Message from the President

Bob Cohen, JMA President

I do hope that this newsletter finds you, your family, and your friends in good health and positive spirits.

The JMA and the JMA clubs had a number of outstanding programs planned throughout the year in 2020. From May through to October, collectively, we had a number of fantastic events planned each and every month in which our JMA Club Members would have the opportunity to participate with planned events from the Pacific Coast to the Atlantic Coast.

And then there was the Coronavirus, resulting in the cancelation of most of the JMA and Club sponsored events. How many times have we heard the old phrase “Man plans, and God laughs?” The Old Testament reminds us that God knows the end from the beginning. It would have been nice if we would have received some insight on what was ahead of us through the year 2020.

And now we look ahead. What will the year 2021 have in store for us? For instance, when and where will the R2R be for 2021? Where and when will the Club Meet & Greets be in 2021? The good news is that proposals for the 2021 R2R are coming in for review, including Milwaukee (Harley Davidson Museum), Tennessee (Whitwell Paperclip Project) and San Diego (Butterfly Project).

Meet and Greet events that were planned and then cancelled for 2020 include Chicago, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, in addition to the Clubs that sponsored the Meet and Greet events that continued in Detroit, Northeast USA and Georgia. These clubs and riding locations are again going to be candidates for JMA Club sponsored Meet and Greets in 2021.

Then there is the Coronavirus! When will we all feel comfortable traveling again? When will we all feel comfortable eating together at a restaurant? What governmental entities (States, Provinces, Federal and Local) are going to impose certain restrictions that would impact our events in 2021? We don’t know at this time.

What we do know for sure is that, first, we presently have the best communication between all clubs and the JMA than we have had in years. Second, we have a strong group of Club members that have stepped up in their contributions in time, effort and creativity, with some of the best programming we have ever had. And third, leaning on the attempt to find at least some humor in all of this, no one is complaining about the energy and directive of our organization/s. We continue to expand our membership with new clubs, particularly west of the Mississippi River in the USA.

We continue to have much excitement in our JMA and the programs that will be coming just as soon as we know when it is safe to move forward with our plans. Until we reach that milestone, may your and all of those around you, take those actions that you deem reasonable that will be in the best interest of all of us as we move forward together into a much healthier and safer 2021 and beyond.

Please enjoy reading the JMA newsletter articles that highlight the individual JMA Club activities and the Meet and Greet events that did take place. Also, please read about the upcoming Ride for the Vets and consider donating and/or riding along with Bob Agnes as he travels 18,000 miles in 77 days!