Welcome to The New Hampshire Motorcyclists' Rights Organization

The  Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF) is proud to announce that the  Motorcycle Profiling Resolution (S. Res. 154) passed the U.S. Senate  with unanimous consent on Tuesday evening, December 11, 2018. Over the  past few weeks, the MRF had many productive meetings on Capitol Hill to  further our objective of promoting awareness of unfair profiling of  motorcyclists across the country. Our resolution’s co-sponsor, Senator  Ron Johnson (R-WI), has played an integral role in ensuring that the  issues of motorcyclists in this country were addressed in the U.S.  Senate.

MRF  President Kirk “Hardtail” Willard said upon learning of the adoption of  the resolution, “Passage of Senate Resolution 154 has been the  Motorcycle Riders Foundation’s number one legislative initiative in this  current Congress. This act today by the Senate is very important, as it  recognizes that the profiling of motorcyclists because of our mode of  transportation or choice of attire is unacceptable. The personal  relationships, the tens of thousands of contacts, the visits, and the  highlighting of this issue as a top priority during the MRF’s Bikers  Inside the Beltway speaks highly of our passion on this issue and  demonstrates our ability as grassroots lobbyists to be effective on  Capitol Hill.” Willard went on to say, “It is important to note that  this cause united the Motorcycle Riders Foundation, our state  motorcyclists’ rights organizations (SMROs), the National Council of  Clubs (NCOC), the National Coalition of Motorcyclists (NCOM) and the  Motorcycle Profiling Project (MPP), all of which brought even greater  attention to this critical issue. The Motorcycle Riders Foundation would  like to thank our 2018 MRF Legislative Champion, Senator Ron Johnson,  and his staff for the significant efforts they put into passing S. Res.  154.”

As  you know, the MRF, along with the SMROs, the motorcycle club community,  and with individual riders across this country have been advocating for  a national solution to address motorcycle profiling. With the help of  our champions on Capitol Hill, we have been able to advance our  bipartisan and bicameral resolutions concerning the profiling of  motorcyclists.

Russell  Radke, MRF Sustaining Member Motorcycle Club Representative, said, “We  are now one step closer to ending the attacks on our civil liberties  from unconstitutional motorcyclist profiling.”
The MRF is encouraged  that we have begun to address the concerns of the motorcycling  community, but we still have more work to do on this issue. We encourage  the U.S. House of Representatives to join its colleagues in the U.S.  Senate and pass H. Res 318.

The New Hampshire Motorcyclists Rights Organization is naming  its annual Toy Run in memory of a Londonderry woman who helped start  the event and ran it for decades.

Joanne Packard died in  September, one week after hundreds of motorcyclists rode from Concord to  Manchester loaded with toys to donate to the New Hampshire Union Leader  Santa Fund for The Salvation Army for the 36th straight year.

Fittingly,  the New Hampshire Motorcyclists Rights Organization (NHMRO) board of  directors voted to attach Packard’s name to the cause she loved so  dearly.

“We  just felt it was the right thing to do because she was so instrumental  in starting it and making it what it has become,” said Traci Beaurivage,  NHMRO president.

So next fall when hundreds of bikers gather in  Concord for the annual drive to Manchester, they’ll be taking part in  the Joanne Packard Memorial Toy Run. “It’s still our (NHMRO) toy run,  but we want it named after Joanne.”

The move had wide support from  anyone who knew Packard, whose husband, Sherm, was a founding member of  NHMRO. He was touched to learn of the gesture.

“She was just that  type of a person. She wanted to help other people and make sure that no  kid went without toys at Christmas,” Sherm Packard said Monday of his  late wife.

Packard, who has served 14 terms in the New Hampshire  House of Representatives, said the toy run was one of many causes his  wife of 52 years held dearly. She also served on the board of directors  for a local soup kitchen for nine years and contributed whenever or  whatever she could to many other causes.

“She was just an  absolutely amazing person when it came to trying to do everything she  could to help those that were a little less fortunate than we were,”  Packard said. “It wasn’t just kids. Obviously she loved kids and wanted  to do everything she could to make sure kids were happy, but she just  wanted to help people.”

Although he gets the credit, Packard said  Joanne was also instrumental in establishing NHMRO; she got the idea for  the toy run after hearing of similar events in other states.

“It  started a little bit small, but then it blossomed into a major event  every year in the state of New Hampshire,” Packard said.

In years  when the weather has cooperated, Packard said as many as 1,000 bikers  would take part in the toy run, each of them toting stuffed animals,  board games or other gifts for kids that would be given to the Salvation  Army when the ride ended in the Union Leader parking lot.

“I know  it’s been a major help to the Salvation Army and their toy drive,”  Packard said. “We’ve collected a lot of toys over the years for needy  kids in the state of New Hampshire.”

Each year, the Salvation Army  would load a trailer with a stash of toys to be distributed through the  Santa Fund closer to Christmas.

Organizing  the ride could be time-consuming and challenging, but Packard said his  wife always felt it was worthwhile when wave after wave of bikes entered  the parking lot and the riders lined up with arms full of toys.

“She  had been involved with it from the whole time it was in existence and  she had literally run it for over 20 years,” he said. “Every time it was  over, she was just so happy that so many people showed up and so many  people donated toys to help the kids.”

Beaurivage said NHRMO is  also donating about $4,000 in cash raised at this year’s toy run to the  Salvation Army in memory of Joanne Packard.

Packard, who died  Sept. 16 at Lahey Clinic in Burlington, Mass., started turning over the  toy run organization duties a few years ago.

Betty Rock, her successor, said Joanne was a tremendous help and mentor whose name deserves to be part of the toy run.

“She  would be thrilled. A wonderful woman — absolutely wonderful woman.  Can’t say anything bad about her. She was fantastic to work with,” Rock  said.

"Reprint Manchester Union Leader"