Born in 1932 (yes, I'm 79 soon to be 80) & raised in South Dakota & graduated in 1951 from Mitchell High School and went into the Army in 1952 and ended up in Korea. Only spent 21 months in Korea because I was stationed on an outpost and receiving 9 points a month, 36 points got you home. After working a short time for my father building and repairing roads and highways my father bought the Fox Deluxe Bar & Liquor Store for me and I owned that for approximately 3 years before heading for Calif. Bar tending was not something I wanted to do for life.

Arrived in Inglewood CA. in Feb. 1957 and went right to work for North American Aviation in El Segundo CA, thanks to Larry Mann another graduate of Mitchell SD High School.  There I worked as a turret lathe operator, jig bore machinist, and a tool and cutter grinder. During that same time period I was also working for the US Postal Service in El Segundo CA., holding down 2 jobs and working 16 hour days to get money to get my wife and children moved out to CA.

On April 1st, 1960 I started my 31-year career as a fire fighter, with the City of Inglewood Fire Dept., retiring on April 7th 1991 on an Industrial Disability Retirement, having reached the rank of Fire Capt.

During all this time I had managed to get married and have 2 children, a son Rodney and a daughter Janell. Rodney lives in Moreno Valley CA. and works for that city, he has 4 boys. Janell lives in Oviedo FL. and owned her own business for some time, sold that and was studying Real Estate before the recession hit, Janell has two daughters and a son. Rodney is also a HAM (KE6WOD). Rodney rides an 06 Harley Davidson.

Motorcycles have played an important part of my life since 1947, when my father purchased and brought home an Army 45-inch Harley Davidson for me, still in the crate. The old Army Air Force Base was closing North of Mitchell (P-38's & B-25's) at that time and selling off everything dirt-cheap. Before that I had owned a Doodle Bug, Cushman Eagle and a Whizzer Motor Bike. As of May 2012 I will be riding motorcycles for 65 years and not looking to stop anytime soon.

Just a few of the rides I have completed are: all 49 states in 15 days once, all lower 48 States twice, the Southern California Motorcycle Assoc. (SCMA) USA 4 CORNERS RIDE, 13 times, that ride goes from San Ysidro CA., to Blaine WA. to Madawaska ME., to Key West FL. in any order you want to ride it, and its 10,500 miles by the time you get home. Have done the SCMA 3 Flags Classic Ride, from someplace in Mexico to someplace in Canada 28 consecutive years over Labor Day Week End. Attended 22 Wing Dings, and 8 Sturgis Rallies. I made my first trip to the Sturgis Rally back in the days it was called the Gypsy Tour, in 1947. In the summer of 1997 we put 41,070 miles on the 1990 SE which had over 219,000 miles when it was sold to the insurance company in June 1998. In 2001, we put nearly 55,000 miles on the 96 Gold Wing. All five of the Gold Wings we have owned have had over 200,000 miles on them when sold. In the summer of 2004 I put 42,000 miles on Casper, the new white 2004 Gold Wing. Casper now has 201,000 miles on him, as of Jan 1st 2012. 

I had ridden Harley Davidsons from 1947 to 1978. When the Gold Wings came out in 1975 I bought one and owned both a Harley Davidson and a Gold Wing from 1975 to 1978 and then sold the HD in 1978 and have not been back on a Harley Davidson since. 

Now we keep ourselves busy with all the charity events MARC participates in. This year (2012) we will assist the Orange County Chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis 150K Bicycle Ride, and at least 4 to 8 other charity events, at least 3 of them for the American Diabetes Assoc. Our MARC member volunteers have helped raise well over 100 million dollars for charities since 1992.


To say that MARC (Motorcycle Amateur Radio Club) has played a major part in the lives of Ray and Bonnie Davis since its birth in 1992 would be a gross understatement. We have a very large family in MARC now and we love them all. MARC (The Motorcycle Amateur Radio Club) will be 20 years old in May, 2012.
 
Ray  KD6FHN
MARC Chairman Of The Board