Good February to you. I hope this finds everyone well.

Tommy Crowe of Bluffton is now riding free. Tommy set off early Sunday morning, December 12^{th, after loosing a long and hard fought battle. Our condolences to Tommy’s family; we’ll be missing a good friend and member.}

Congratulations & Thanks go out to Michelle Varellie for taking on the new position of Products Coordinator. We have several different items available for purchase to support Jasper County A.B.A.T.E. and show it too. Please see the website for details & contact Michelle for help with your acquiring the cool swag. www.jasperabate.com

As the December & January installments were missing due to the negligence and utter procrastination of the scribe; you’ll find the update for past events will reach a little farther back than usual.

Our Thanksgiving Delivery was an uplifting experience. What a marvelous feeling it is to find, adopt & help out families that you know truly could use & deserve a hand during the holiday season. Our one "official" choice of family doubled down and became two families. Although it came as a surprise to most members, the addition was a necessary move & set us square with our Jasper A.B.A.T.E tradition. Thanks to all who came with. Your reward for bearing the weather was surely the warmth you felt while being with the families. This, my brothers & sisters, truly has to be the secret of life. Our Christmas Delivery came up just as quick & rolled right into the celebration that is the Jasper A.B.A.T.E. Christmas Party; this year held at Chris & Jay’s. There were plenty of good eats from the local culinary talent pool and the band kept us moving to help brave the chill. Pics and other evidence of mayhem can be conveniently gleaned from the website.

Thanks to Monty for keeping the site up to snuff.

Jan. 9th is rolling hard & I hope we’ll get to see & meet many of you in Columbia for the S.C. Rally for Freedom. Jasper County will be having a pool tournament after our meeting that afternoon. Of course it will be pics and memories by the time the press rolls.

Congratulations to The Wingmen Motorcycle Club, Savannah. They have expanded and opened a new chapter on this side of the river in Beaufort. The clubhouse is near the MCAS at the old Circle W bldg. They will be holding a Pork Chop Memorial party Jan 22nd thru Jan 24th with all A.B.A.T.E. invited. The Wingmen, Savannah have historically supported District 11 – A.B.A.T.E. of Georgia, but the Beaufort chapter will instead concentrate their support on A.B.A.T.E. of South Carolina in 2010. We thank them for all their support both past and present, and now…future. Good luck, guys.

Some coming events & dates to note; Jasper Co.’s Frosty Balls ride is scheduled to take place Feb. 20th . We’ll be starting out from Pepper’s Porch in Bluffton if you cane make it. Our March Blood Drive will be on March 20th at Jock’s in Bluffton. There will be more details on the website as time gets closer. Abate of S.C. Beast of The East will be held April 9th- 11th in Greenville. There will be seminars and other points of interest going on during the event. This will begin at 12:00 on the 9th and end at 4:00 on the 11th. Jan 2nd is the BOD meeting. Please try to attend these meetings. Thunder in the Smokies will be April 23rd – 25th so mark your calendar and come show your stripe. What better place to promote A.B.A.T.E?

Furthermore, as always, our meetings are held every second Saturday at 4 PM. We meet at The Confederate Railroad located at I-95’s Exit 33. Our next meeting will be held Feb. 13th. Please join us if you can. We’d love to see you.

Recently, I shared an e-mail conversation I had with Mr. Dean Collins to our Board. I was then asked to share it with you in this forum. I answered Dean’s request for input on the "Lifetime Membership" idea. I told Dean, and I’m telling you that I am open to argument on this issue. If you feel differently than I do, I’d love to hear about it. The way I see it is this: there is only one reason to have it & two reasons not to. The reason for; to provide a convenience for the member. Maybe it’s a drag to remember when to peel off the Jackson and re-up the dues. Personally, I can remember when to get caught up & I’ve got a Membership Coordinator who helps me should I get slack. The reasons not; one, because current gung-ho members become old members. There may come a day when the member(s) in question has given up on motorcycles or lost interest in A.B.A.T.E. for one reason or another. We, A.B.A.T.E., are left with lifetime members on the books, sucking up resources, such as newsletters and postage, for no benefit at all to the organization. Cost without benefit. Two, while it might be nice for us to create a situation of sudden windfall for the current coffer situation, it will be paid for by the lack of funding for the future A.B.A.T.E. What if, please stick with me & don’t take this too literal, we have a room full of ten year veteran lifetime members & no new blood. The lack of inflow from membership dues will be a burden to be overcome by the required making up by other means of income. It may not be a great amount, but every penny lacking must be made up for somewhere else. Is it right to rob from the future for the benefit of today? Hasn’t experience taught us the exact opposite to be true? My position is taken with the premise that the Lifetime Membership is an offer to all members. If, on the other hand, this is an honor to be bestowed to a select very few for services rendered, then I withdraw my statements and will stand behind the notion. Jasper County, after all, has a lifetime member of our own, and the membership makes sure the dues are kept square by making up the difference.

I would like to take this opportunity to ask each of you to thank your Legislative Coordinator for all they do. If there is ever a question on the point or purpose for A.B.A.T.E., just look to the Legislative Coordinator. Our state constitution says "The Legislative Coordinator works with the A.B.A.T.E. of South Carolina Coordinator and legislative committee to develop strategies and coordinate membership lobbying efforts." While this stated responsibility is task enough, we also look to them for information & updates on what directly, or indirectly, affects our daily lives. After all the rallies, poker runs & parties, it’s the fight that we are here for, and it’s the Legislative Coordinator that keeps us on point. As our rights and freedoms vanish daily, it is the L.C.’s who guide us and direct our fire. It is the L.C.’s who rout out & expose the carefully hidden products of the ruling class, and the illuminating of laws and codes that so conceitedly strip us of our liberty. So thanks to all the chapters’ L.C.’s & a big one to Cliff too. We appreciate all you do.

"Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty." - Wendell Phillips, January 28, 1852

Thank you for your time.

Forever in Liberty

Ozzie

Jasper County Co-Coordinator