Pastor Gary joined at the Hawg Wild MC show in November, 1987 because he wanted to be kept aware of what the government was doing. He had been a member of AMA for 8 or 10 years prior and wanted to be more aware of issues happening at the local level.

Gary says he didn't really become actively involved until around 1988 and then only attended meetings every couple of months. Then he started to realize what ABATE was trying to do. He watched as ABATE actively worked to defeat the continued efforts of the Colorado Legislature to pass helmet laws and says that was the catalyst that caused him to become more active.

Gary was President of the Colorado Association of Motorcycles (CAM) in 1992 – the last person to hold that position. CAM was having problems with membership participation – sound familiar? Of the approximately 600 members, 3 or 4 would show up to meetings. Gary wanted to see ABATE and CAM work together; it was during this same time period that ABATE was taking serious steps to rebuild the organization – and the membership.

Gary approached the ABATE Board of Directors concerning “blending” ABATE and CAM. He sent a letter to all CAM members setting up a meeting to discuss the future of that organization stating, if no one was interested in keeping CAM a viable entity, the two organizations would merge, all assets would be transferred and CAM members would receive a one-year membership in ABATE.

ABATE gained approximately 400 members as a result of the merger – several of which remain members today. Another “asset” that originated with CAM was the Official Denver Metro Motorcycle Event Calendar, which continues to be published annually by Pastor Gary.

After the merger, Gary was able to focus his efforts in ABATE. He was nominated for and elected as assistant district rep for D-5 (Maggot Mike Williams was the District Rep). In 1994, Maggot became the State Coordinator – Gary was nominated for, and elected as, District Representative and held that position until 1996.

1994 was the year several bills for mandatory helmet use were introduced. Gary's time was spent “keeping things directed”, encouraging active participation in grass roots politics.

Pastor Gary started Church in the Wind in 1996 – an endeavor which took up most of his time. He had begun training Rocky Rockwell as his replacement in 1995 so felt confident about leaving the position. He continued to attend meetings, make phone calls to legislators and writing letters. He also showed up to help and participate in local events. When some District 5 members voiced concerns that a “non-officer” was “handling district money” (taking money at the door at events), so he was “appointed” as an additional assistant district rep – a position he has been nominated for, and re-elected to, every year since. When asked what keeps him coming back, Pastor Gary says: “If we don't get after it, no one will.”

Gary Then

Gary Now as a pastor for the Church in the Wind

Currently (“through attrition” says Pastor Gary), he is the acting district rep for District 5, having moved into that position when Dave Christy had to resign a few months ago for personal reasons. And, although Gary is not running for District Rep in the current elections, he is on the ballot as – you guessed it – assistant district rep! He continues to be a driving force in membership recruitment, personally signing up an average of 10 new members per year.

I asked Gary if he had any “words of wisdom” for the membership. His response was: “God doesn't call the qualified, he qualifies the called. People don't step up to the position because they're afraid of the unknown and unwilling to research but if people did take the time to research they would find out that anything is worthwhile that has been done has been accomplished by people like them.”

Whether “by attrition” or for any other reason, Pastor Gary Davis has been there. Thanks, Gary.

Thanks, Gary, for your long-term commitment to ABATE.