-CLICK PHOTO FOR LARGER IMAGE-
Trailblazers Banquet:
Great Memories and Well-Deserved Awards
By Ty van Hooydonk /
Photo by Jim
Gianatsis / See who’s - who below
The 75th anniversary Trailblazers
banquet—held on Saturday, April 6th—was a celebration of racing,
riding, motorcycles, and above all, people. Time and again, when asked by event
emcee Larry Huffman to name the highlight, the high point of their careers, the
2019 Hall of Fame inductees and Dick Hammer Award winners said “the
people,” as in the parents, the family, the friends, the teams and
supporters that surrounded them through it all.
Joining the Trailblazers Hall of Fame this year
were racing promoter Chris Agajanian; desert and Baja racer A.C. Bakken; motocrosser
and industry executive Mark Blackwell; Yamaha research and design executive Ed
Burke; off-road racer turned aftermarket executive and bike-brand namesake John
Penton; motocross hero Rex Staten, and trials rider and motocross racer Jim
Willson. For the first time, the highest Trailblazers honor, the Dick Hammer
Award, went to two recipients: road racing giants Eddie Lawson and Wayne
Rainey. Both are good friends and both won two AMA Superbike Championships.
Both won the Daytona 200, and Lawson won four 500cc grand prix world
championship titles while Rainey won three.
“The
purpose of the Trailblazers banquet has always been very simple,” said
Trailblazers President Don Emde, 1972 Daytona 200 winner. “Once a year we give
former racers and members of the motorcycle industry a chance to reunite with
old friends from days gone by. He added, “In addition to the legendary cast of
honorees on stage this year, many more former world and national champions were
in attendance, including Kenny Roberts, Malcolm Smith, Brad Lackey, Mert
Lawwill, Bubba Shobert and others representing all aspects of the motorcycle
sport.”
The people of our motorcycling community were
the stars of the banquet in Carson, California, but some great motorcycles were
on stage as well, with the Tom Cates Memorial Bike Show presented by Hagerty.
Before and during the dinner, dozens of classic motorcycles were on display
there at the Carson Events Center, many of them lovingly restored. Some of the
bikes were historic race- and championship-winners. The winners of the bike
show were:
Pat Knopp: 1960 Yamaha YDS1 250cc scrambler
-- Best of Show
Dennis Briggs: 1963 Honda CR110 50cc -- Trailblazers Spirit Award
Mark Henry: 1970 Triumph Trackmaster -- Tom White Competition Award
John Speight: 1972 Monark 125 MX
-- Hagerty People’s Choice Award
The 75th anniversary banquet was a
popular success, with 800 seats for the dinner selling out within eight hours
of going online. To prepare for next year’s event, the motorcycle club’s
leadership will again be meeting at the MIC headquarters
in Irvine, California, home of business operations and support for The
Trailblazers.
The Trailblazers 2019 Hall of Fame
Inductees Past & Present
Photo by
Jim Gianatsis
Front row (L-R): Neil Fergus, Debbie Evans-Leavitt,
John Hateley, Chris Carter, Ernie Aragon, Del Kuhn, Don Graves, Gary Bryson.
Second row: Chuck Miller, Paul Collins, Jim
Connolly, Lori Conway, CH Wheat, Kenny Roberts, Al Rogers, Dan Haaby, Ron
Nelson, David Aldana, Jim Odom, Bobby Schwartz.
Third row (middle): Sonny Nutter, Wayne Rainey, Rex
Staten, Sammy Tanner, Steve Scott (on the right side behind Aldana)
Top row: Larry Huffman, Tony Murphy, Mike
Bast, Thad Wolfe, Susie Ellsworth, Ed Burke, Ralph White, Mike Konle, Darryl
Bassani (partially blocked), Kel Carruthers, Peter Starr, Stu Peters, Dennis
Mahan, Don Emde, Steve Storz, Mark Blackwell, John Penton, Judy Whitson
(partially blocked), Bill Van Tichelt, Buddy Stubbs, A.C. Bakken (partially
blocked), Jim Wilson (partially blocked), Norm McDonald, Bryon Farnsworth, Tom
Horton, Chris Agajanian, Dave Ekins, Mary McGee, Rob Morrison.
