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Growing up in
Port Dover (if you are a biker,
you should know where that is!)...I
can remember as a child laying in
bed every Friday the 13th, the roar
of the motorcycles throughout the
small town and then into the night
as they sped down Highway 6 on their
way home. Obviously I was exposed to
motorcycles early and being a small
boy was fascinated with them. As I
grew into an adult I eventually
bought a motorcycle while living in
Port Dover. Eventually I moved to
Hamilton and became part of an
organization called the
International Christian Bikers
Association (ICBA). I have been on a
number of phenomenal trips to
Laconia Bike Week and from what I
can recall, I have not missed a
Friday the 13th during riding
weather since.
I originally
joined ORRA as an executive member
back in the fall of 2001. I was
involved with the ICBA at the time
and they had been members of ORRA
for quite some time which is how I
became interested in taking a more
active role with ORRA. My
participation as an executive was
short lived because in March of 2002
I became extremely ill with a liver
disease and, although I stayed on
with ORRA as long as possible, I was
forced to step down within the year
due to the seriousness of the
disease. At the time I was awaiting
a liver transplant.
During the
next number of years I played a
minor role as a silent partner
behind the scenes as best I could
with ORRA. In May of 2005, long
awaited prayers were answered and I
received a new liver. For the next
couple of years I continued to heal
and rebuild certain parts of my
life. I continued to be involved in
motorcycling and was always looking
for opportunities to be part of ORRA
once again. During late 2006 ORRA
was looking for someone to maintain
the ORRA website, which was
something I enjoyed doing through
the ICBA. I spoke to Kevin and the
various executives about the idea
and eventually was brought on board
officially as the webmaster...which
continues to be my role to this day.
ORRA has made a number of positive &
necessary changes since 2001, which
have brought the organization where
it is today. I believe ORRA will
continue to plow forward in Ontario
with regards to motorcycle safety
and awareness and will continue to
grow and impact motorcycling in a
big way. |
