Q&A with Donn Johnson

Residence: Bonaire

Director: Robins Riders

Q: What is Robins Riders?

A: It's the Robins Air Force Base motorcycle club.

Q: Describe it.

A: First off, we're not a motorcycle gang and don't bar hop or ever drink and drive. We're not about that at all. We promote safety and don't tolerate unsafe riding at all. What we are is a social group with a common love of motorcycles -- and you'd have to say a common love for eating. Our regular meetings, and most of our rides, end up at a restaurant having a meal together. We're an extremely family-oriented group and push for people to bring their kids and grandkids. The friendships we make is one of the greatest benefits.

Q: How many members are there?

A: On the books, probably about 85, but there's a core of about 30 that do everything all the time. Others come and go and we encourage that. We don't want people afraid if they join they have to be 100 percent dedicated and do every ride and activity. Some want to, some don't.

Q: Who can join?

A: It's pretty much open to anybody. You can have a Harley-Davidson (motorcycle) or a scooter. Really, you don't even have to have a motorcycle. Some follow along in their cars and to meetings. It's for military and civilian, active duty and retired, young and old, male and female. Me, I'm retired Air Force and work now as a computer programmer on base. Dues are $5 a year.

Q: How did the club start?

A: It started in 2004 and was initially set up by base motorcycle safety instructors. I was one of those. The idea was for military members to take it over, but in 2007 it went dormant. The base commander asked me in 2008 to restart the group and I said I would if we could allow non-military to join. He agreed and we've been going since.

Q: When are meetings?

A: Thursdays. We either meet up some place to eat or we gather at the Museum of Aviation and ride somewhere.

Q: How can people find out where?

A: We have a group at groups.yahoo.com. Go there and search Robins Riders, click "More" and see our events calendar. They can call me at 478-397-6071 and can contact the base safety office at 478-926-6271 for information about motorcycle safety courses, plus they have information about us.

Q: And you welcome new riders?

A: Some people say they won't join because they're new and we've been riding a long time, but that's the farthest thing from how it is. We love helping new riders. Part of what we do is mentor new riders. On rides we make sure they don't get left behind and that they know what's going on all the time. And we make sure newcomers feel welcome at meetings. That's part of what we're about.

Q: Aside from regular meetings, what are some of your other rides?

A: Some are educational, some fun, some are charitable and some have service aspects. A big thing is five times a year we coordinate rides to Andersonville National Cemetery to raise the flags throughout the cemetery. We're responsible for the ride but we're joined by other clubs and riders. There are other rides like rides to north Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina and elsewhere. Sometimes it's just to ride, sometimes to go camping, whitewater rafting or other things. There's a variety.

Q: How about the charitable side?

A: We do a variety of things. We have a project to help the new area veterans' home they're building, we've ridden to a nursing home and shown residents our motorcycles and let some sit on them. We do poker runs and scavenger hunts for charities, and we always have Thanksgiving and Christmas projects. We tried something new this Christmas.

Q: What's that?

A: We took about $400 and went out and personally gave the money away by paying for folks' groceries and such. That went really well. We'll be doing that again.

Q: What made it so special?

A: We're not a big group -- we can't pay anybody's mortgage or anything -- but we saw it make a difference. Paying for some groceries or handing people a few dollars really brightened their day and sure made our day by doing it. We're part of our community, and when you hand somebody something and they're grinning like crazy, it's all good.

Answers may have been edited for length and clarity. Compiled by Michael W. Pannell. Contact him at mwpannell@gmail.com.

This story was originally published January 12, 2016 at 9:36 PM with the headline "Q&A with Donn Johnson ."