Charlie St. Clair: Grateful to first responders and friends of Motorcycle Week

To The Daily Sun,

As many of you may know, the offices of the Laconia Motorcycle Week Association suffered a catastrophic fire on this past Christmas Day.  As bad as the fire was, it would’ve been much worse if not for the tremendous efforts of the Laconia Fire Department and surrounding towns of Gilford, Belmont, Meredith, Sanbornton, Tilton-Northfield, Franklin, Alton, and Lakes Region Fire Dispatch. These incredible first-responders were able to keep the fire contained, which saved the upstairs apartment from fire, while they safely assisted the tenant out of the building.  Had they not responded so quickly, efficiently and effectively, there would be no building standing and the losses to the tenants would have been even greater.  On behalf of Jennifer Anderson and I, we offer our sincerest gratitude to Chief Kirk Beattie and the entire crews of the Laconia Fire Department and many surrounding towns.

For the Motorcycle Week Association, the fire was indeed a major setback to our collection of historical archives going back to 1903, most of which was lost. Unfortunately, our insurance will not come close to covering our losses. We do want to thank Paul Cote for setting up a “Friends of Laconia Motorcycle Week” GoFundMe account to help us recover our losses and to rebuild for the future. We also thank all of you who have generously made contributions via mail, in person and through the fundraiser.  Many people have already reached out offering memorabilia from their private collections from around the country, which is a great start toward helping us rebuild this legendary collection.

Many of you have asked about Ashland. Sadly, we have still been unable to recover our beloved cat.

In spite of the fire, planning for the 98th Anniversary of Laconia Motorcycle Week is well underway. We look forward to seeing you all from June 12-20, 2021. Thank you, friends. 

Charlie St. Clair

Executive Director

Laconia Motorcycle Week Association