Executive Report - December 2025

John Reblin

It’s the End of the Year as We Know It.

Hello again this month. I hope you all had a Thanksgiving meal with friends and loved ones and were able to enjoy friendship and good food. Next up is Christmas and the New Year’s celebrations. So far, I don’t have too much planned, but I have a little time to figure out some fun stuff during the holidays.

I am disappointed that Governor Evers vetoed our Bill, which we finally got passed and sent on for his signature, that would make it law. The bill would have made the choice of purchasing equipment with a source of power, whether electric, petroleum-based, or whatever fuel source is coming down in the future, our own decision. We worked hard to get a common-sense bill passed through the Legislature, only to see it get tossed aside with a signature from the Governor. It would have been a huge win for him from the motorcyclists from Wisconsin if he had signed it into law. He is a believer in electric power, and that is fine, but it is not the correct choice for everyone. Electric is not good for me with the amount of driving I do in a day. And I certainly don’t want to waste time recharging on the road when I want to get home. But it would be fine for my loving bride, who only drives 50-100 miles a week. We, the public, need to be able to make the choice of what works best for us.

The 2026 budget has been created and offered to the Board of Directors to discuss. It started out ending up in the negative, but Paul Vita did some great work getting us back on track without cutting too much into everyone’s budget. He and I have been discussing things throughout the budget, and I think we will have some good thoughts to share through this process and after it passes.

If you were at the State Meeting, Twit shared drawings for a building to replace the brown palace on the land. The drawings look great and will give us an opportunity to get all our artifacts and memorabilia in one safe, secure, and dry area. There will need to be some discussion on size and inside design to make it usable for now and in the future. Before we get too excited, we also need to see the dollars and cents of building this along with a way to fundraise and pay for it in a responsible manner.

Speaking of the land, the shower building has had the floors redone with an epoxy-type paint that we have been hearing all the advertisements about. I have not seen them in person, but from the pictures I’ve seen, they look great. They also had a permanent shelter put up in the food vendor area to provide shelter from the rain and shade from the sun. The pop-up tents were fine, but always a hassle in strong winds.

Steve Panten and I have been having a discussion in different districts on Lobby Day and the how and why we are successful in getting the word out. We have had great conversations with Districts 1, 2, and 3, with great questions on a range of topics included in our talking points. We hope to get the remaining districts all done in the month of December because Lobby Day is February 17^th, ten days after Officer Training. The goal is to make everyone comfortable in setting up appointments, hitting the points in our asks, and helping us be successful. We spent a lot of your money to set up and have Lobby Day, and want to make sure we get our rewards for the money spent.

The riding season is slowing down, and so far, the fatalities are lower than last year. We have more work to do to get the message out to make sure we are riding within our skill level, not under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and not overdriving our headlights at night. With the higher fatality numbers, it brings others coming up with ideas to help us lower those numbers that we won’t like. We need to work together and do what we can to keep the numbers going down.

With the New Year, make sure to drag out your calendar to make sure you have Officer Training down for the weekend of February 6-7-8^th, 2026. We will have things going on to make sure you and your region are ready for the upcoming year. No matter how many times you go to these events, you always learn something new, and I always leave energized. We also have Brandon Derry from the Law Firm of Hupy and Abraham scheduled for that weekend to talk to us about insurance and what you need to do to make sure you are properly covered, whoever is at fault, on your bike, auto, or whatever. Everyone thinks they are good before the crash, but then find out afterwards that they neglected something to save a couple of dollars. Also, Dave Van Dyke will have your highway safety items available for pick up during that weekend.

Make sure you have June 25-28, 2026, marked for the Summer Hummer. Worm and his crew of people have been working hard since the last Hummer planning and checking out bands. It is a great time with great people. Come up and see your land and have fun partying there, listening to music and talking with your ABATE family. Someone there will not have heard all the stories you have, and you will hear some stories back.

Of course, make sure you look for a rider education course to work on your riding skills. I find that as I am starting to get a few years’ wear and tear on me that I don’t react as fast as I used to. It is also a good thing to make sure your riding skills are not sliding and that you are not picking up bad habits. Make sure you check out SafeRider and get scheduled. Gary and his crew of instructors will take good care of you.

If you have an interest, Gary is always looking for instructors. If you have the skills to teach and love to help people and motorcycles, this may be the part-time job that will put a spring in your step. Talk to Gary if you think you may be interested in doing this, and he can answer all your questions.

That’s it. If you are still riding, be safe, and be warm.

John