One Lucky Sweepstakes Winner and Three Friends Will Fly to L.A. to Meet Wellness Expert Jillian Michaels and Learn to Ride

Female motorcyclists have been the fastest growing demographic in the motorcycle industry since 1990, when women represented just three percent of riders. Today, women represent 23 percent of all motorcyclists (1), and in an effort to encourage this growing trend of women hitting the open road, Harley-Davidson is celebrating National Garage Party Month by hosting nearly 400 Garage Party events at dealerships across the country in March.

“Garage Party events have encouraged thousands of women to learn to ride over the past few years,” said Leslie Prevish, women’s outreach manager for Harley-Davidson Motor Company. “The events help educate and build confidence for new female riders, and March kicks off the beginning of riding season, so it’s the perfect time to get women involved.”

As part of National Garage Party Month, the Motor Company is kicking off a sweepstakes that will run March 1 – 31, 2010, where one woman and three of her friends will be rewarded with a spa retreat weekend in Los Angeles to learn to ride through the Rider’s Edge® New Rider Course. The lucky women will also meet TV wellness expert Jillian Michaels, and get some tips on leading a healthier life. Michaels, a Harley-Davidson rider and life-long motorcycle enthusiast, recently forged a partnership with the Motor Company to encourage more women to participate in the sport. Women can enter the sweepstakes by attending a Garage Party event or online by visiting www.h-d.com/garageparty.

GARAGE PARTY EVENTS

Garage Party events, hosted by Harley-Davidson dealers since 2005, have been developed specifically for women, creating an intimidation-free zone and an opportunity for female riders in local communities to connect with one another. These free events are designed to be both fun and educational – covering topics such as a review of the basic motorcycle controls, how to customize a motorcycle’s style and ergonomics, and how to gear up for a ride. During Garage Party events, the attendees are organized into small groups, getting their first taste of the camaraderie that goes along with riding.

Groups visit four informational seminars throughout the event, including:
Motorcycle Orientation: learn the basics of the Harley-Davidson motorcycle model families.
MotorClothes®: discover the differences between riding and non-riding gear.
Customization: learn how to customize a motorcycle to reflect a rider’s personal style and fit any body type using the H-D® Fit Shop(TM) at participating dealers. The H-D® Fit Shop(TM) experience illustrates the benefits of tailoring a motorcycle to the rider.
How to Pick-up a Motorcycle: find out how to handle the weight of a motorcycle, including an interactive experience demonstrating how to
pick up a dropped motorcycle – for those who are interested in trying it out.

Women interested in taking the next step can also visit www.h-d.com/roadmap to access the Harley-Davidson® Roadmap to Riding online tool. Through several simple milestones, women will get the tips, advice and confidence they need to turn their dream of riding into a reality.

For more information about Garage Party events, to find an event in your area or to enter to win the weekend sweepstakes featuring Jillian Michaels, visit www.h-d.com/garageparty.

(1) Motorcycle Industry Council statistic

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Unprecedented call to action by “Women for Women International” to unite globally and build bridges for peace, development and opportunity

To honor the resilience of millions of women survivors of war around the world, Women for Women International is hosting a global campaign called, “Join Me on the Bridge.” This unprecedented call to action, on the 99th anniversary of International Women’s Day, March 8th 2010, will highlight the fact the women are 70% of the world’s poor; 75% of the civilians killed in war [along with their children], and earn only 10% of the world income, despite doing 66% of the world’s work. It’s the first time women have led a global movement of this magnitude and geographical scope.

Nowhere is the plight of women’s struggles more evident than in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the site of over 5 million deaths and hundreds of thousands of rapes. The conflict is the worst wince World War II, yet the atrocities continue every day. On March 8th, thousands of women will stand together in Congo and neighboring Rwanda to demand peace, and development. Anastasie Mkwigomba, a participant from the DRC says, “I like Women’s Day, because it’s the day the women get their right to express themselves, to work, and to lead men.” Supporting Anastasie, and others in their calls for war’s end will be thousands of women from the United States, United Kingdom, Bosnia, Kosovo, Sudan and Mexico. Their unified voices will be saying “no” to war and “yes” to peace and hope.

In addition to the women who will be uniting on the border between Rwanda and Congo, major “Join Me on the Bridge” events are planned on the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City, and in London on the Millennium Bridge. Major politicians, fashion icons, corporate partners, nonprofit organizations, media entities and celebrities are also lending their support to this global call to action. They include Oscar winning actress Vanessa Redgrave, and the first female President of Ireland, Mary Robinson.

Events around the world will be captured by media, film and photography and available on the campaign website: www.womenforwomen.org/bridge.

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WhyMomsRule.com survey predicts trade-offs to ensure family vacation

In a national survey of moms planning 2010 vacations, 80 percent will make sacrifices to guarantee their family vacation this year.

Most moms have determined their vacation schedules. Some 57 percent plan summer break vacations, and 24 percent have targeted spring break, making spring break the second most active travel period.

Conducted by Nashville-based WhyMomsRule.com, the poll of 602 women – all with at least one child at home – showed moms don’t want a repeat of vacation cutbacks many endured in 2009 and are willing to make trade-offs to afford vacations.

WhyMomsRule.com is a blog that tracks trends affecting moms and their buying habits. David Bohan, chairman and CEO of BOHAN Advertising|Marketing, and Jamie Dunham, BOHAN’s chief planning officer, created it.

To afford vacations, moms said they expect to eat out less during the year (42 percent), spend less on entertainment (33 percent) and forego major purchases (23 percent). To save while on vacation, many will seek less expensive destinations, stay shorter times and drive instead of fly.

“Moms are concerned about cost and to a certain extent about actual security,” Dunham said. “Cost was the top concern about family travel (77 percent), and airline ticket costs and airline fees – those aggravating baggage charges – were cited by more than half.”

Regarding safety and security, more moms are concerned about domestic travel than international travel, and they are more worried than ever about the safety of a child under 21 traveling alone.

They seek travel deals in many places: 51 percent to online travel agencies (e.g. Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity), 41 percent to friends and family, 39 percent to airline, hotel and destination Web sites and 25 percent to online comparison sites (e.g. Kayak, Mobissimo). E-mail, magazines/newspapers, other news media, direct mail and advertising (online and non-online) are other sources.

While moms spend considerable time with social media, 75 percent do not rely on social media for vacation planning.

“It’s a splintered world for marketers. They must employ a range of media touch points to engage the consumer,” Dunham said.

When asked what they want different this year, one of the highest responses (29 percent) was “a place that keeps the whole family entertained.” Twenty-five percent wanted economical destinations that still have lots of activities, 25 percent wanted “a place we’ve never been” and 23 percent wanted a slower-paced place.

The survey was conducted Jan. 22-25 among U.S. moms who have at least one child living in the household and who are planning to travel in 2010. The survey has a four percent margin of error. Percentages for single questions can total more than 100 percent because of the option for multiple answers.

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