little ol’ chapter. We ran our Brewery Run, seated new chapter officers, and made a run to Yakima for STEAM and BOD. 


First, the run. It was very well attended by some local club members and some friends from other abate chapters. Veteran Allegiance VMC, Combat Veterans International, Star Lake, and North Kitsap chapter members joined in the group and Band of Brothers MC safely guided us through the route. Can’t thank them all, especially Band of Brothers, enough along with everyone else who rode with us.

READ MORE

PACIFIC COUNTY

Our 22nd Annual Fall Run is already in the rearview mirror – Great ride, great weather, and a wonderful group of people. 


Our Chapter voted to move the run date to the 3rd Saturday of September, allowing our members to attend the "The Rod Run to the End of the World car show in Long Beach, Washington" put on by the "Beach Barron's Car Club." 

 READ MORE

SPOKANE

We are very excited to announce that the Spokane Chapter of Abate of Washington has 90 members!! Yahoo.  


Thank you for joining and supporting our efforts for freedom of the road and motorcycle rights.

 

Next meeting: November 14th 

6 pm potluck

6:30 pm general meeting 

2405 N. Dick Rd., Spokane Valley

All are welcome!


Jan. 20 Road Guardian Accident Management class. See the attached Flyer Below.  👇

Diana Picone

Coordinator

VIEW FLYER

STAR LAKE

Greetings everyone from Star Lake Chapter,

We had our chapter meeting on October 8, 2023, 10 am-11 am at the coordinator's home. We discussed the rescheduling of the Hopes Closet event next year. The chapter agreed on June 1st,2024, as the new date for the event. We will get the event on the state calendar and have new flyers made for the ride. The chapter officers have been seated for the next fiscal year.

READ MORE

Need to reach a specific Chapter?

Get their contact information here:

SEE ALL CHAPTERS HERE

MYERS & COMPANY

Myers _ Co Logo.png

Who We Are


We’ve been helping people for almost 30 years. We’re smart, efficient, and sophisticated. We measure success by the results achieved for our clients. Most of our cases involve a motorcycle, bicycle, and auto collisions. We work on a contingent fee basis. We only get paid if there’s a recovery. Not only do we do all the work, we also advance all the costs necessary to prepare the case for trial. Clients don’t have to pay any money upfront.


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See Our Reviews

Have you heard of umbrella coverage? Basically, it adds coverage to all of your policies. Or does it...?

By default, umbrella coverage increases liability limits. But it doesn’t increase everything. And that’s a big deal. Maybe the most important coverage you can have increased is uninsured motorists in (UM) and u red motorists (UIM). I’ve said it before. And I think it’s probably more true now than ever. At least 90 percent of drivers are uninsured or underinsured. (We just settled a case against a driver who had $5.3M in coverage—and even he didn’t have enough insurance.) So it’s vital that you let your insurance agent/broker know that you want your umbrella policy to cover not only liability but also UM/UIM.

 Click here to read more about umbrella coverage


The Ins & Outs of "Releases" in Washington

We’re asked to sign releases all the time. Sometimes we’re not even asked to sign—they’re just embedded in our transactions. (Like when we buy lift

tickets to go skiing.) 

The Deterrent Effect of Releases

People fall into two categories. Either they assume that releases are iron-clad or they forget that they signed releases. The people who assume they’re iron-clad don’t pursue claims. That (false) belief is the biggest benefit to the businesses that make customers sign them.

Read More

Resources for Bikers

Filling in the Blanks


Most people have a pretty clear memory of how they got hurt. Frequently their memories are punctuated with very specific details. “That son of a bitch looked me right in the eye before turning left.” “The front door mat was a bright pastel color.” “The impact made a sound just like an M-80 going off.” But when you go through something traumatic, like a motorcycle wreck, the brain isn’t focused on making memories—it’s focused on survival. The same mechanisms that keep the brain sharp enough to escape immediate danger may also make it harder to accurately recall the event.

READ ABOUT THE CHEMISTRY OF MEMORY

He Passed Me Going 90 MPH


In just about every motorcycle case we have there

are allegations that our client was speeding. There are a couple of important things to know about the issue of motorcycle speed. The first relates to the reliability of witness observations. The second deals with the way courts deal with favored drivers exceeding the speed limit.


Witnesses are almost always wrong about

motorcycle speed. It may be based on the relatively small size of motorcycles compared to other vehicles. Or it may be based on witness bias.

LEARN MORE ABOUT WITNESS BIAS

Public Health and Relations Crisis


The concept of public health has really expanded. It used to focus on disease. Now it includes things like gun deaths. New York’s Governor recently declared

a gun violence disaster emergency. This new strategy treats gun violence as a public health crisis. We have a public health crisis of our own in Washington. It doesn’t have anything to do with guns. Or COVID-19. It has to do with motorcycles.

LEARN TO PLAY OFFENSE

What the Jury Doesn't Hear


The evidence rules have a big impact on what the jury gets to hear (and what it doesn’t get to hear). Evidence can seem a lot like an iceberg: 10 percent visible, 90 percent below the surface.


A lot of the evidence rules are counter-intuitive. Here’s what the jury doesn’t get to hear in a personal injury case:

KNOW ABOUT THE RULES

ABATE of Washington | abate-wa.org