Goodbye to 2013 - 2014 here we come!

What a year we've had here at Liberty in 2013!

2013 marked our 15th Anniversary - which we celebrated with 500+ of our closest friends, piles of ribs courtesy of Famous Dave's, Demo Rides and live music all day, culminating in the raffle of a custom Harley-Davidson Sportster! What a day that was!

This year was also by far the biggest Liberty HOG Toy Run in our 15 years of runs - thanks to lots of hard work from the Liberty HOG Chapter, and also thanks to our new friends the Fugawi MC who showed up with a whole bunch of toys and friends and helped make the event the raving success that it was!

We also had better weather for (almost) all of our BlacktopBike Nights this year - which we're looking forward to again once the season gets started!

In 2013 we also took up Harley-Davidson Rentals.

2013 was a big year for Harley-Davidson, with the release of the 2014 models, including the Project Rushmore line, and all the new technology that goes with them!

For 2014, we're looking forward to the  arrival of the new Street 500 and Street 750, more great events, another great Hot Rods and Harleys in May, and lots more!  We almost hate to see 2013 go, but we're looking forward to another great year coming up!

Thanks so much to our Liberty extended family of employees and customers for sharing 2013 with us, and we can't wait to spend 2014 with all of you!

Spreading the Holiday Cheer this year

Amidst the shopping and celebrating and gifts and family fun, sometimes it's easy to forget that not everyone is expecting a Merry Christmas this year.

But there are some easy ways you can help bring a little holiday cheer to someone else,  and we like to support the local community as much as possible.  So this year, we have several local people that we are working with, and we are collecting different items during the season.

• Best Friend Dog and Animal Adoption are having a Blanket and Quilt Drive, and will be here on Saturday, Dec. 7 to provide Gift Wrapping during our Pictures with Santa event!   If you have an old blanket, please drop it in the collection bin here at Liberty, anytime between now and Saturday, or just bring it with you on Saturday when you come to get your picture taken!

• Rahway Food for Friends Food Pantry are always in need of non-perishable food items.  We have a bin here for them as well, and will be delivering any food collected for the holidays.  Why not drop a food item in the bin? You can find more information about what they need at http://www.rahwayfoodforfriendsnj.org/donate.
• Outside in the parking lot, you'll find a clothing collection bin, to support the Erika Lynn Foundation.   They collect gently used clothing and shoes, and distribute it to local thrift shops.  From their website:
  
  "When our little girl was 2 1/2 years old she was diagnosed with Autism and our lives have never been the same. The Erika Dixon Foundation was formed by me and my family to help the Children and the families of these kids that suffer from this life time disorder." If you have any gently used clothing, please consider dropping it into the big blue box in our parking lot!
• On Saturday, Dec. 14, Liberty will be hosting our last Blood Drive of the year.  In 2013 alone, the Liberty extended family collected over 150 pints of blood, and we want to finish the year strong.  As they say, "Saving the world is hard, but saving a life is easy."  You can pre-register for the blood drive at www.bloodnj.org, or just stop by between 12 and 5pm - walk-ins are always welcome.

Remember, only a few weeks ago Liberty HOG, with the help of the extended Liberty Family, donated over 3,000 toys to the Bristol Myers-Squibb Childrens' Hospital - enough to keep them in toys for the whole year!

I know with the help of the Liberty Extended Family, we can bring a little more joy to the lives of people who need it most, in our own little way.

After the Liberty H.O.G. 15th Annual Toy Run...The smoke has settled

Guest Blogger - Tom McTamney,
Owner, Liberty Harley-Davidson

I wanted to wait a few days before putting my thoughts about our Toy-Run on paper and share them with everyone. Well, the smoke has settled, and it is now time. Let me start by saying that our first run was maybe 50 or so bikes - a success for the first time. After that run, the Liberty HOG members asked if they could take up the mantle and sponsor the run. It seemed like a natural, and the Liberty HOG toy run was born.

Liberty HOG 1st Annual Toy Run 1999

Over the years our toy run has grown into the largest event my store has had the honor to be a part of. Even when there was snow, rain and blistering cold we managed to still bring out the bikes and always supplied the kids with toys for the season. For that I am eternally grateful.

Let’s fast forward to our 15th Anniversary run. The Liberty HOG Chapter hit it out of the park, so to speak. It was not without a lot of sleepless nights, not only for me, but for my new director, Jack Seals, and my new assistant director Joe Caruso, and my new Treasurer Joe Novak. We have had big runs before, last year almost 500, the year before almost 600, so we were not without experience. But when the Fugawi MC, stars of the History Channel show "We're the Fugawis," agreed to support our run, things rapidly changed.

Overnight, our expectations went from 4 or 5 hundred to quite possibly 1000, and we had to plan accordingly. This required some major changes in the way we worked the run. We needed to provide a safe and fun run for what might be over 1000 sign-ups. This created some serious chaos. The way we did sign-ups, the way we did refreshments, the way we parked the bikes, the way we handled the traffic, and yes, the way we supported the ride itself had to be changed.

Well I have to say that everyone involved, both the new officers, as well as the experienced volunteers, all pulled together and pulled it off. Not only did our HOG chapter pull it off, they made it look easy. 963 signups, 51 law enforcements, and a bushel full of FUGs all hung out in the parking lot and had lots of fun. People ate, drank coffee, and listened to Christmas music. The Fugawi MC did lots of photos with the crowd of people and signed lots of shirts. As I recall, they may have even signed a boob or two. They also brought down a van full of toys and a special gift for the hospital, a handmade doll house which will be placed in the common area of the hospital. It is my pleasure to offer a very special thank you to the Fugawi MC for their generous donation.

When it was time for the ride the HOG volunteers on street patrol, led by Waz, got the ride on the road without a hitch. All the towns cooperated and all the lights were covered as well as any intersections and stop streets. We rode from Rahway to New Brunswick at about 25 mph, and did not have to put our foot down once. It was a fun and safe ride. No bumps, no dings and no downs. Thank you one and all.
We arrived at Robert Wood Johnson hospital, to the waiting eyes and ears of children, and dropped off over 3,000 toys and gifts to the hospital - the most in our 15 years. A Yamaha Internet-Ready Grand Piano, over a dozen iPads, gift cards from Kids R Us and iTunes, and a couple of bicycles from the FUGs. It was amazing. It's always interesting to watch the bikers interacting with the children and their parents; it makes me proud to be a biker. Now that it's all washed out, we know that the Liberty HOGs will be donating $5,000 to the Bristol Myers-Squibb Childrens Hospital as well!

The run ended with a really fantastic pasta dinner, complete with all the trimmings, thanks to the kitchen crew, who, by the way, forgo the ride to make sure a hot meal is ready for everyone. Sitting there at the table enjoying a great meal with friends I couldn’t help but realize that this event could not have been possible without the hard work of all of our HOG volunteers. I owe a boat load of thanks to everyone for making the Liberty HOG chapter, as well as Liberty Harley-Davidson look good. You not only pulled off what might be the biggest HOG event in the state this year, but did it with class, and you made it look easy. Thank you each and everyone.