Dawson Family Christmas 2005 Features Action Fund Donation, And WERA BBS Members Step Up
The Lewis Dawson Family has donated $500 to the Roadracing World Action Fund in lieu of traditional gifts for brothers, sisters and Mom. Says Lewis, “Instead of buying a traditional gift, my four siblings, Mom and I ‘exchange’ contributions to various charities. Instead of a gift, we send a letter describing the contribution. The fun is finding out what each of us has done. They will enjoy this more than a sweater or necktie. I chose the Roadracing World Action Fund. I appreciate everything you have done.”
This year, the motorcycle racing community rallied in support of safety, with the Roadracing World Action Fund reaching an all-time total of $418,812.74, with $377,723.74 designated for road racing and $41,089 for dirt track. Thanks to those donations, the Roadracing World Action Fund was able to continue to promote racetrack safety, deploying 37 new 30-foot sections of inflatable soft barrier at various road race tracks and dirt tracks.
A flurry of fundraisers initiated by various groups and individuals added greatly to that total. Dave Arkle led a season-long drive on the WERA BBS to raise money for the Action Fund, and his efforts helped to bring in $3125. BMW-Ducati-Triumph-Aprilia Motorcycles of Charlotte raised $3000 at The Carolina GP Jam. Tazzina Bistro/Don Ashton held a benefit dinner for both the Roadracing World Action Fund and injured rider Vincent Haskovec which netted $1294.54 for the Action Fund, and an equal amount for Haskovec’s rehab.
Dave Arkle wrote, “We’ve all read about bad racing crashes this year, and in years past. Some of us have experienced them for ourselves. Over time, many riders have been injured, or worse, as a result of crashing into various fixed objects that have no business in impact zones on motorcycle racing circuits. In a perfect world, these things get moved, or removed, in the name of safety. However, reality is imperfect, and motorcycle racing doesn’t generate the necessary revenue to motivate promoters and track owners to focus on this problem as often as we’d like. Luckily for us, some very smart people came up with the idea that we can deploy soft barriers in front of walls, poles, guardrails, cement bunkers, etc. and, to a large extent, reduce the risks in theses impact areas. Inflatable barriers to the rescue! Of course, we all know by now that this stuff isn’t free, and many folks have contributed to the Roadracing World Action Fund to help buy, store, transport and deploy this life-saving device.
“Over the course of this past racing season, a large group of active members of the WERA BBS (www.wera.com) got together to raise money for the Action Fund. Many generous people and businesses donated products and services for auctions, and many more folks contributed cash. Enclosed please find cashier’s check in the amount of $3125, to be added to the road racing portion of the Action Fund. Please attribute it to ‘WERA BBS Members.’
“Thanks to (Action Fund founder) John Ulrich, and to every other contributor to this wonderful cause. Keep it up! Sincerely, Dave Arkle/WERA Novice #30.”
Frank Pate was inspired to contribute to the Action Fund after his rider escaped injury thanks to soft barriers. Pate wrote, “Your Airfence program saved my Canadian rider from serious danger last weekend (October 1-2) at TWS when he crashed in the rain and hit the fence. He walked away without a scratch, thank you. Just a little something to help the cause.” A $1000 donation accompanied the note.
Russell Achatz pledged $50 for the dirt track fund, with future donations planned: “In the future I am opening a business featuring flattrack motorcycle racing. Any flattrack memorabilia donated to my business, I will donate more to this fund. Thanks for a great cause, Russell Achatz at: [email protected].”
American Roadracer calendars sent in $50; a portion of one week’s sales of each calendar is pledged to the Action Fund. Repeat contributors include John V. Whiting, whose donation of $100 in memory of CMRA racer Jason Peterson brings his all-time total to $250; Darrin Talbott, who donated $100, for a total of $225; David Kopfinger, $40, for a total of $256; Randy Sinisi, $25, for a total of $125; Gene Ronchetto, $25, in honor of Vincent Haskovec, for a total of $75; William Pritchard, $50, in honor of Vincent Haskovec, for a total of $100
Ted Meyer, who added $100 ($50 each to dirt track and road race) to his former donation of $75 for a total of $175, wrote, “This is to say thanks for an awesome time at American Supercamp with Chris Carr & Danny Walker after winning the spot in the two-day camp that they donated to the Vincent Haskovec benefit auction.” Nichole Simonsen contributed for the second time this year to both the road race fund and the dirt track fund, totalling $80 for road race and $50 for dirt track.
Summary of Recently Posted Contributions
(Contributor comments and dedications are included below with their listing.)
Road Race Conributions WERA BBS Members $3125 Carolina GP Jam $3000 Tazzino Bistro Benefit Dinner $1294.54 Frank Pate $1000 Dawson Family Christmas $500 Mark Jones/Valley Springs Riders “Keep up the good work and great magazine!” $300 Chris Slay “RW, keep up the good work!” $200 Rodney Capron Jr. In Honor of Vincent Haskovec $300 Mountain Air Auto Care $100 Steven M. Andreano $100 Kevin Jump $100 Walter Scarborough $100 Gary Ibershoff $100 Darrin Talbott Dedicated to the 2005 World Champion White Sox and The Legion of Bling $100 John Long/In Memory of Luis Gomez $75 Tom Anderson $50 Nichole Simonsen $50 David R. Thomas In Honor of Vincent Haskovec $50 John V. Whiting/In Memory of CMRA racer Jason Peterson $100 Donna Mc Cluskey/In Memory of Keith Pinkstaff, Rest in Peace Carl Anderson/In Memory of Cavan Tubbs $50 Peter Laga $50 William Pritchard/In Honor of Vincent Haskovec $50 John Doll $50 Chas Johnson/In Honor of Vincent Haskovec & all injured racers in 2005 $50 Jeffrey Agnes “For picking the wrong AMA Superbike champ!” $50 Dave Krier/In Memory of Cavan Tubbs $50 Matthias Jezek “Natalie from customer Service did a great job, so I would like to donate the money I saved.” $50 American Roadracer LLC $50 Jeff Armantrout/For Vincent Haskovec and all injured riders $35 Gene Ronchetto/In Honor of Vincent Haskovec “Get Well Vincent!” $25 Nathan Glover $25 Randy Sinisi $25 John Schrillo/In Honor of Vincent Haskovec $25 Reynolds Mansson $20 David Harkins $5.05 Karl Sauber $5
Dirt Track Contributions David R. Thomas/In Honor of Vincent Haskovec $50 Russ Achatz $50 Nichole Simonsen $30 Reynolds Mansson $20
Accounting Details to Date: (As of December 22, 2005)
Road Racing Expenditure Details Direct purchase of soft barriers: $226,400 Donation to AMA for Airfence: $104,104 Shipping/Customs: $17,074.45 Bank Fees: $384.05 Airfence Deployment Crew Training: $700 Transportation & Installation: $5577.78 Corporation/Business Fees: $762 Online Auction Fees: $221.99 Printing Education Materials – $346.42 Misc Supplies: $39.59 Total Spent: $355,610.28 Total Donations Collected $377,723.74 Misc. Income $117.47 Cash on hand: $22,230.93
Dirt Track Expenditure Details Direct purchase of soft barriers: $28,800 Shipping/Customs: $2717.72 Transportation & Installation $2174.77 Total Spent: $33,692.49 Total collected: $41,089 Cash on hand: $7396.51
All administrative costs, including the percentage taken by credit card companies on credit card donations, have been absorbed by Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.
“Airfence” is a Trademark of Airfence Safety Systems Australia.