The Milwaukee Post

16 • Milwaukee Post • September 13, 2013 Huge crowds converged on House of Harley About 7,000 bikers took part in downtown Milwaukee parade By KEVIN PASSON Special to The Post GREENFIELD – Was that a distant rumble of thunder, or was it still the echo of tens of thousands of Harley-Davidson motorcycles that filled the air Labor Day weekend? The famed motorcycle company celebrated its 110th anniversary with music and vendors at the Summerfest grounds, the unveiling of the 2014 models, tours and special events at the Harley-Davidson Museum and parties at every area dealership. "It's really hard to say how many people we saw, because all of our events were non-ticketed, but we absolutely exceeded our expectations," said Sarah Maio, marketing manager at the House of HarleyDavidson in Greenfield. "We blew past the attendance mark for the 105th and possibly even the 100th." She said a variety of factors contributed to the high turnout. "The Harley-Davidson company spent a lot of time and effort promoting the event on a global scale," Maio said. "Because of the high number of bikes produced and bought in the past 10 years, there are a lot of new riders, many of whom didn't attend the earlier celebrations. Finally, it was really to have fun and meet other riders. We saw tour ASPHALT PAVING Karl Behrens of Milwaukee, grill master and truck driver of the Johnsonville Big Taste Grill, cooks some sausages near the House of Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Dealership in Greenfield during the 110th anniversary celebration. groups from Beijing, Seoul, Taiwan, China, Brazil, Mexico, from all over the world." "This event was the most international one we've ever had," said Maripat Blankenheim, spokeswoman for HarleyDavidson's corporate offices. "We are still a Milwaukee company and an American company, but we are all over the world." On Aug. 31, nearly 7,000 HarleyDavidson customers, dealers and employees from around the world rolled through downtown Milwaukee in the celebration parade. The parade route took participants nearly five miles from Miller Park to the 213538296 • Driveways • Parking Lots • Repairs • Patching • Seal Coating Photo by Robert F. Borkowski/Special to The Post Looking to sell? We have buyers! FRANK ARMSTRONG PAVING "I placed a classified line ad to sell a lawn mower and I received almost 40 calls on it. I continued receiving calls after the ad was done running and sold it for the price I wanted. Whoever said newspapers are dead are dead wrong." You 414-358-1613 stand Serving Southeastern on our Wisconsin For 32 Years reputation Free Estimates –John Talaska, Jr, South Milwaukee If you are looking for results, call today! Classifieds Monday through Friday 8am-5pm 1-800-762-6219 x1595 or online 24/7 at gmtodayclassifieds@conleynet.com Summerfest grounds via Wisconsin Avenue, clocking in more than 32,000 collective miles, the equivalent of five round-trip journeys from New York to Los Angeles. Along the way, tens of thousands of local residents greeted and cheered on the parading motorcyclists. Making their debut during the celebration were the 2014 models. In the largest scale new model launch in the company's 110-year history, Project Rushmore encompasses eight new motorcycles that feature improved power and braking performance, enhanced rider ergonomics, and dramatic styling updates that completely redefine and fundamentally transform the touring motorcyclist's experience. "Project Rushmore is a pure expression of our relationship with our customers and a shared passion for riding motorcycles," Harley-Davidson Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Mark-Hans Richer said in a statement. "It's resulted in some outstanding innovations, but from day one we've been focused on taking the total rider and passenger experience to the next level. We get there together, we come together through a process that uses not just formal feedback, but the kind of input we get from listening to customers out on the road, in the real world, and then blends that with our engineering and styling expertise." At the Summerfest grounds, large crowds gathered every day for the more than 60 bands that performed. Featured entertainment on the Marcus Amphitheater stage included Toby Keith, Aerosmith and Kid Rock. Maio said the highlights for the House of Harley were the special rides for charity held throughout the days of the celebration. Benefiting from the charity rides were the Fisher House Wisconsin, which provides a "home away from home" for military and veterans' families to be close to a loved one at the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center in Milwaukee; Concerns of Police Survivors, which provides resources to assist in the rebuilding of the lives of surviving families and affected co-workers of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty; the Muscular Dystrophy Association; and the Susan G. Komen Foundation to aid in research to fight breast cancer. Because there was so much time and effort put into the planning stage for the celebration, no major challenges arose during the event. "We had a lot of small fires to put out but nothing major," Maio said. "The Greenfield police and fire departments are second to none, and their help was wonderful. They are so dedicated to this community, and it was great having them offer their support when we needed it. I can't say enough about them." Blankenheim added: "For this anniversary, it's important to look at the number of people who came to town without going to the Summerfest grounds. Our dealerships did a tremendous job. I couldn't believe the amount of stuff they had going on there. "Whether you were talking to people from China, Japan, Korea and anywhere in Europe, the one constant was they could not get over was how welcoming and friendly the people of southeastern Wisconsin were to them. They never saw people who were not happy to see them." And now, after the management team at the House of Harley catches their collective breath, they will begin work on creating action plans in preparation for the 115th anniversary celebration. "I can't reveal what those plans will be, but it will be amazing," Maio said.

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