News

In the past I have always written an article for the newsletter this time of year in which I would reflect on the approaching holidays and a look back at the past year. My main message was to wish our members a joyous holiday season and how our Association could not have done what we did the past year without your support and friendship. I have so much to be grateful for this year. I appreciate that Randy Lisk has allowed me to express my gratitude in this holiday newsletter.

As most of you know, I and my main man, Mike Lord, had reached the time to retire from NYSAAA. After much thought, we came to the conclusion that either we had to find someone to take over managing NYSAAA or it would most likely not continue. Our members had been so loyal to our Association that we knew we had to find some way to keep it going for those members. After a great deal of work, Randy Lisk and the Board of Directors of AAAMS agreed to step in and manage our Association for all of us. The merger of NYSAAA and AAAMS earlier this year is something we are so grateful for.

I just wanted to take this time to thank Randy, the Board of Directors, and the members of AAAMS for making this merger possible. In addition, I want to thank the members of NYSAAA for sticking with us during this transition and preserving the future of NYSAAA. I will always be grateful for all involved and will continue supporting NYSAAA/AAAMS in any way I can.

In the past, I had certainly lost much of the holiday spirit. There was the stress of purchasing gifts and getting them shipped in time, not to mention the drastic decline in my auto parts sales this time of year. December had just become a month of stress and I was happy when it was over.

Many in New York have read about what I did to change those feelings but I thought I would share it with my new friends at AAAMS. About ten years ago, I stopped at the grocery store on my way home from work. When I arrived, it was snowing so hard that I could only see a few feet ahead of me. However, in these conditions, I could hear a bell ringing. When I got up to the store, there was a gentleman standing there in that weather ringing the bell and collecting money for the Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Campaign. Suddenly it dawned on me that this is the time of year for giving to those less fortunate as I stuffed a handful of cash into his kettle.

When I got home and reflected on this experience, I decided that the hundreds of dollars I had been spending on holiday gifts for adults in my family was going to end. That money was going to go to local charities. I let them all know and advised them to take the money they were going to spend on me and give it to local charities in their area. Now every year I make a list of local charities and have the bank write bank checks to all these charities. Then I pick a day in December when the weather is nice and I ride around town and drop off the checks to the charities and thank them for all they do all year. You can’t believe how great it feels and how it makes you feel less stressed and gives new meaning to the holiday season. It has become one of my favorite days of the year.

The reason I get bank checks and drop them off in person is I want it to be anonymous. I found out that if they get your name and address that they will send you a mailing every other week all year. The cost of those mailings wipes out your donation and then some.

While I should be more charitable all year, I have found that the holidays is a great time to make up for all I should have done during the year. It’s the season for giving and what a great time to give to those that help the less fortunate all year in your community. Don’t forget our four-legged friends at the SPCA and dog rescue shelters as well.

Happy Holidays to all my friends in NYSAAA and my new friends in AAAMS. You have given me much to be thankful for this past year.