Big Sandbar Chapter. Antique Motorcycle Club of America. Winter 2014 Issue 14:1. Long Island New York

Transcription

1 Big Sandbar Chapter Winter 2014 Issue 14:1 Antique Motorcycle Club of America Long Island New York

2 Big Sandbar Club Officers Co-Director Keith Mudfish Moser Co-Director Ronnie Wilson Treasurer Alice Moser Secretary Karen St. John Membership Kevin LoBasso Newsletter Layla Ferrante Board Members Artie Gould Doug St. John Pip Sarser Website Facebook Big Sandbar s Maryhaven Center of Hope Annual Christmas Toy Run Thunder Bikes, Port Jefferson Station December 15,

3 Letter from the Co-Director March 2014 Hello to all Big Sandbar members once again. The Big Sandbar 2013 season officially ended on February 22, 2014, with the celebration of our Holiday party at Shandon Court. What holiday we were celebrating exactly is still up for debate, but a great time was had by everyone. It was nice to see some old friends and meet some new ones. Congrats to our brother Lou Rocket Re for receiving the cherished Gene Baron award. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who donated motorcycle items for the door prize raffles. Mudfish did a great job as usual being our resident emcee. The party would not be the same without you guys! Our annual Christmas toy run to Maryhaven Center for Hope on December 15, 2013, was a huge success this year. It never gets old to watching the kids get their gifts from Santa. The members of The Big Sandbar Chapter worked really well together this year ensuring all the gifts were wrapped and delivered to our meeting place at Thunder Bikes. A big thank you goes out to Ron who owns and operates Thunder Bikes in Port Jefferson Station for letting us use his beautiful shop to set up and for treating us to coffee and donuts. I don t know about you, but I sure am looking forward to some riding weather. This winter has been brutal on all of us, and warm weather would be a welcome relief. As always the first national event will be the Sunshine Chapter s New Smyrna Beach meet on March 7 through March 9. By the time you receive this newsletter, it should be over, so I hope you got to soak up some Florida sunshine. The first national event within driving distance will be Perkiomen s Oley, Pennsylvania, meet on April 25 and 26. I hope to see you all there. Rhinebeck will be held on June 13 and 14 this year. The Rhinebeck coalition started with six chapters and is now down to three. The Big Sandbar chapter has been actively engaged in coordinating the behind the scenes decisions since its inception. This wouldn t be possible without Don Spence and Mudfish spending countless hours of their own time, attending meetings upstate and running the actual event. Thank you both for all your hard work and dedication. If you are going to be at Rhinebeck and would like to volunteer some time, please see one of us. We sure could use the help. On a more local note, we will not be having our swap meet with the South Shore Motorcycle Club any longer. We are working on some new events/rides with other clubs and museums, and we will keep you posted when we hammer out the details. I would like to express my gratitude to Mudfish and all the board members for working hard together to make our great chapter even better. I am looking forward to working, riding and hanging out together in Hang in there, guys, winter is almost over. See you then and stay safe!! Respectfully, Ron Wilson Yearly Dues are Due!! If you have not yet paid your annual club dues, please do so. Mail your check or money order to: Kevin LoBasso 30 Bolan Drive Huntington Station, NY Thank You! Sandbar Chapter Charity The Sandbar Chapter has chosen HUD-VASH, Housing and Urban Development Veterans Administration Support Housing, in conjunction with the Northport VA Medical Center as our charity. This organization serves 360 veterans and their families on Long Island. The VA, along with HUD, finds private rental housing for homeless veterans, both young and old. Many of these veterans enter their new homes from the streets, with very little personal belongings. HUD- VASH looks for everything to furnish a home, including bedding, towels, pots and pans, silverware and furniture. They accept cash donations along with privately donated items. Helping us at the VA will be Gregory Curran, Homeless Veterans Program Manager, and Rose Williamson, who is in charge of the donation program. We will be coordinating with both of them to get our donations to our veterans here on Long Island. At present, the donation amount is $200. In addition, if any club members have items to donate which may be useful to the program, please contact Pip Sarser for more details. 3

4 Rhinebeck Grand National Meet 2014 June 13 & 14 Dutchess County Fairgrounds 6550 Spring Brook Avenue, Rhinebeck, New York Antique Motorcycle Show Vintage Chopper Show Hot Rods Wall of Death Gates Open Friday & Saturday 8:00 am - 5:00 pm Vendor set up Thursday, June 12 Vending information: Judging information: Deadline for pre-registration: May 25, 2014 Preregister for judging at Rhinebeck on the AMCA s website. Admission Prices Discount for club members: $10/one day or $15/two days General admission: $15/one day or $25/two days Children under 13 free Display an antique motorcycle, vintage chopper or pre-1960 hot road and get in for free. Credit cards accepted at the gate. ATM Machine available in Building E. For more information: 4

5 Son of the Monster Mash Bald Hill/brookhaven amphitheater Oct. 27, 2013 On October 27, 2013, the Big Sandbar Chapter of the AMCA sponsored the Bike Show at the Son of the Monster Mash on Bald Hill in Farmingville. This year the show raised $30, for Canine Companions, which provides service dogs for veterans, and the Farmingville Holtsville Lions Club, which aids the hearing and sight impaired. Plenty of members attended the show, including Ronnie Wilson, Donny Spence, Mudfish, Steve Sorensen and Pat Chepinskas, Laura Minicozzi and Joe Spot, and Layla Ferrante. A good time was had by all. Two Sandbar members were among the winners of the show this year: Ron Wilson won Best in Show with his 1946 EL Knucklehead Harley-Davidson, and Pip Sarser, won Best Antique for his 1937 BMW R12. Story and photos by Laura Minicozzi Pat and Steve at Steve s Motorcycle School booth. Ronnie, left, and his 1946 EL, and Pip, right, with his 1937 BMW R12. 5

6 Maryhaven Center of Hope December 15, 2013 Above, from left: Bob Hurney and Ronnie Wilson. Below: from left: Kory and Joel Happ and Gerry Duff. The Big Sandbar Chapter held it s annual Christmas Toy Run to the Maryhaven Center of Hope on December 15. This is the 10th year the club has participated in the charity function. A member of Catholic Heath Services of Long Island, Maryhaven Center of Hope assists children, adults and senior citizens of all faiths with disabilities. Butch and Giny Keegan started the annual Christmas Toy Run 30-plus years with their Chevy car club. Although the car club disbanded, Butch and Giny continue the tradition, working now with Big Sandbar and Giny s fellow employees at Stony Brook University Hospital, where Giny works in the Business Office/Patient Accounts department. Every year, Maryhaven Recreational Counselor Janie Rivera compiles a list of what the residents want Santa to bring them. Butch and Giny and the employees at SBU s Business Office/Patient Accounts department make sure every person in the four dorms of the main building (girls, boys, center and young men) gets what is on their list. Sandbar takes care of the lists for Houses A, B and C at the facility. Once again, the presents were plentiful, and Santa had quite a lot of work to do, giving each person their requested gift. Club members met up at Thunder Bikes on Jayne Blvd. in Port Jefferson, where owner Ron Starke hosted us for the second year in a row. Karen and Doug St. John took on the same job they had last year and made sure there was plenty of coffee and donuts for all. With the previous day s snowstorm, no club members rode to the event. The St. John Family, from left: Doug and Karen, and AnnMarie and Jim St. John, with Ron Starke, owner of Thunder Bikes, in the back. Ron looking over club members Bob Provencher and Miranda Gatewood and Pat and Steve Sorenson. 6

7 Annual Christmas Toy Run Port Jefferson, NY Club members who participated were: Ron, Bella and JoJo Wilson; Pat Chepinskas and Steve Sorensen; Donny and Wendy Spence; Alice and Mudfish Moser; Gerry Duff; Joel and Kory Happ; Ali and Bill Sharpe; Bob Provencher and Miranda Gatewood; Pip and Claire Sarser; Layla Ferrante, and honorary member Bob Hurney. AnnMarie and Jim St. John, Karen and Doug St. John, and Laura Minicozzi were also at Thunder Bikes. They did not accompany the rest of the group to Maryhaven. At Maryhaven, Janie started off the festivities with a prayer which included wishing Jesus a happy birthday. She then lead everyone in singing Rudolf, the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Santa Claus is Coming to Town. Voices were raised by the Sandbar members, joining in the sing-along, although I m not quite sure we got all the lyrics correct even though Janie had them printed on a handout for us. A rousing chorus of Don-ny Spence is coming to town and verses including He sees when the Harleys are leaking was heard. After the songs, Santa appeared and handed out the gifts. From left, Ronnie Wilson, Giny Keegan, Janie Rivera and Butch Keegan. Below: Miranda Gatewood and Alice Moser organize the presents. From left, JoJo and Bella Wilson help Wendy Spence unpack and sort all the gifts for the appropriate gift tables. 7

8 Big Sandbar Holiday Party February 22, 2014 A great time was had by all at our annual holiday party, held this year at Shandon Court in East Islip. It was great to see both old and new faces. This year we tried a buffet dinner, which everyone seemed to enjoy. As usual, the door prizes were plentiful, with almost everyone, it seemed, receiving a gift. Above: Karen, Doug, Diane, Jim, Claire, Mike, Pip and Alice Below: Bob, Kathy, Priscilla, Marcellite and Mike Above: Diane and Kevin Below: Andre, Tar, Lynn, Dan and Debi Above: Donny and John Below: Eddie and Henry 8

9 Shandon Court East Islip, NY Gene Baron Award Honoree Louis Rocket Re Above: Anthony, Uncle Joe, Linda and Larry Below: Carmine, Karen, Ali, Bill and Nicole Lou Rocket Re received the Big Sandbar s Gene Baron Award for generously donating his time and risking his life putting on his Evil Knievel jump show for everyone at our Rhinebeck National Meet. Upon accepting his award, Lou said: I d rather be with you people then with the best people in the world. You are best of the worst. It really is an honor to receive the award. I m just doing what I love to do: hanging with my friends and riding my bikes. Lou is pictured above with Mudfish and, below, with Ronnie. Below: Kevin, Claire, Pip, Lou and Ronnie 9

10 52 Cleveland Avenue Sayville, NY Members: The newsletter will only be sent out via . It will also be available on our website at If you would like to receive a printed copy of the newsletter, please contact Ronnie. Thanks! Please note: Annual dues are due. Please make your payment. Thank you! 2014 Calendar Date Event Location April Cherokee Chapter National Road Run Texas April Perkiomen Chapter National Meet Oley, PA May Southern National Meet Denton, NC May Bluegrass Chapter National Road Run Bardstown, KY June Rhinebeck National Meet Rhinebeck, NY June Fort Sutter Chapter National Meet Dixon, CA July Oregon Trail Chapter National Road Run Oregon July Wauseon National Meet Wauseon, OH August 1-2 Yankee Chapter National Meet Hebron, CT September 8-10 Allegheny Mountain National Road Run Elkins, WV October 3-4 Chesapeake Chapter National Meet Jefferson, PA 10