IN
THE
WIND
P48
T
he Trailblazers MC
hosted its annual
banquet and awards cer-
emony on Saturday night,
April 22, at the Carson
Center and as usual, they
knocked it out of the park.
The event was founded
in the early 1940s, when
a group of SoCal motor-
cycle pioneers, led by
A.F. Van Order, decided
to turn their bench racing
sessions into an annual
get-together. What began
as a few dozen motor-
cycle enthusiasts paying
homage and trading lies,
has become the hottest
ticket in town, with all 750 seats sold out within
days.
The list of past inductees to the Trailblazers Hall
of Fame includes racing legends and industry
titans, some whose reputations precede them
and some you may have never heard of. They are
men and women of exceptional skill, courage and
fortitude, who shared something that everyone
reading this can relate to: a love of motorcycles.
Motorcyclists have always had an unspoken bond
between them, a feeling that only those who ride
can know.
Each year, the club inducts a handful of new
Hall of Fame members, whose names will join leg-
ends like Malcolm Smith, Gene Romero, Kenny
Roberts, Preston Petty, Steve McQueen, Bud
Ekins, Dave Aldana, Al Gunter, John Hately, Gary
Jones, Eddie Lawson, Joe Leonard, Dick Mann,
Joe Parkhurst, Wayne Rainey, Don Vesco, J.N.
Roberts, Dan Gurney, Mike Bast, Mike Bell and
so many others.
The nomina-
tion and vetting
of inductees is
a task not taken
lightly by the 14
Trailblazer board members, with the process be-
ginning the day after each banquet and continuing
throughout the year. Club President, Don Emde,
a former Daytona 200 Champion, and V.P. Keith
Mashburn organize the banquet, along with the
help of the other members and a slew of volun-
teers. Putting together an event of this magnitude
requires a lot of sacrifice and cooperation among
the individual members.
One member that deserves huge props for a
job well done is Tom White. Tom is the man in
charge of the Tom Cates Memorial Bike Show,
Dave Ekins
took home the
Dick Hammer
Award for Drive,
Determination
and Desire!
Trailblazers Hall of Fame
members gather for a photo.
73RD ANNUAL TRAILBLAZERS BANQUET