Name: Dennis Pierce
First and foremost, I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to the outgoing officers / E-Board for a job well done. Mr. Dave Larsen with you at the helm, this club has grown stronger and I intend to continue its growth, in the spirit of your efforts. Thank you Dave and thank you all for “steppin’ up” when needed! Secondly, I’d like to thank all of the incoming officers / E-Board for “steppin’ up” to meet the challenges that lie ahead of us.
If you haven’t guessed by now, I’d like MMR’s theme for 2011 to be “STEP UP.” If there’s something that needs to be done for the betterment of our club and you’re on the fence, “STEP UP.” The idea for this theme came to me when, I initially was going to sidestep the nomination for president of MMR, citing my life was way too busy already, but instead, accepted it. After the election several people thanked me for steppin’ up. The idea was born. We can all come up with a thousand reasons why we wouldn’t / shouldn’t /couldn’t do something, but this year is going to be the year to “step up.” The vast majority of our membership already does this, which is why we’re the incredible club we are.
It’s no secret that I love my club and the members that make it up, I love what we do and I love what we stand for. I’m a big advocate of working together, shoulder to shoulder as a team, there’s no room for the ME MONSTER as far as I’m concerned. This is all about us. We can work hard together, but we can laugh and play hard together too. We are truly a club, in which, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. MMR is much bigger than any one of us. I touched upon this at our last general meeting, saying that I was happy to be at the throttle, but I still need my V-Twin, my primary, my tranny, tires and wheels. Together and only together, we are the total machine.
Looking back on 2010 my saddest memory was and always will be losing Dee Dee. Looking back on 2010 one of my fondest memories was our toy delivery to the Salvation Army on the Plymouth waterfront. I think it’s safe to say it exceeded all expectations, bringing Donna Ebby of The Salvation Army to tears of joy. It was a gift to be part of that, that being said, I can’t wait to relive that Toy Run in 2011. The Salvation Army bug bit and it bit hard! We’ll be “steppin’ up” again for them and many others in 2011.
Another ride that I’m passionate about is The Ride For Kids (supporting The Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation). Since this ride starts in Fiskdale more than likely an overnighter will be planned (August 2011). Before the inception of this ride there was no such thing as a pediatric brain tumor survivor. A brain tumor was pretty much a death sentence for a child. Maybe we can “step up” for this cause in 2011.