The first words of the street rider’s first voice in Washington were uttered in 1985 in St. Louis, Missouri. There, the very founders of the motorcyclists’ rights movement in America gathered for a meeting of the minds. Leaders of State Motorcyclists’ Rights Organizations (SMROs), they wanted to catapult to the national scene the clout and effectiveness of SMROs — the strong, effective grassroots of state-based motorcyclists’ rights.
They knew it had to be done. Riders’ rights had to go national, because the threat was national. Our founders at this meeting of the minds shared a keen sense that danger was not just on the horizon but dead ahead, as freedom’s foes had just attacked with a ban on motorcycles in the United States Congress.
They knew it had to be done right. The founders wanted a staff that was all muscle and no fat, supported not by casual members but driven by a team of dedicated volunteers, with each volunteer committed to shouldering his or her share of the demands of liberty. They envisioned a team committed to core values like respect for riders’ diverse lifestyles and opinions, integrity in conduct, excellence and boldness in facing challenges head-on and, above all, leadership — leadership in the unrelenting struggle for the safety and freedom of American motorcyclists.
So, at a meeting of the minds of grassroots leaders, a new leader was born: The Motorcycle Riders Foundation. The first motorcyclists’ rights advocacy organization with a full-time legislative and political presence in our nation’s capital. The only Washington voice devoted exclusively to you, the street rider. And each year, the leaders of the now-worldwide community gather for motorcycling’s premier political leadership summit — named to commemorate the gathering at which we were founded: The MRF Meeting of the Minds.
Throughout the USA and across the world, the torch of freedom burns in the hearts of motorcyclists. One by one, they recognize the need to become volunteers as co-partners in an organization committed to integrity, respect, leadership, teamwork and excellence.
One by one, in every continent and culture, motorcyclists are deciding to Ride with the Leaders™.