[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 20]
[Senate]
[Page 29482]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



  HONORING THE 10-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE MOTORCYCLE RIDERS FOUNDATION

 Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. President, today I would like to take this 
opportunity to recognize a not-for-profit organization which has been 
on the national forefront of motorcyclists' rights. The Motorcycle 
Riders Foundation here in Washington, D.C. is a nation-wide grassroots 
activist group that is completing its tenth year representing 
motorcycling rights. As the year draws to an end and we look forward to 
a new century, we should be proud of an organization such as MRF which 
embodies our forefathers' commitment to the Constitution and the values 
of freedom and the self- determination of a citizen government.
  In the mid-1980's the leadership of the various state motorcyclist 
associations, which had been around since the early 1970's, began to be 
concerned about the possibility of and need for becoming involved with 
federal legislation that had an impact on motorcyclists. In 1985, these 
leaders began hosting a national conference, the Meeting Of The Minds, 
to educate motorcyclists on how to be more effective in their state 
legislatures.
  In September of this year the MRF hosted the Fifteenth Annual Meeting 
Of The Minds in Denver, Colorado. In 1986, the idea of establishing a 
national association and opening an office in Washington, DC, was 
conceived. In 1987, the Motorcycle Rights Fund (MRF) was incorporated 
as a 501 (4) not-for-profit association and fund raising began. In 
1988, the name of the association was changed to the Motorcycle Riders 
Foundation, and with less than $30,000 in the bank, the MRF hired its 
first employee and opened its Washington, D.C. headquarters on November 
8, 1988.
  Since its inception the MRF has had two primary goals. One has been 
its educational program, which sponsors national and regional 
conferences every year, with the purpose of training and educating 
leaders of state motorcyclist associations. The MRF's second, and 
primary program, is its government relations activity. The MRF was 
recently recognized by the American Society of Association Executives 
with its Award of Excellence, for the overall federal legislative 
program. The awards committee recognized the commitment of the MRF and 
its on-going efforts for the past ten years.
  In 1996 MRF's federal legislative program was also the recipient of 
ASAE's Excellence in Government Relations Award for a Single Issue. In 
its ten-year presence in the Nation's Capital, MRF has had a number of 
legislative accomplishments in diverse areas ranging from highway 
safety, personal liberty, law enforcement and discrimination issues; 
technology development policies, highway access, and state to federal 
relationships.
  As we recognize MRF's 10-Year Anniversary, I look forward to hearing 
about MRF's future successes in the months and years to come.

                          ____________________