Wayne T. Curtin
1996, Leadership
Wayne, age 40, has been a motorcyclist for 20 years. In 1983 he became active with the Freedom of the Road Riders (FORR), a Missouri state motorcyclists' rights organization. During the time he served as President of Local 4, for five years he chaired one of the largest Toy Runs in Missouri. He served on FORR's state central committee and as vice chairman. However, Wayne's greatest contribution to FORR was as a volunteer lobbyist. He spent every day, that the legislature was in session, in Jefferson City from 1985 to 1988. He was also a founder and first chairman of FORR's political action committee, one of the first motorcyclists' PACs in the country.
In 1988, Wayne was hired as the first employee of the Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF). Never before had motorcyclists been represented in our nation's capital. At that time the MRF was financially supported by only a few state -motorcyclists' rights organizations. Wayne's leadership has helped to shape the MRF into the powerful organization it is today.
Over the years, Wayne has worked to build support from all state motorcyclists' rights organizations, the AMA, NCOM and MRF's legislative agenda. Thirty-seven states sent over 300 motorcyclists to Washington this year at Wayne's request. This fully cooperative agenda is one of the major reasons motorcyclists were able to repeal the federal helmet law in 1995. It was all made possible by Wayne's leadership, expertise in development of grass roots movements and his ability to work with varied groups and people.
Another strength Wayne has brought as a leader in motorcycling, is his skills as a lobbyist with political and legislative strategies. Wayne provides the other members of the management committee of AMPAC with valuable insight into the position and actions of representatives and senators on motorcycling issues. He is consulted daily by motorcyclists when legislative problems arise in their states. He helps them develop a strategy to carry to their state capital. On many occasions, he has gone to state capitols to testify.
One example of his lobbying skills providing leadership, is the retroactive repeal of the federal penalties on states not having helmet laws. The retroactive provision of the repeal, which Wayne suggested to the conference committee staff, will return $200 million to the control of the 25 states that did not pass helmet laws in 1994 and 1995. Motorcyclists in those 25 states will not only be able to tell legislators that they have repealed the penalties, but they are returning several million dollars that the states had given up to def end f reedom. This action will help secure freedom in those states for years to come.
Wayne is active in numerous community, church, business and political activities. In 1994, he was elected as a Neighborhood Advisory Commissioner, a public office in the District of Columbia. This commission makes decisions on liquor licensing, zoning cases, public space use and planning and makes grants to community organizations. He has served in several elective and appointed leadership positions in his church, St. Mark's Episcopal Church. He has also organized activities to clean-up and fight crime in his community. In addition, he is active in developing leadership seminars for the American Society of Association Executives.
Wayne believes that leadership involves invoking a vision of what can be, then acting decisively and with strength to bring the vision about. Providing people with inspiration, knowledge and a result that they can then move forward with is the key to successful leadership.
The product of knowledge, solid legislative information and strategy is what Wayne brought to the MRF. The MRF has accomplished its number one legislative priority of repealing the federal helmet law. Wayne has been one of the key leaders in making the MRF successful and the repeal of the federal helmet law a reality.
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