President

I was born and raised locally. I lived my entire life in this area. I have a wonderful daughter from a previous marriage. I have two fabulous step children with my current marriage. I met my lovely wife Gloria in 1997 at a biker/leather party that was hosted by me. We dated for a year, I proposed at Niagra Falls and we were married the following year in 1999. My daughter Melissa graced us with two beautiful grandchildren. I'm Pop Hooper and Gloria is Gramma Glo. I was first exposed to bikers and motorcycles in my hometown of Luzerne when I was very young. There was this biker dude named Jimmy and his ol lady who lived on our street. There was hardly a day that went by when there weren't motorcycles roaring up and down our street. Jimmy and his lady were hardcore bikers and they had a lot of parties at their house all the time. I got to know some of the bikers and would talk to them when I saw them on our street. Needless to say most people in the neighborhood, including my parents, weren't happy with their lifestyle. Eventually the local and state police drove them out of the area because of all of the complaints from the residents. At that age I could never really understand what all the commotion was about. To me they were just regular everyday people who liked to ride motorcycles and have fun. I think I was 10 or 11 years old when the movie the "Hells Angels" played in the theatres. My friends and I were so impressed with the movie that we wanted to be just like some of the characters we saw. At that time we rode stingray bicycles with high handlebars and a banana seat. My buddies and I started to customize our bikes to look just like the choppers we saw on the screen. I can remember putting tall sissy bars on our bikes. Some of us wore skull and crossbones on the back of our jean jackets. None of this went over very well with the nuns at the catholic school I attended. By the end of the 6th grade my friend Jay and I, (aka Biker Dave) were asked by the school authorities not to come back for 7th grade because we were a bad influence on the other students. From then on I happily attended public school. By the time I was a teenager I developed a passion for muscle cars. Because I hung around with friends who were older than me, I was exposed to street racing long before I was old enough to drive. I vividly remember seeing Camaros, Chevelles, Roadrunners, Cudas and Mustangs to name a few tearing up the streets in drag races. There were so many muscle cars on the street at that time and almost everyone drag raced. My first car at the age of 16 was a 1969 Mustang Mach 1. I owned quite a few big block Ford muscle cars after that and will admit to taking part in a lot of drag racing myself. After high school I was employed by Alcan Aluminum Corp. for 5 years where I learned the sheet metal trade. In 1979 I went to work for Intermetro Industries Corp. as a sheet metal specialist. While working at Intermetro I went back to school to learn the electrical trade. For several years I attended school and achieved certification in residential, commercial and industrial electricity. After completing electrical school I acquired a position at Intermetro as an Industrial Electrician/ Troubleshooter. Over the years I followed this training up with courses in high voltage systems, electronics, programmable controllers, hydraulics and most recently, laser cutting technology. I troubleshoot and repair machinery when it's down. I install electrical and electronic upgrades to existing machinery. I'm also responsible for maintenance and repair of all of the electrical systems and equipment in the plant. In 1989 I purchased my first street bike. It was a used Yamaha 650 Maxim. I was going through a divorce and riding a motorcycle was a good way to clear my head and experience the feeling of independence. Since I didn't have any motorcycle friends at that time, I rode alone. It was good to get out on the bike and be able to forget about everything except riding on two wheels. My next bike was a Honda Shadow 750. After that I rode a Yamaha Virago 1100. I purchased my first new Harley in 1996. At that time I joined the Northeast Chapter of Hog at Electric City H-D. I enjoyed being a member of that club for many years. While still members of N.E. Hog my wife and I rode with friends who were members of WVMC. These friends encouraged us to attend WVMC events. Whenever we did, we always met a lot of nice people and had a good time. We joined this club in 2007. I served as Road Captain for 3 years and decided to run for president to carry on the fine work that past presidents have done for the club. I've grown to love this club and I feel it's the best club in the area. With the help of all of our members I would like to see WVMC keep its reputation for being the best club around. Whatever it is, it's better in the wind…………!!!!!!!!!!!! Hoop