Donna Collins
Swakopmund was the meeting place for over 40 Harley Owners Group Namibia members at their annual general meeting last Saturday, to thrash out major discussion points, future plans on the upcoming 2018 events calendar and elect a dynamic new committee.
A gathering of 33 awesome Harley-Davidson motorcycles rumbled into the coastal town, which has been done at the town for the past four years.
After the serious matters of Saturday morning’s meeting were dealt with, some fun biking activities included the traditional ‘Poker Run’ to ‘Windpomp 14’, Langstrand, Nonidas and other popular points, to collect a straight flush, with a trophy win at the end.
While the new committee welcomed some fresh faces to the group, Reinhard Redecker was voted in as the chairperson for the second term in succession. Other committee members include Tsumeb representative Basie Oosthuizen who was voted as vice-chairperson, Henning Tiemann voted as second vice-chairperson, Renee Histermann as secretary and Dunja Mannchen as treasurer.
The ‘Ladies of Harley’ elected Ronel Viljoen as the chairperson for the women subcommittee. This is also the first time this position has been created to represent the growing number of ladies riding Harley-Davidson motorcycles in Namibia. Currently there are 112 members countrywide.
Meanwhile, seasoned Swakopmund Harley Davidson enthusiast, Christiaan Knickel, who stepped down from the committee as vice-director, will resume his position as main organiser of the popular Skeleton Coast Rally which will be held in May 2019.
The four-day Skeleton Coast Rally organised by the Harley Owners Group Namibia, gathers in Swakopmund every second year, and this year enjoyed the participation of some 400 Harley Davidson bikes.
This is the highlight of the calendar for the owners of Harley-Davidson, with the first Skeleton Coast Rally held in 2015, and supported by a large Harley-Davidson fraternity from Namibia, South Africa and some neighbouring countries.
The sponsoring dealership Harley-Davidson Windhoek, was also present at the meeting, with Guilliaume Kruger stating that there is also a growing interest in sales of Harley-Davidsons after the opening of the showroom, which celebrates its first anniversary on December 2.
Kruger said that close to 80 Harley-Davidsons have been sold in the year since their opening, adding that the dealership will sponsor the Namibia Chapter membership fees for 2018 to grow the club even further.