With attendance figures approaching record numbers and more events and activities than ever before, the 82nd Sturgis Rally is wrapping up this weekend. But we had to share congratulations with our own Don Emde who was inducted into the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum & Hall Of Fame. Icing on the cake came as Don was presented with the Arlen Ness Lifetime Achievement Award by legendary dealer Bill Gickling.
“What a great day. It was a huge honor to receive the Arlen Ness Lifetime Achievement Award at the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum & Hall of Fame’s annual awards breakfast. My long time Sturgis Rally hosts Bill and Sherry Gikling are seen here with me, and Bill was my presenter. Thanks to the organization for making it possible.”
Always gracious, Emde gave Dealernews a shout out as well: “Happy to represent MDN in the presentation. I consider it as my Alma Mater of my publishing career. “
Arlen Ness Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient
Don Emde’s list of accomplishments is extensive. He began AMA professional racing in 1969 and won AFM racing association’s overall national championship. His racing successes continued, and he moved to Expert level in 1971, riding with the BSA factory team and ranked 11th in the US. In 1972, he switched to Yamaha. When he won the Daytona 200, he set many milestones, including the first Daytona 200 victory for a Yamaha motorcycle, first two-stroke and smallest engine size to ever win that challenging race.
After racing for a few more years, he transitioned into other roles and went to work for Bell Helmets and was promoted to its VP of Sales & Marketing. In 1986, he became the publisher for “Motorcycle Dealernews.” Some of his notable changes were to shorten the magazine’s name to “Dealernews” and add the tagline “Voice of the Powersports Industry” to reach a larger audience. Emde was instrumental in launching the PR campaign in the ‘90s “Discover Today’s Motorcycling” (now motorcycles.org).
He started his own newsletter, self-published many books, and produced a dealer publication for Parts Unlimited. Emde served on the AMA Board of Directors, helped to create the bylaws and election processes for the AMA Hall of Fame, and has been involved with Trailblazers for over 25 years and served as its president for the past 10.
Get the whole scoop on the Class Of 2022 here:
https://www.dealernews.com/Home/post/sturgis-hall-of-fame-class-of-2022/2022-08-03