MC TITLE HOLDERS: The Good, The Bad, The Bullshit and The PRO

“The officers patch gave me more prestige. Leadership in the club wasn’t based on brute force. It was based on the ability to bring people together.” Former VP of the Oakland Chapter of the Hells Angels, George Wethern from his book A Wayward Angel

In my travels I’ve found that many people who have titles in bike clubs today are as qualified to hold those titles as George W. Bush was to be President of the United States…twice. Whether it’s because the clubs executive board has no idea what it takes to run a functional MC or like the TV show Survivor, alliances are formed ensuring an idiots kingdom and an assholes ransom, but I believe the dysfunction of  clubs is directly due to the incompetence of the people who hold titles within those clubs. Whether you want to call it a comedy of errors or label it as fools taking over the insane asylum, there needs to be a re-education of what the titles are in a bike club, what responsibilities are attributed to those titles and in my opinion an evaluation of the kind of person qualified to hold that title. In other words, there are “intangibles” to each position that may make your member especially suited to carry out the responsibilities of that title.  The idea is if by the time you go through your title holders and you’re left feeling like George W. Bush and his cronies, than you and your club should expect a recession of strong members and the rise of Ghost Riders essentially making your club a Sucka MC.

I’m going to make an ass of myself right now and assume that the clubs heeding the wisdom of The SUCKA FREE MC posts have subscribed to some very basic realities. For example if you’re an MC, surely everyone in the club owns a working motorcycle. Logic therefore leads me to assume that everyone in your club owns and knows how to operate a motorcycle. If anyone in your MOTORcycle club does not own a MOTORcycle please stop reading now. You and your club are jokes and there’s nothing funny about your stupidity.

The rest of us should keep reading.

WTF is a PRO?

I’m going to start with what I know will be an extremely controversial position. I just need to get this out the way. The PRO position is a completely fabricated bullshit position. It’s not bullshit in that it’s not a position that African American MC’s have created out of thin air but it is bullshit in terms of what the position claims to be and do. Traditional MC’s who follow time honored practices and protocols of MC culture do not have that position anywhere on their roster and the reason is simple. When I’ve asked what exactly a PRO is I’m told that person is the Press Relation Officer. They are the primary conduit in getting all information out about their club, sharing and gathering information about events and runs and making contacts. Before I go on, please re-read what I just wrote and explain to me how that isn’t everyone’s responsibility in a club. Let’s look at it with a surgeon’s precision. Every single person who has gone through the prospecting period has essentially agreed to represent their club at all times by not only following the clubs codes and regulations but by being ambassadors of that club in and all things MC related. That’s a very fancy way of saying once you’ve been blessed with a cut, you are an ambassador of your club and you have an obligation to get information out about your club and to share it with the community to ensure a positive image and growth of your club. No one person should be responsible for that. Rather that is the role of every member in good standing. In the same token, is the PRO the only one handing out fliers? No, all members give out fliers but technically the way as its described that’s the role specifically designated for the PRO. Of course it makes no sense for the PRO to be the only one doing that so all members hand out fliers. The logic therefore becomes blatant: everyone is responsible for the information in and about the club, not just the PRO.  No one can tell me exactly how and why this PRO position was suddenly created and how does it serve a purpose that is singularly important to that one person.  

Additionally, when one examines the responsibilities of the Secretary it not only overlaps with the imaginary responsibilities of the PRO, but it surpasses it. The argument can be made that the addition of the PRO position allows all club information to be trafficked through one primary person making it a “one-stop” connection for other clubs to work with a specific club. The problem is if roles are followed with their original intent, that logic is debunked as well. Vice Presidents and Presidents are customarily the initial points of contact for any relevant information and news with some exceptions being made to the Sgt. Of Arms specifically when it comes to violence that the President doesn’t need to be privy to before it happens for legal reasons.

A consistent criticism of my beliefs is that I am too entrenched in protocols and traditions of MC culture. There is a utility to those protocols and traditions that serve successful MC’s well and that’s what people fail to see. MC’s who subscribe to and follow traditions tend to be stronger clubs and have a lineage that far outlasts the fly by night clubs who haven’t bothered to do their research and respect the history of the culture they’re participating in.

When clubs begin pulling new titles or revising traditions to suit themselves animosity takes seed. Traditional clubs see upstart clubs as anarchists contributing nothing to the culture and MC community while these new clubs see the traditional clubs as relics and even haters.  I believe the solution is simple. Traditions only become traditions because they work and they’re successful and therefore they’re utilized time and time again by generations.  It’s not to say traditions can’t be amended to reflect contemporary needs but that requires knowing, understanding and respecting history first and too many new riders and clubs don’t do that and therein lies the problem.

No disrespect to any person who has the title of PRO or any club that has that title within their ranks but know your history and change your title patch to Secretary. If you claim to be a real MC, than stop acting like a mistress, marry yourself to the culture and become a wife.

“What the fuck is a PRO but a glorified flier dispenser?” Outlaw Club Member; Name Held Upon Request

President Responsibilities*

The President is the CHAIRMAN of the Executive Committee and the Chief Executive Officer of the club chapter.  All matters concerning relations between the club and any outside person or organization should be routed to the President for appropriate action.  The President or his delegate shall assume the Chair at all chapter meetings.  He is responsible for controlling the meeting and keeping order.  If necessary, the Chair may utilize the services of the Sergeant-at-Arms to aid in keeping order. .

Presidential Intangibles

I’m particularly sensitive to this position because I was on the verge of forming my own MC with me as the President but after months of putting in the groundwork for the club and dealing with the diversity of personalities and politics, I realized the position required a patience and understanding that I don’t subscribe to. The President needs to be able to take every members issue, no matter how serious or not, big or small and make that member feel as if it’s the Presidents priority to address it. The President needs to understand that for some members, the club is a leisure activity and for others it’s a life. I cannot do that. While my day job doesn’t define who I am, I go into that job knowing how important it is not only because it financially supports my life, but because I have a professional vanity that demands I put my all into it ensuring a positive outcome in terms of industry respect and financial windfall.

I approach an MC the same way. If a person decides they want to be part of an MC then put your all into it and as importantly, let the people in your life know how important that MC is to you and make sure they respect it. I’ve found no one is more disrespectful to the MC then a spouse but it’s up to that club member to get their spouse (male or female) in line.

I have no tolerance for members who can’t control their home yet a successful President must learn how to balance both so the stress isn’t too much on either side and he doesn’t lose that member.

Back stepping a bit, the President is the living embodiment of what a PRO is and does. He is the face of the club even before your club steps into an event. He is supposed to be out there shaking hands, nodding and riding in a way that reflects the attitude, personality and soul of the club. He is the leader and his presence should be intimidating enough to make rouges followers and other leader’s partners. A President gets respect if he truly does live by the codes of his own club and knows and honors his clubs history.  A President is fair to members he likes and doesn’t like. I call it the “steel hand in velvet glove” which means he’s got a firm, cold hand but his decisions are just and thus smooth and soft to the touch as velvet.

Personally one of the traits I’ve admired most is the President’s presence when he’s not there. I’ve walked into a venue without my President and gotten love for what my President has done. In other words, the time he’s put in allows my passage to be made that much smoother.

Just as positive as those accolades are I just described is the opposite in a President who is more interested in getting into parties for free, abusing his office to get ass or just being loud to be heard. I’ve seen that plenty of times and their mismanagement and inability to rally the troops has led each and every single time to a fragmented team.

My biggest view of Presidential abuse however is when the President is also the person or one of the founders of the club who is also making decisions based on his original vision of the club instead of following club rules and procedures by allowing the club to vote on things. Having gone so far as to have a patch designed to present to my members, I understand the passion of a founder. You have this vision and you want the guys to agree on your vision. The problem is Founders need to understand that by people agreeing to join the club they’ve already agreed on your vision but moving forward how you see things is going to be different. Ego and pride must be set to the side I’ve found that Founders have an incredibly difficult time with that. Decisions that should be presented to the club to vote on are often dispatched by Founders because “they” didn’t like it. That’s wrong and ultimately it leads to club dissention. There’s no greater compliment to a club Founder then when his members feel passionately enough about his original idea to bring new ideas to the table. Put the pride and ego aside and let the seed you planted as a Founder years ago, blossom. Every great idea doesn’t have to come from a Founder and a great leader is humble enough to know that if he’s surrounded by great people on his team, from them will come great ideas.

Let it ride.

Vice-President Responsibilities*

The Vice-President shall coordinate all committees and supervise plans for all club events.  The Vice-President shall act as an intermediary between the President and the Members and Prospects.  All questions or comments concerning any club business not specifically related to the duties of the other officers should be brought to directly to his attention.  Additionally, the Vice- President is the Second-in-Command to the President, and shall assume all responsibilities and duties of the President in their absence.

Vice-Presidential Intangibles

If your VP is a friendlier Donald Rumsfeld instead of a well balanced Colin Powell then perhaps he or she is better suited to being the official yes man of the club meaning his throttle hand should come with a lubricated dildo instead of a motorcycle grip.

The VP appointment is by far the most abused of all positions within a club not so much because VP’s are secretly plotting the end of the world but rather because the Presidents who appointed them nominated them based on their inability to stand up to that President. The result is an impotent officer and there’s not enough Viagra in the world to regain the respect of MC members once they know you’re a two (second) mile VP. Presidents often choose VP’s who they know will agree with them on every turn thereby solidifying their power base and crippling the flow of new ideas by members outside of themselves. A strong VP is a person who is as well versed in the club by-laws and traditions as the President and as importantly, is not afraid to check the President when he acts outside those codes and traditions. Lastly a VP cannot be a conduit between the President and his members if he is listening to the concerns of members with the bias of the President already impregnated within him. He truly needs to be neutral and therein, an effective politician within the club.

Secretary Responsibilities*

The Secretary is responsible for making and keeping all club chapter records. Membership List, Chapter Bylaws, Rules of Order, Standing Rules, Records of all committee appointments, all written reports, copies of all correspondence between the club and any outside person or organization, Meeting Minutes.  He is responsible for calling roll at the meetings.  The Secretary must notify Active Members of special or emergency meetings, and must notify all the members of any appointments or elections in their absence.

Secretary Intangibles

Outside of a treasurer this position demands a more professional acumen because information must be recorded correctly and neatly enough to be digested by other members at other points in time. There is no “colored people” time for this person as the keeper of minutes and club activities. By design, this person must be professionally buttoned up and surgical with how precise he is with his work and all activities related to the MC.

Secretaries also serve a very important underlying purpose that is not overtly stated in their list of official responsibilities. As record keeper, the Secretary is the club historian collecting, gathering and cataloguing the history of the club and in turn, preserving it for generations after. This person is establishing the footprint (or the tire tracks) of the club that will be left for prosperity and as a self proclaimed historian of African American biker culture, I celebrate MC secretaries who understand this role and have taken it to heart. Clubs like HA, The Mongols, the Pagans have a history not just because the law has recorded it but the clubs themselves have recognized their place in motorcycle lore. Black clubs need to start to do that as well. Some do as noted The Soul Brothers, The Chosen Few, Rare Breed, Outkast, Wheels of Soul and  The East Bay Dragons come immediately to mind.

When appointing this title to a member, keep in mind how this member behaves and keeps himself up. Can a historian be someone who is not put together themselves? Can a secretary who doesn’t have basic understanding of the language be responsible for record keeping and representing the club? If this person doesn’t know how to spell or address people, should they be in charge of your Facebook page? Just a few things to consider in filling this position.

Treasurer Responsibilities*

The Treasurer keeps all the funds of the club chapter.  All un-issued Club Colors and Patches, as well as a record of colors, patches, or reproductions thereof issued to members.  He may disburse funds to pay expenses as prescribed in the Standing Rules.  The Treasurer must keep an accurate record of all income and expenses.  He is required to report the fiscal status of the club at each regular meeting for the information of the members.  He must submit a written annual report to the Executive Committee at the Annual Meeting.

Treasurer Intangibles

I belonged to a club where I remember in a meeting the Treasurer asking, “What is ninety plus twelve?” Me and another member looked at each other in complete shock. It’d be nice if the Treasurer had basic math skills but with phone calculators that’s really not a deal breaker anymore. But what a Treasurer must do is be an accountant and they must account for all the monies, dues paid and the record thereof all members and they must do so accurately. That’s simple and basic.

What a Treasurer must also understand is that they are uniquely the most powerful member within an MC because they control the purse swings and if a Treasurer is truly vested in their club, they will manage those dollars with the steel hand in a velvet glove methodology. If a club can’t afford to go to Black Tigers the Treasurer must have the strength to voice that and let it be known. If the club wants to put together a bikini wash to raise money for the club, the Treasurer must be able to forecast and set goals for the club in terms of money. In other words, what was the point to the bikini wash if you spent $500 to make it happen and you made $600 that day? A Treasurer knows you actually only made $100 and was that enough to call that event a success given all it took to put it together? That does require some common sense and that by itself is hard to come by. I’ve seen Treasurers who think their only responsibility is to collect dues and hand out receipts. Any prospect or hang along can do that.

With concise planning and forecasting the Treasurer can take a club as far as the dollars can go or the reverse, take them no where which unfortunately, is where a lot of clubs end up going. 

Sergeant-at-Arms Responsibilities*

The Sergeant-at-Arms is responsible for ensuring that the Bylaws and Standing Rules of the club are not violated.  He is responsible to insure that the orders of the Executive Committee are carried out in an expeditious manner.  He is responsible for policing and keeping order at all club events, except as noted under the Duties of the Chairman.  He may conscript members to aid in keeping order on their own authority.  He has the responsibility to the club to report any unseemly behavior of incident to the Executive Committee.  He is responsible for securing any patches or colors from any member who retires, resigns, or is expelled.  The SAA is responsible for the safety and security of the club, as well as the protection and defense of its members and prospects.  He shall keep and maintain a record of all data pertinent to the safety and security of the club and its members and prospects.  Upon becoming aware of any real or perceived threat to the club, its Members, Prospects, or events, he shall immediately notify the Executive Committee of that information.

Sergeant-at-Arms Intangibles

My friends know that I’m Christian but I’m a Christian who sometimes subscribes to Old Testament solutions and I honestly believe that in the world of the MC, sometimes those are the quickest and safest solutions to what could be a violent situation. These situations are rare, but they do happen and when club members are in danger, the SAA needs to be the kind of person who doesn’t just inspire respect, but he inspires fear so members know not to mess with him at those times. The SAA is always supposed to be working because bikers are not accepted nor wanted by the general public so when we’re out with “hostiles” you always have to be on the look out for assholes who want to test the size of their balls by starting with us. Worse, you have other bikers from other MC’s who may have beef for whatever reason so the SAA has to be on the lookout at all times.

A few months ago I went riding with a club and at the end of the evening I joined them in some” unsavory” business that needed to be handled. As the President and VP ventured indoors the rest of the club stayed outside. It was 4am in the morning and obviously exhausted the SAA promptly went to sleep on his bike. In a display of disgust I advised the members where to stand setting up a perimeter around us and the bikes. I took into consideration the one way traffic pattern and an alley that from our point of view had too many places to creep in and out of. We were sitting ducks but I didn’t want us to be sleeping ducks.

When we got back to our hotel I gave the SAA an earful and he showed me how much of a man he was by admitting he was wrong and that he hadn’t done his job. Again, the SAA position is a 24hrs, 7 days a week job. Unlike the other positions I do believe the SAA does need to have a physically intimidating presence as well. Who is going to listen to an SAA who’s smaller then most the fat women at a Black Tigers pajama party? It’s one of those things clubs should consider when filling this position. When I was putting together my club my SAA was a former MMA fighter and he owned legal and illegal firearms. He had a jovial personality and would laugh while he beat someone bloody. He and I agreed on the motto, “You can’t have manslaughter without laughter.” If your SAA makes you laugh, then more then likely other clubs are laughing at him as well and that’s not a good look for your club at all.

Road Captain Responsibilities*

The Road Captain is responsible for all club runs.  He shall research, plan, and organize all runs.  During actual time on the road or at intermediate stops during a run, he shall act as the ranking club officer, deferring only to the President or Vice-President if either of them are present, and only then for matters involving persons outside the club.  He shall supply the Secretary with any information required to notify outside agencies of impending club runs in a timely manner.

Road Captain Intangibles

I do not work on “colored people” time but so many clubs with “colored” people do and its gotten to the point where fifteen minutes late is actually forty five minutes early and as a Road Captain I think that’s ridiculous. The Road Captain like the Secretary has to run a timely ship because their positions are highly dependent of time and the proper recording and use of it.

I have to say this because of the things I’ve seen but your Road Captain has to ride. I don’t mean just fast, but he has to ride. He has to want to ride and he has to enjoy riding. He should have the personal capacity to bring ride suggestions to the club and all the research involved. The RC should also have a keen understanding of how everyone rides so when a run is happening, he can forecast the problem areas and adjust his speed and course accordingly. The traits of a person who does this is someone who plans ahead, is intuitive and respectful of the riding limitations and strengths of his club members.

Worse then a club having a PRO is a club having a Road Captain with no motorcycle. As insane as that sounds, I’ve come across that and all I can do is shake my head.

Those are pretty much the traditional positions in an MC.  I understand some clubs have business managers, even CEO’s and variations of the positions above but being the traditionalist, I only deal with the positions that I know to be recognized by real MC’s.

There are general abuses I want to touch on but not belabor because they should be obvious. People need to understand having had sex with a person is not entitlement to them having a position in the club even if that person is your wife. Because a President leaves one club he should not automatically come to a new club with a title. I’ve seen negotiations based on this sort of entitlement and it’s 100% disastrous. Title owners need to earn their titles built on respect of current members. If titles are being rewarded based on nothing, then the club is based on nothing and that leads nowhere.

I’ve been challenged before asking why isn’t it okay for clubs to create positions as they see fit. Clubs that were formed fifty years ago faced different challenges then clubs being formed now. For instance, the Internet and social networking sites have forced certain clubs to adopt officers primarily responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of their websites and all digital communications. While I understand the need for positions like this, I do believe that if newer clubs truly knew and understood the responsibilities of the established positions they’d see how new titles are baseless because while titles are new, responsibilities are not.

Let’s all say this together:

Titles may be new but responsibilities are not.

Traditional positions have stood the test of time and allowed clubs who understood their meaning and responsibility longevity. Appointing unqualified people to important positions leads nations into wars looking for weapons of mass destruction that don’t exist or worse, they lead you and your organization into becoming a Sucka MC.

*The staff of Sucka Free MC would like to note the details of the title responsibilities cited above were pulled from the following site:http://www.rcvsmc.net/id5.html