What is the Young Activist
Scholarship Fund?
Biker “Freedom Fighting” activists
have recognized for some time that our membership and leaders
are aging, and that there is a need to encourage younger
people to become involved in motorcyclists' rights. To that
end, the Motorcycle Riders Foundation Awareness and Education (MRFA&E) has created a scholarship
fund to recognize deserving candidates who are a minimum
of 18 years old and not over 30 years of age who otherwise
may not be able to attend the MRF's Meeting of the Minds
conference.
The MRFA&E has dedicated a limited amount of
seed money to the scholarship fund to get things rolling.
The MRFA&E is looking for additional contributions
from individuals, national, state and local organizations
and businesses that would like to participate in the program.
Click
here to make an on-line contribution to the MRFA&E Young
Activist Scholarship Fund. Checks made out to the MRFA&E Young
Activist Scholarship Fund can be sent to: MRFA&E Young Activist
Scholarship Fund, 236 Massachusetts Ave. NE Suite 510, Washington,
DC 20002.
Since 2004, the MRFA&E Young Activist Scholarship is a successful program to activate our youth into defending biker rights for the future. The program started with the
MRFA&E donating $750.00 the first year to get it rolling and
generous donations from MRF members. The first year the
MRFA&E could afford to send one candidate and the second year
this program doubled to two winning candidates with larger
donations. Our third year we doubled the winning candidates
to four. Individuals, National, State, and Local Organizations
and Businesses are encouraged to continue their donations
so we can grow this program even more for the future. Grants
are being explored as a way to fund this but it still is
a ways down the pike.
Nominations will be accepted from either
state or local SMRO groups, and must be submitted on the
MRFA&E-approved application form below.
Candidate Criteria:
1) Nominated candidates must be between
the ages of 18 and 30 with a valid Motorcycle Endorsement
on their Drivers License. 31st Birthday must fall after
Meeting Of The Minds for that year.
2) Candidates must be a member in good
standing of a State Motorcyclists' Rights Organization (SMRO).
Length of membership required in SMRO to be determined by
its members if candidate is qualified.
3) Candidates must be nominated by their
SMRO. Nominations will be accepted from either state
or local (District / Chapter / Local) SRMO groups, and
must be submitted on an MRFA&E approved application
form.
4) Nominations must be submitted between
October 1st and July 15th and postmarked no later than July
1st of the year for which the application is submitted.
5) Candidates are to submit a minimum three
hundred (300)-word essay on why biker's rights are important
to them. A well written essay from the heart is like a picture
or blueprint of who the candidate is; coming directly from
the candidate, this gives the committee members a better
perspective of the individual. Include the essay with the
MRFA&E YAS Application Form.
Winning candidates will be announced via
an MRF E-mail News Release on or about August 15th. All
candidates will be notified with a letter of thanks and
encouragement to re-submit their candidacy for the next
year if they are not the selected winner.
What Do Winning Candidates Receive?
- One-year membership to the Motorcycle
Riders Foundation, effective the first full day of the
Meeting of the Minds during the year in question.
- Round-trip airfare to the MRF's Meeting
of the Minds conference, or alternate travel expenses
so long as those expenses in total do not exceed the cost
of traveling by air. If an alternative mode of transportation
is chosen, candidates will be required to provide receipts
in order to be reimbursed (receipts will be accepted for
tickets on other modes of transportation, hotel accommodations,
gasoline and food purchased while traveling to and from
the Meeting of the Minds conference). If there is any
question about acceptable travel expenses, it is the responsibility
of the candidate to check with the MRFA&E prior to incurring
said expenses.
- Hotel accommodations at the Meeting of
the Minds conference. Accommodations will include the
hotel room only. Telephone, food, movie rentals, etc.
will be the sole responsibility of winning candidates.
- Meeting of the Minds conference registration
and banquet fees waived.
- Special recognition at the MRF's Meeting
of the Minds conference. Said recognition will include
a plaque, presentation of one-year membership, and other
items or activities as approved by the MRFA&E Board of Directors.
Download
the Young Activist Nomination form here.
Questions about the MRFA&E Young Activist Scholarship
Fund should be directed to MRFA&E Scholarship Committee Chair
Carol Downs at downs@mrf.org.
Past Winners
2011 - Charity Stuart
2010 - Katie Gross, Jeremiah "Sheepdog" Parent
and Lorie Butler
2009 - Jonathan Propson from WI and Ben Vincent from AR
2008 - Jeramie Barrett -
IA, Mike Salathe - SD, Matt Huls - SD
2007 - John Thomas "J.T." Boone - President, Raleigh
Chapter, CBA/ABATE of NC. Sunrise "Sonny" L. Pitsch
- ABATE of Wisconsin, St. Croix Valley Riders. Molly Su
"Monsoon" Van Daele, District 15, ABATE of Iowa
2006 - Shawn Dickie of ABATE
of Alaska, Aaron Meyer of ABATE of Indiana, Justin Crawford
(The Kid) of ICMS (Idaho Coalition for Motorcycle Safety)
and David Duffy of ABATE of Iowa.
2005 - Robert Cuthbertson
of ABATE of California and Jennifer Lynn Basden of ABATE
of South Carolina
2004 - Crystal Maney of CBA/ABATE
of North Carolina
Words from Past Winners
