Following the annual meeting in July, Canadian Chapters will no longer confer Associate membership. Current Associates will be allowed to hold their membership as long as they remain in good standing.

“The status is available, but it will no longer be offered,” reports Canadian National Secretary Jacques ‘Jimmy Pelle’ Pelletier. “The most ludicrous moment came when a group of Associates from around the country proposed that they be allowed Active membership after a year as Associates, regardless of their publications. They then held a straw poll and attempted to enforce it.”

Gavelled down, the dissenting Associates left the meeting with promises of re-organization. Some factions suggested establishing another club while other suggested forming a renegade chapter of the HPMCC.

“They clearly do not understand their role in the scheme of things,” stated Per “Mule” Muller, Secretary of the Vancouver Chapter. “They are here to perfect their skills and qualify for membership. They are not here to boost their prestige by being associated with our organization, nor are we here to provide them with a forum or venues for their publications. They are not here to dictate the terms by which we will accept them as members. They do not have the insight or experience to be Actives, or they would be.” Other complaints arise from the excess paperwork involved in tracking Associates who join for a year, often in hopes of publication, and then disappear.

Much of the conflict stems from confusion and conflict surrounding the specifics of the Club’s “three to apply, two per year to maintain” rule. “By giving each submitted ‘publication’ equal weight and operating on the presumption that performance is publication, we have managed to include members who barely manage to qualify while excluding potential candidates of greater literary merit.” Says Pelle. One example cited is that of author Yves LaVigne, a lifelong biker who has written several books, including two on the Hells Angels. “Because he does not write two books a year, he is technically ineligible for Active membership.”

A similar U.S. case involves Dr. Mark “Tiger” Edmonds, author of “Longrider” and “The Ghost of Scootertrash Past” and whose third book is pending, and who has ridden more than a million miles but does not have the required two annual publications.

“We will bring this up at the World Run next year,” promises Pelle, “There must be recognition of the merit of a publication. It is not right that three minutes at an open-mic coffeehouse be equated with the culmination of years of work in a major book.”