October MRF Update.
The MRF conference Meeting of the minds is right around the corner. There is still time to get your ticket to attend the yearly event. Book your reservation by September 10th.  There are many ABATE members and ABATE board members going.  
All RCs and MRF Assistant Reps: it is important we continue to push MRF memberships at every meeting. It is also important that you reach out to all those MRF members that have lapsed memberships. If you are unsure who you should be contacting, please contact Brandy Everest 517-896-0579 or Jinx (Tom Rahn) – 517-812-7602. All your ABATE members should also be MRF members. Both organizations fight for the same causes but at different levels, ABATE being the state level and MRF being the Federal level.  It’s important as a motorcyclist we back and support both organizations.  If you are unsure what your role is as a MRF Assistant State Rep or need help in your region with recruiting MRF or talking about MRF during your monthly meetings, please call Jinx or Brandy. We will work with and if you would like we will come to your next meeting to help you. 
To bring in additional membership for the months of September and October Jinx is doing a MRF 7-Line Membership Drawing.  Each Region should be encouraging this recruiting program. For more information or the sheets to run this recruiting program please reach out to Jinx or Brandy Everest.  A brief description of the program is: you get seven people to pitch in $5.00 each for a total of $35.00, the cost of a one-year individual MRF membership. Each person writes their name on a line (1 through 7). Each line corresponds to the Ace through Seven of a suit of cards. You get the $35.00, shuffle the Ace through Seven, and draw a winner. There’s an MRF membership application on the bottom of the sheet, so you can fill out the app right there and send it off to Paulette in the MRF office.
If some people are hesitant to get in on the drawing because they’re already an MRF member, just tell them, “No problem, if you win, we’ll have Paulette extend your membership for another year.”
Again, this is proving to be a fun, easy way to sign up new members for the MRF. All you need to do is print one of these out, grab a deck of cards, and you’re in business.
 
Our Michigan legislation is returning from summer break, so Jinx or I don’t have much to report. We continue to ask you to call your State Rep, Senator, Congressmen to back HB  4809. This bill would allow motorcyclists injured in an accident involving a motor vehicle to seek their no-fault benefits from their OWN auto insurance instead of that of the other driver.  
Additional topics ABATE of Michigan continues to fight for:
• Profiling 
• New Green deal – is a movement to stop making gas vehicles and making everything electric. You will have to pay to charge your bikes and the charge is only good for 100 miles. 
• Autonomous Vehicles (Self driving cars) –Test pilot is in Macomb County, on Mound Rd (3-4 lane road) – Who is responsible if they crash with another vehicle?
• EPA Gas – Will damage your motorcycle or boats engine and void the warranty. The fight is to have it labeled and to have its own pump.
• 30 states have a choice to wear a helmet and we might lose that because they are fighting to make it a federal law for “All gear all the all the time’. (SMARTER) You want this to say at the State level and not Federal. Note that if this is ever to hit Michigan’s Governor desk it will be signed into law.