Boxer Shorts February, 2005 - 2 of 4
Editor's Pillion
by Victor Cruz
TWENTY YEARS AGO, or about 240 breakfast
club meetings ago, then-president Dave Swider,
who today lives in California but still finds
a way to stay connected to the club, wrote
his first column as president in the December
1994 issue of the Shorts. This edition you
hold in your hands marks my 12th issue, and
I have been looking for an excuse to quote
Mr. Swider's sagacious words ever since being
asked by Jeff Stein to take on this post.
Re-reading Dave's words for the fifth time,
I want to engrave them on the floor boards
at Stones Public House. If there was an image
that could symbolize their meaning, I would
get it tattooed on my neck backwards so I
could gawk at it daily before the mirror.
To my mind, this is the club's Manifesto;
something that has not changed in 20 years.
It bears repeating:
... I'd like to describe my feelings about what a BMW motorcycle club is all about. The most important idea to remember is that the point of a motorcycle club is not the club itself, though it certainly has its importance, but rather to provide a framework of events that enable us to enjoy our bikes and the people that ride them. Our mission is to go places and do things with people that share the same interest in fine German machinery as ourselves. What these experiences will be and who we will do them with are entirely up to us. Many folks like to rally, camping and motorcycling, while other people would prefer day rides. Motorcycle trips do not have to be transcontinental journeys to be fun. What types of events are scheduled are not only my responsibility and the responsibility of the club officers, but are your responsibility too.
The quickest way for us to become stale is to keep going to the same events on the same weekend year in and year out.
The continued infusion of new ideas is the lifeblood of the Yankee Beemers....
... We are all free to contribute as much or as little as we wish to the club effort, but believe me, it's a lot more fun to contribute than to be a passive participant. There are a million little chores that need to be handled during an event, including our breakfast meetings. If you feel like helping, do! You'll make a bunch of new friends and will feel good about making things happen. It's kind of like motorcycle riding, watching someone race is always cool, but I get a much larger thrill riding home with a million other riders....
-- Dave Swider
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