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The AMA Board of Directors has conferred 10 awards in six categories recognizing distinguished AMA members and clubs.

The AMA Board of Directors Awards recognize outstanding contributions to the world of motorcycling and acknowledge support of the AMA mission to promote the motorcycle lifestyle and protect the future of motorcycling.

AMA Dud Perkins Lifetime Achievement Award

The 2018 AMA Dud Perkins Lifetime Achievement Award, the most prestigious of these awards, is presented posthumously to Tom White (1949-2017).

White wore AMA National No. 80 in flat-track competition from 1971 to 1976. He also co-founded White Brothers Cycle Specialties in 1975 and later created the World Vet MX Championship and the World Four-Stroke Championship.

White’s contributions also included the creation of the Edison Dye Motocross Lifetime Achievement Award, which recognizes annually those who have made the largest impact on the growth of motocross in America.

The Early Years of Motocross Museum was White’s pride and joy, which today features 160 historic motorcycles and related displays.

Even in retirement White was announcing motorcycle races during the past several years at the weekly REM motocross series at Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino, Calif. In 2017, White was honored with a monument along Glen Helen’s Walk of Fame.

White also donated untold hours of service to the AMA and as a board member of the American Motorcycle Heritage Foundation, which oversees the Hall of Fame.

For many years, White was a stand-out announcer at AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days, and was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2014.

AMA Outstanding Road Rider Award

The recipient of the 2018 AMA Outstanding Road Rider Award is Steve Zurl, a lifelong political activist and the state membership adviser and public relations officer for ABATE of Pennsylvania.

This award is presented annually to recognize those who have contributed to the promotion of the motorcycle lifestyle and the protection of on-highway motorcycling.

Zurl has participated in the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s Motorcycle Safety Steering Committee meetings to tackle such issues as distracted driving, motorcyclist licensing and impaired riding. And he joined other motorcyclists to address such issues as funding the state motorcycle safety program, reducing turnpike tolls, proper vehicle registration, passenger age restrictions, parking restrictions and equipment laws.

AMA Outstanding Off-Road Rider Award

The 2018 AMA Outstanding Off-Road Rider Award, which highlights the achievements of those who have contributed to the promotion of the motorcycle lifestyle and the protection of off-highway motorcycling, recognizes Clif Koontz of Moab, Utah.

A New Jersey native, Koontz earned a degree in geology at Colorado College in Colorado Springs. There he discovered the area’s rich off-highway riding opportunities. Later he landed a job with the National Park Service, working on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

In 2002, Koontz became a founding board member of Ride with Respect, a nonprofit dedicated to conserving shared-use trails. To date, the organization has performed over 18,000 hours of trail work and education. Koontz currently serves on the board of the National Off-Highway Vehicles Conservation Council and the OHV Advisory Council of Utah State Parks.

AMA Bessie Stringfield Award

The AMA Bessie Stringfield Award recognizes efforts to introduce motorcycling to new or under-served markets, in memory of the accomplishments of AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famer Bessie Stringfield.

The 2018 award recipient is Stefan Pierer, CEO of KTM AG.

Since founding KTM Industries Group in 1987, Pierer has led KTM to become the biggest European motorcycle manufacturer and the fastest growing brand in the U.S. For 2017, KTM reported a 17 percent increase in sales over 2016 during a period of industry stagnation in new motorcycle sales.

The company has invested heavily in electric motorcycle and scooter technology and is collaborating with German e-mobility/electric bicycle manufacturer PEXCO to attract first-time riders. Since 2007, KTM’s partnership with India’s Bajaj Auto Ltd. has opened up a major growth market.

AMA Hazel Kolb Brighter Image Award

The recipient of the 2018 AMA Hazel Kolb Brighter Image Award, Scott A. Witt, M.D., medical director for the newborn intensive care unit at Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital, received national recognition for his heroic efforts to transport babies under his care during the wildfires in Santa Rosa, Calif., in 2017.

Witt’s actions were all the more notable because he accomplished them using his BMW R nineT motorcycle. Witt’s unselfish actions honored the award’s namesake, Hall of Famer Hazel Kolb, for activities that generated good publicity for motorcycling.

Friend of the AMA Award

The Friend of the AMA award is presented to one or more in the motorcycling community, including clubs, companies, sponsors and/or partners that have strongly supported the AMA mission and programs.

The AMA Board of Directors selected five recipients for recognition in 2018:

• Don Amador is the western representative of the Blue Ribbon Coalition. In 2010, he started an OHV consulting business, Quiet Warrior Racing. His advocacy often parallels the interests of the AMA, and he has been an AMA booster for many years.
• The Kurt Caselli Foundation, established in 2013, focuses on the safety of riders in the world of off-road motorcycling. The nonprofit’s mission encompasses safety precautions for riders before, during and after a racing career. The foundation is also a significant donor to the International Six Days Enduro rider support fund.
• AMA member Bryan Much has been riding for 40 years, off- and on-road, and currently logs many miles on his bikes while providing GPS routes for others to go on their own adventures. Much is serious about protecting motorcyclists’ rights, helping create trails and serving on the Wisconsin Governor’s State Trails Council and Off- Road Vehicle Council. In 2017, Much earned his AMA EAGLES certification and has been named state coordinator for AMA of Wisconsin.
• The Pennsylvania Trail Riders Association sponsors four annual dual sport events in the state. PATRA’s mission is to ensure that the Seven Mountains and Shade Mountain motorcycle trails remain a legal trail system. They work closely with the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, state forestry officials, state legislators and recreational, environmental and community stakeholders.
• AMA Charter Life Member Robert “Robbie” Robinson was a lifelong rider who enjoyed motorcycling until his death in October 2017 at age 79, when he succumbed to a medical emergency while riding his Suzuki near his home in Milton, Fla. In his youth, Robinson converted street bikes into dirt bikes. Later he competed in enduros, hare scrambles and motocross. His favorite event was the Gobbler Getter Enduro in Maplesville, Ala., which he attended every year since 1968.

For more information about the AMA Board of Directors Awards Program, to see past recipients and learn how to submit individual’s names for future consideration, please visit www.americanmotorcyclist.com/For-Members/AMA-Awards/Board-Of-Directors-Awards/board-of-directors-awards.