Jim Sherman
MMA Director of Off-Road Motorcycling
I am a new MMA Board member, having the role
of liaison between the MMA and NETRA
(New
England Trail Riders Association) regarding
off-road riding and legislation in the state of
Mass. The objective of my MMA Board
appointment is to foster cooperation and provide
communication between the two organizations regarding
awareness of off-road riding, and to coordinate
and communicate efforts regarding Mass state legislation.
As you can tell by my MMA title, my background is based
in off-road riding. To give you a quick history,
I began working with my son Robert when he
was ten years old to learn off-road riding.
He took to the sport, decided to try Enduro racing
(which was most difficult the first year of racing)
and has moved through the ranks of Junior
B to Junior A to Adult class B and now he is in
the Expert class A250. As he moved forward
with his expertise and achieved much success,
I took an active interest in NETRA,
and was elected to the Board two years ago and
as the Secretary of the Competition Committee
last November.
Both my son and I have also been trail bosses
for NETRA-sponsored
events such as Enduros and Hare Scrambles
over the past three years. We are members
of the Hoot Owl NETRA
club, where we as a family are active and write
the monthly newsletter for the club and Robert
maintains the Hoot Owl website (he is
currently in the process of completing a total redesign
of the NETRA
website).
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I mention these NETRA
items because there may be members of the MMA who
would welcome the opportunity to have their children learn
motorcycling in supervised off-road environments.
It is a wonderful family environment.
For on-road motorcycling, I ride a Honda ST1300 and
a KTM Duke. The Duke is a fun ride for running
around the local area. Next I need a Harley. My
interest in the motorcyclists' rights movement is based
on my belief that there needs to be greater awareness
of and more emphasis by legislators on protecting
motorcyclists and giving them more rights than they
currently have. Also, I believe the general
public needs to learn that motorcyclists are people
with equal rights of “automobile operators.”
If everyone rode motorcycles, just think of all
the fuel we could save! There should also be greater
penalties for automobile operators who do not provide
common courtesies and rights on the roads to motorcyclists.
I (and other Board members of NETRA)
have appreciated the acceptance of the MMA to NETRA’s
objectives and the interest and support that the
MMA has relative to supporting off-road legislative
initiatives. Equally important is the work that the
MMA has accomplished and the way the MMA has developed
a broad-based network that actively pursues and works
with Mass legislators, helping them understand
motorcyclists. MMA members work hard to be
in the forefront of legislative initiatives. Personally,
it has been great to be a part of an organization
that has a mission and truly works to accomplish
its goals. There are numerous very hard-working
people at the MMA. I also enjoy participating in the
activities that the MMA supports and sponsors.
I think it would be great to see MMA's membership
triple from the current level. For this reason,
I volunteered to be part of the MMA committee to work
on membership growth. In numbers, the MMA could
be much more influential and powerful than it is currently.
If you have any suggestions or questions regarding MMA
membership or NETRA...
contact
me.
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