Bikers Honor Freedom Fighter, Demonstrate Hope for Future
From: Mark Temple
BOLT - Sacramento CA
President, ABATE, Local 25, Sacramento, CA
From: Mark Temple
BOLT - Sacramento CA
President, ABATE, Local 25, Sacramento, CA
The 'Quigmas Party' was well attended and lacked nothing in the way of Promise and Hope for the future of motorcycling. Over a hundred bikers attended the party, in Santa Cruz County, in honor of Richard Quigley. The gathering took place Friday night, December 29th 2006 at the Sea Cliff Inn in Aptos, California.
Co-hosted by Lyle Fleming, President of the Ghost Mountain Riders M/C, and Red Barron, Bikers Of Lesser Tolerance (BOLT). Friends, family and motorcycle club members were there to Roast Quig and wish him a happy Birthday, which actually falls on the 25th. Well-wishers came from all over the state of California and from out of state.
Motorcycle Rights Organizations were represented; BOLT, in addition to American Brotherhood Aimed Toward Education (ABATE) immortalized Quig and each awarded him high honors. Tony "Pan" Sanfelipo of Wisconsin, National Founder of BOLT honored him with their Freedom Fighter Award which was presented by Red Barron, and Joe Schwirian, Chairman of the Board of ABATE of California, honored him with their Lifetime Achievement Award.
Jackie Suthers, State Director for BOLT of Nevada, spoke during the Roast and personal story portion of the party. Her inspiring recount of how she started work in Motorcycle Rights, and how she met Quig were important for the crowd to hear, but more telling was Richard’s insistence that the true inspiration was the people around him, like Jackie, who have accomplished so much with knowledge, courage and the guts to never back down. Jackie restated the BOLT motto, “Compromise is not in our vocabulary.”
Sounding as humble as he usually is with such accolades coming his way, Quig detailed for the assembled crowd the list of people he owes thanks. One of the people who has worked closely with Quig from the beginning is Don Blanscet of Penn Valley, California. Quig showed Don public appreciation for teaching Quig how to keep control of the officer and the situation during a law enforcement traffic stop and in a courtroom. “He taught me everything I know,” Quig says. Lyle Fleming, President of Ghost Mountain Riders and Chairman of Confederation of Clubs of Monterey Bay, was even credited for encouraging Quig to get involved with the helmet law fight in the very beginning, in 1991.
Kate Wells, Quig's lawyer and friend for many years was in attendance. Also, Wendy Lascher, the lawyer representing Quig and the other co-plaintiffs in the Civil suit against the CHP came to the Quigmas party. The participants suing the CHP in the Civil case are Quig, Don Blanscet, Pat Holmes, Red Barron, Steve Bianco; Steve was the only co-plaintiff unable to attend the party. The Civil law suit, filed November 9, 2006, will prevent police from enforcing the California motorcycle helmet law. More than just another birthday party, it was a chance for many individuals, clubs and groups to set the record straight, telling Quig the motorcycling community would have been better served had we all supported him for the entirety of his time working for bikers as a Freedom Fighter.This gives hope and promise for the future, for we can conquer challenges to our Rights, which are still ahead. If we can band together to pay respects to the ultimate United States Freedom Fighter, to acknowledge the errors made in the past and rededicate ourselves to a more determined effort to think and act, not just like freedom fighters, but like United States Freedom Fighters, we cannot lose those battles to come.