Jeffry `Maverick' Arend Memorial
In the few years that CMH-MOTO has been around, Mav had become friends with many of us. His sense of humor and eagerness to help always brightened a gathering. He was almost always present at CMH-MOTO events; if not, it was invariably because he was out on a ride: Pennsylvania, New Mexico, West Virginia, Kentucky or Tennessee - any place with good roads.
I rode with Jeff many times, at CMH-MOTO or HSTA rides. He always rode responsibly. He wore good protective gear, and he knew his limits and stayed inside them. He worked hard to improve his riding, taking classes and reading the books available on the subject. That Maverick could be killed this way is a reminder to us all that accidents do not only happen to squids; we all can make mistakes, and no matter what gear we wear, or how we ride, we cannot reduce risk to zero.
In 1999, Maverick had started the Ohio YSR League, OYL, a Yamaha YSR-50 racing series with events at Circleville Raceway, a kart track south of Columbus. He had never organized a race before, nor had he competed. With typical zeal and optimism, he took on both at once. Oh, and at the same time he was on the door prize committee for the Ohio HSTA, while we were soliciting and collecting items for local events, and the STAR 99 national rally. This not only involved calling and visiting dealers and vendors all around Ohio, but Mav built the database for the project. All this made for a bumpy start to the OYL season for him, but his infectious enthusiasm earned him a group of volunteers to make things smoother, and as the season progressed, the series enjoyed great success. Sadly, Mav died before the last race, but at that race, the donations in his name and the words of those who spoke of him testified to the way he had touched the people around him. The OYL racers and volunteers vowed to keep the league going, and an annual award in his memory was made a part of the season-end ceremony.
Maverick will be missed by many. Yesterday was New Year's Day, 2000. 9 of us met for brunch and a ride. Somebody said, after one comment, "Maverick should have been here, that's his kind of joke." This sort of observation happens frequently now. In some ways, whenever a group of us are riding now, it seems to me like we're doing a sort of missing-man formation, riding in memory of Maverick. Godspeed, Mav.