2nd Annual AHRMA Board Meeting Scheduled for Monday July 28, 2008
The Second Annual Meeting of AHRMA Membership and Board of Trustees for 2008 will be held July 28th at the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum Pickerington, OH following the AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. The meeting will begin at 8 am and all members are welcome.
AGENDA
> Welcome
> Formal Approval of Minutes from
previous board meeting (Willow Springs,
April 2008)
> Financial/Treasurer’s Report
> Executive Director’s Report:Vintage Motorcycle Days Events Report, Membership Report
> Open Session for Membership Comment*
> Additional Old Business
> New Business
> Rules Proposals
*Open Session for Membership Comment will begin about 10 am
Location Details
Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum
13515 Yarmouth Dr.
Pickerington, Ohio 43147
(614) 856-2222
info@motorcyclemuseum.org
Membership Update
If you renewed your AHRMA membership and are getting your Vintage Views but have not received your membership card, please let us know by sending a fax to the AHRMA office with your name and AHRMA number and and we will get you a new card.
We had some printer issues and are just realizing that many members may have been affected by this.
Addition to NW / Lumberjack Off-Road Regional Schedule
Powroll - Redwood Engineering Trials on July 12th and a Vintage MX on July 13th. Hannegan Speedway, Bellingham, WA. Visit AHRMA NW Regional Vintage MX site for more details.
Cross Country Adds a Novice Only Race to it’s Schedule at Little Egypt, Tomahawk and Mid-Ohio!
In the last issue of Vintage Views, I proposed to help the Novices by having split courses where when the course got tough, we would split off the Novices to an easier bypass around the hard stuff. It would require more volunteers in the woods to manage the splits, and it would hurt the Rider Grading folks because the lap times could not be compared since the Novices and Intermediates would be on different length courses. However, even with these negatives, I proposed it because we have lost many of our Novice riders in Cross Country over the last few years and we want to do something to get them back.
After the article came out, I got phone calls and emails from Novices telling me that they appreciate the fact that we are trying to accommodate them better, but that it wasn't the difficulty of the course that was the problem, it was racing with Experts that was the problem. So after much discussion, we came up with the separate Novice only race as the solution.
The Novice only race for Vintage and PV riders will be scheduled between the Vintage and PV races for Intermediates and Experts. A second positive for this format is that it may encourage more Intermediates and Experts to race both the Vintage and PV races since there will be an extra two hours of rest in between them. Please check out the Marion (Little Egypt) schedule to see how it works.
OK Novices, it’s your turn!!!! See you at Little Egypt!!!
Teddy – National Cross Country Coordinator
AHRMA Exits Chapter 11 Reorganization - Moving Forward!
Our AHRMA board and officials are pleased to announce our exit from reorganization under chapter 11 of the US bankruptcy code. Additionally, any and all claims related to the litigation (and the cost of our defense) that forced our bankruptcy filing have been dismissed and cannot be revisited.
We look forward to the opportunity to once again spend the majority of our time working to help preserve our motorcycle racing heritage and improve our programs for our members – we are moving forward!
Dave Janiec
AHRMA Chairman/CEO
Details:
AHRMA had been defending itself since March of 2001 in a lawsuit filed in the United States District Court, Eastern District of New York by Mr. Robert Iannucci (Team Obsolete) and five riders. When we filed our claim with our insurance carrier (Reliance), we discovered it was insolvent in the largest insurance bankruptcy of its type in the country. AHRMA was able to secure coverage from the Wisconsin insurance insolvency fund that covered $300,000. It was anticipated this would cover the cost of the case. Unfortunately, the costs of defending the action in New York were staggering and well exceeded the estimates of our legal team. The fund was exhausted in the summer of 2006 during the discovery portion of the case and subsequent defense exhausted AHRMA’s financial resources.
In order to preserve our remaining resources, maintain the integrity of the association, and further the interests of our members, AHRMA petitioned for chapter 11 reorganization in November 2006, in the US Bankruptcy Court, Middle District of Tennessee in Nashville. The filing was as the direct result of indebtedness resulting from our defense of the lawsuit. The filing of the petition stayed the lawsuit in the New York district court, pending reorganization.
The US Attorney and court reviewed our financial position at the start of the bankruptcy and determined that we were a strong going concern, other than the debt incurred from the litigation defense. As a part of the bankruptcy process, AHRMA moved to have the value of any potential claim by Team Obsolete, Mr. Iannucci and the other plaintiffs to be estimated in the bankruptcy court. This motion was upheld at a critical hearing in January 2007.
Subsequently, AHRMA and all the plaintiffs reached a settlement documented in a bankruptcy court Agreed Order, agreeing “not to pursue or assert any claims against” each other for any past actions.
Following the settlement, AHRMA proposed a payment plan that was approved by the court and began making payments against all outstanding claims. We filed a motion to exit chapter 11 (approved by the court in April 2008), and remain a solvent, going concern.
The settlement Agreed Order was also introduced into the New York court and a motion to dismiss the case was submitted by all parties. The United States District Court, Eastern District of New York subsequently ordered the case dismissed with prejudice, meaning that none of the parties can bring suit on any of the claims involved. The litigation is thus closed.
AHRMA Announces Officers for 2008
The AHRMA board of trustees has elected its slate of officers for 2008. Dave Janiec returns as board chairman, Mark Hatten returns as secretary, and Jeff Smith returns again to the treasurer’s position. While Janiec and Hatten were elected unanimously, the board selection for treasurer was decided by majority vote.
Earlier this year, Mr. Smith had resigned as AHRMA treasurer in the best interests of the association following publicized events involving his resignation as assistant treasurer of the AMA. These issues were to be reviewed by the AHRMA board at its first meeting of this year, April 14th in Lancaster, CA.
Mark Hatten and Jeff Smith were both nominated for AHRMA treasurer at that board meeting, and the board moved into closed session to first review the confidential issues surrounding Mr. Smith, prior to voting.
The board reviewed the information related to Mr. Smith’s situation and subsequently voted for the treasurer position by secret ballot, in accordance with the AHRMA Bylaws. Mr. Smith was elected to the position by majority vote. The AHRMA board has the highest confidence in the integrity and ability of Jeff Smith as treasurer of the association.
AHRMA officers are elected annually and will serve until the first board and membership meeting of 2009.
