Trail Rider Magazine

8 Trail Rider www.TrailRider.com John "Jerry" Shinners Farewell Old Friend Sadly, on December 18, 2017, the New En- gland off-road motorcycling community lost a fellow rider, mentor, leader, and legisla ve advocate— John "Jerry" Shinners. Shinners was a larger-than-life figure amongst the New England Trail Rider Associa on (NETRA) organiza on, as well as in Connec cut poli- cs about land access. An A-level rider, trail boss, club member, and administrator of NE- TRA, Jerry was ever-present at NETRA events and his impact con nues in the organiza on. Jerry was also a long me contribu ng Editor for Trail Rider Magazine. Known for the blue denim shirt he always wore whether while socializing or as a riding shirt, Jerry will be dearly missed by the riding community. Jerry was an ac ve rider before and while he served as NETRA's administrator for 28 years. Jerry rode most Na onal Enduros on the east coast, including the Alligator in Daytona. He rode the Blackwater 100 (the first GNCC), considered the toughest race in America, 10 mes. He earned trophies seven out of 10 mes he competed. Ac ve on the legisla ve front, Jerry a ended most of the Connec cut government meet- ings that DEP/DEEP held when there was a topic of interest to the motorcyclist. He kept the NETRA leadership in touch with the right people in order to get the proper permi ng and permissions that are key for all NETRA events. Jerry was instrumental in laying out the orig- inal Black & Blue trail and helped to teach genera ons of enduro riders how to stage events, figure out check placement, and eventually man the sign-up table for darn near every event the Connec cut Ramblers club put on, both while serving as the NETRA administrator, and a erwards as well, when he no longer held that tle. Kevin Howley, NETRA's treasurer for more than 20 years, said, "I began working close- ly with Jerry Shinners back in the summer of 1990 when I assumed the posi on as treasurer on the NETRA Board of Directors. It quickly became very clear to me that Jerry was passionate about two things: off-road motorcycling and NETRA. Jerry served as the NETRA Administrator for 30-plus years before his re rement. He wore a lot of hats in those days. His responsibili es included: maintaining the NETRA office, scheduling office hours for member contact, solici ng adver sements for the NETRA News- le er, publishing and mailing the NETRA newsle er, membership renewals, bookkeeping for all the NETRA

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