Last Saturday, the Eagles Club of Wood River took a step to influence funding for educating young drivers on motorcycle safety at the ABATE, or A Brotherhood Aimed Toward Education’s annual Biker Prom.
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Scheduled to end at around 10:00 p.m., the prom’s atmosphere lingered well into the night. The ladies came dressed to the nines and some dates even arrived in stretch limousines. The event even included the crowning of the Biker Prom king and queen.
“This is absolutely a fun thing to do for a lot of the women that are a part of the organization.” Charter Member Dawn Kinagin said. “Some of them didn’t get to attend their own prom. This way, they get all gussied up to attend this and all the proceeds are put back into the community.”
President and coordinator Gene Ely shared the problems that motorcyclists face, between issues with everyday drivers and fairness in the laws. This organization not only helps with motorcyclists themselves, but also with families with children left behind after a parent is killed in motor vehicle accidents involving cyclists.
“We work in campaigns to keep legislators in office and we work with the police departments to improve and protect the rights of motorcyclists,” Ely said. “We do this by not adding more laws but enforcing the one’s they already have.”
With 52 chapters in Illinois, the organization makes a clear statement to safeguard the rights of all motorcyclists, endorse safety programs and education, promote unity through involvement, advocate political awareness and activism and promote motorcycling enjoyment. They are actively seeking to preserve the universal right to a safe, unrestricted, motorcycling environment. They also hope to propose and advocate actions that can be taken by elected and appointed officials to protect and conserve the natural resources of the state of Illinois as well as to ensure through professional management that sustainable use, recreational opportunities and enjoyment of these resources is available for this and future generations.
ABATE provides legal services, road services, free motorcycle courses, free accidental death and dismemberment insurance and many other events throughout the year.
Madelaine Gerard also contributed to this story.
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