Honda Hosts 10th Annual Honda HomeComing
23 July 1998
Honda Hosts 10th Annual Honda HomeComing Ride for Kids to raise money for brain tumor research
MARYSVILLE, Ohio, July 23 -- It's a motorcycle rally, a
chance to win a 1999 Honda Gold Wing Aspencade, a community celebration, a
fundraiser for pediatric brain tumor research and an opportunity for Honda to
say "thank-you" to its customers. All of it is taking place Thursday, Friday
and Saturday during the 10th Annual Honda HomeComing at the Honda of America
Manufacturing (HAM) Marysville Motorcycle Plant and in nearby communities.
"It is an opportunity to build the relationships between HAM associates,
their customers and their neighbors in the communities where they live and
work," said Kelly Taylor, HomeComing project leader. "It is especially
significant this year as we celebrate Honda's 50th anniversary of motorcycle
manufacturing."
Honda made its home in Ohio almost two decades ago when its first
American-made motorcycle rolled off the assembly line in Marysville, Sept. 10,
1979. HAM currently has 13,000 associates at four Ohio plants: Marysville
Motorcycle Plant, Anna Engine Plant, Marysville Auto Plant, and East Liberty
Auto Plant. Together they produce 830,000 vehicles, and 900,000 engines and
related parts per year.
Tours will be offered Thursday and Friday through the motorcycle plant
where HAM manufactures 150,000 vehicles per year, the only site producing the
Gold Wing, Valkyrie, Shadow and several different FourTrax all-terrain
vehicles. Friday only, tours will be offered at the Anna Engine Plant which
produces auto and motorcycle engines including the six-cylinder engines for
the Gold Wings and Valkyries.
Honda HomeComing started 10 years ago as a gathering of Honda motorcycle
owners to tour the plant where their bikes were made, have a hot dog and soft
drink, and get a big thank-you from HAM associates to their customers. This
year's HomeComing promises to be the biggest ever.
Thousands of motorcylists, from all over the United States, Canada and as
far away as Wales, will attend motorcycle seminars, shop for accessories, tour
Honda manufacturing plants, and enjoy outdoor music and food. Hundreds of them
will participate in the "Ride for Kids," raising money through pledges for
pediatric brain tumor research. The ride covers a 48-mile route from the
motorcycle plant, through Delaware, Ohio, to the American Motorcycle
Association Heritage Museum in Westerville. Visitors there can view the Honda
exhibit celebrating half a century of motorcycle manufacturing.
Each year the event has grown, adding more activities, more vendors and
more spectators. The Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation of the United States,
headquartered in Ashville, North Carolina, teamed up with HAM seven years ago,
to schedule its "Ride for Kids" fundraiser in conjunction with HomeComing. It
hopes to raise even more than the $85,000 collected last year. For each $300
raised, riders earn a chance to win a Honda Rebel 250 motorcycle donated by
American Honda Motor Co.
Several activities spill into the local communities including bike
judging, a community breakfast, a downtown block party and spectacular light
parades. Hundreds of motorcycles jazzed up with lights and accessories will
parade through Bellefontaine and Marysville Thursday and Friday nights.
HomeComing closes at 6:30 p.m. Saturday with a grand prize drawing for a 1999
Honda Gold Wing motorcycle valued at $14,995. For more information about
HomeComing call 1-800-846-0422.
