While running the other day, somewhere into my second mile, I came up with an idea for my Friday post – “Free interview Fridays,” with the goal of trying to tell the everyday stories of FTR members. My first interview is yet to be determined, however, so if you are reading this and have something to say or just want to be interviewed, let me know ASAP! The person with the best story or pitch will be featured next Friday.

In the meantime, check out these FTR Graduation Celebration photos courtesy of Kevin Moyer from the last Hare Scrambles. Congratulations to all of our graduates!

I was thinking of starting a weekly post every Friday and need a name for the article. Something clever…maybe it will come to me out of nowhere, but maybe it will come from one of you readers…if it was a fixed-gear article for bicycle riders, I would call it Friday Fix; if I wanted to write an article on super trucks, it would be penned “Friday Flow” But, for a post on what’s happening in FTR for the weekend and everything in between, I’m stumped.

Anyway, the banquet committee is hard at work and recently started a Facebook page, which already has 81 likes!

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Here’s to the first weekend of the “offseason.” Check out the June magazine before it hits your mailbox.

Here is a preview of a video I am working on from the 2012-2013 FTR season:

FTR’s own Jesse Ansley produced this video from the 24-hour race in Alabama a few weeks ago:

If you’re still bored, check out this video from the J-Day Offroad race in Massachusetts:

Check out the Facebook page for this year’s banquet!

More than 24 followers in 24 hours! @FTRmoto

Are you on Instagram? If so, follow @FTRmoto and make sure you use the hashtag #ftrmoto to have your pics reposted!

Follow @FTRmoto

Last year’s banquet:

"The vendor area was not that impressive. Should have been more interactive look at my booth settings. The auction items should have been placed when you first walk in. Were the auction items available for ticket sales at the banquet? Didnt hear any announcements?"

From FTR Magazine Facebook page:

Now that the Hare Scrambles season is over, what was your favorite Hare Scrambles memory from this year? Your response could be featured in the June magazine.

I just uploaded a few hundred photos from this weekend’s Hare Scrambles in Sumterville presented by Big Scrub Trail Riders. Check them out on the FTR Magazine Facebook page – facebook.com/ftrmag – and tag yourself! I am still on the lookout for a June cover story…

One of the highlights of the weekend was Saturday night’s banquet committee meeting where I learned a lot about this year’s plans for the celebration. Here’s a hint.

Kurt Lucas showed up to the banquet committee meeting.

Stay tuned for an official word on that after the Board of Directors meeting on May 18 to which all FTR members are invited to attend. The committee members talked about opening up the vendor area earlier than noon and how to streamline the awards ceremony after dinner so we don’t have to sit there any longer than necessary. The only problem is that we have to hand out more than 700 trophies, which is more than double most organizations. So, it’s going to take a while either way. Plus, we have the motocross trophies to hand out this year, which adds about 100 more trophies to the total. The good news is that this year’s tickets are going to cost about half what tickets cost last year. No more $67 dinners, folks! I hope you will join us as we move on into new territory outside of Orlando. See you August 3!

Today, I’m taking a trip to Tampa with a few of the FTR Banquet Committee volunteers to check out the fairgrounds for a possible banquet location. In the meantime, the FTR webmaster is working on a cleaner, less-cluttered website that will accomodate all browsers and stretch the total width of your screen.

What do you think of this preview?

Please let us know if you have an suggestions for things that you would like to see on the website. We are always open to ideas and love hearing  input from the members.

By the way, have you checked out the May magazine yet? It’s online and at the printer so you should be seeing a copy in your mailbox soon.

One of my newest Facebook friends is William St. Laurent, a Central Florida businessman who is working on a FTR documentary about the unsung heroes of the organization. The footage is excellent of what I’ve previewed, and Will said he will be sharing the finished version with the world soon.

Check out this video from a local protest in Kings County, Minnesota. The community is outraged about the plans for a motocross track on Milville land that is reportedly zoned agriculture.

“It’s a really good sport to get into, and it’s kind of been teetering on the edge of either breaking out and getting big, or failing.”