IN
THE
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AMA HONORS MOTORCYCLISTS
T
he American Motorcyclist As-
sociation announced the re-
cipients of its 2015 AMA Awards.
The six motorcyclists selected by
the AMA Board of Directors have
made outstanding contributions
to the motorcycling community
and their efforts to support the
AMA mission to promote the mo-
torcycle lifestyle and protect the
future of motorcycling.
The AMA Dud Perkins Lifetime
Achievement Award is the most
prestigious of the awards and
was presented to Charles Um-
benhauer of Dover, Pennsylva-
nia, for 2015. Umbenhauer has
been the state legislative coordi-
nator and lobbyist for ABATE of
Pennsylvania for more than 30
years and has played a key role
in securing and protecting fund-
ing of the Pennsylvania Motor-
cycle Safety Program.
The 2015 AMA Dud Perkins
Lifetime Achievement Award
pays tribute to its namesake,
AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famer,
Dud Perkins. AMA Life Member
Charles Umbenhauer received
the award for his many decades
of advocacy on behalf of motor-
cyclists in the Pennsylvania leg-
islature, with notable victories
that safeguarded funding for rid-
er education, ensured voluntary
adult helmet use, reduced tolls
for motorcycles and secured
motorcycle parking at state-
owned facilities.
"For a long time now, I felt that
being featured in the September
2008 issue of American Motor-
cyclist was the high water mark
of my 47 years in motorcycling,
but after receiving the 2015 AMA
Dud Perkins Lifetime Achieve-
ment Award, I am truly humbled,"
said Umbenhauer, a recipient of
the AMA Motorcycling Advocate
Award in 2004. "I have had many
mentors along the way to this
point in my life, and I am proud
to acknowledge that more than a
few have come from the AMA. In
Pennsylvania, we have changed
the face of motorcycling and
made it a motorcycle-friendly
state and a great place to ride.
That would not have happened
without the support of the AMA
and my many friends in ABATE of
Pennsylvania who have worked
tirelessly to make that a reality."
Other 2015 award recipients
include:
•AMA Bessie Stringfield
Award—Delvene Manning, event
manager of the Bonneville Mo-
torcycle Speed Trials
•AMA Hazel Kolb Brighter Im-
age Award—Peter Cline, founder
of VETMotorsports
•AMA Outstanding Road
Rider Award—Staff Sgt. William
Pendleton, Motorcycle Safety
Program Manager of the 3rd In-
fantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.
•AMA Outstanding Off-Road
Rider Award—Desiree Bates,
campaign organizer of the Fight
For Ocotillo Wells SVRA
•Friend of the AMA Award—
Ken Wahlster, founder of Bike-
Bandit.com
and Yamaha will have trackside
support teams on site to lend a
hand to racers on each respec-
tive brand.
This event will kick off the
opening round of the Women's
Motocross (WMX) Champion-
ship, featuring a WMX class for
riders who are pre-approved for
a 2015 WMX license, in addition
to Women Amateur (12+) 99-
250cc and Girls (9-13) 79-85cc
2-Stk. For more information on
the WMX schedule, licensing
and rules, please visit www.
racewmx.com.
For more information on the
event, please visit our brand new
website at www.racedaytona.
com.
