Paying it forward

Regional Manager Chris Harrison credits H.O.G. for turning his life around.

Chris Harrison is a busy man. Like each of the three H.O.G. Regional Managers, he covers a vast area, with the U.S. effectively carved into three areas – West, Midwest and East. As Western Regional Manager based in Kansas, the area Chris covers extends from Nebraska south to Louisiana and everything west of that, including Alaska and Hawaii.

“Each Regional Manager is responsible for around 200 Harley-Davidson^® dealerships and their associated H.O.G. chapters,” says Chris, “Paul Blotske has the swathe in the middle of the U.S. from Wisconsin down to Mississippi and Alabama, and Bruce Motta has the entire Eastern seaboard, so we each have similar numbers of chapters – the only difference is there’s more space between mine!”

With a vast area covering three time zones, key responsibilities include prioritizing goals and managing time, advising on national and regional H.O.G. events, answering queries from dealerships and chapter officers, supporting ROC training (Regional Officer Connection national program), staffing events such as Daytona Beach Bike Week, and managing the H.O.G. merchandise program.

When he’s not at an event or on the road – Chris easily covers 30,000 miles per year by motorcycle. A typical day starts at 5:30 am checking and responding to emails, then after working out the day is filled with taking care of ongoing business and attending meetings until late afternoon, when dealer and officer calls begin.

“I respect the fact that many people have jobs during the day and most H.O.G. activity by its nature occurs outside normal working hours or on weekends, so if I left the job on a Friday afternoon I would miss most of the stuff the H.O.G. community needs help with,” says Chris “As a Regional Manager, I pride myself on being available when people need guidance, because not responding when I can help often means a problem becomes more complicated.

“Even if I’m travelling to a rally or event, I always try to respond when I stop somewhere. People usually understand when I explain where I am and what I’m doing. This effectively means I don’t have a day off or vacation where I completely switch off from H.O.G., but that’s fine because H.O.G. was really there for me when I was at a low point. I’m trying to make sure I pay that favor forward.”

That low point came in 2006 when Chris’ military career ended due to injury. His wife, also in the military, was deployed to Afghanistan for 16 months, leaving Chris alone in a new region and somewhat adrift.

“Part of the reason I feel so connected to H.O.G. right now is because the H.O.G. folks were there when I need them the most,” recalls Chris. “They brought me in right from the beginning like we were old friends. I’m committed to the camaraderie and connection that H.O.G. brings to the table on a daily basis. I’ve met so many awesome people and experienced things that I wouldn’t have done without these guys. That’s why I work so hard to try to help execute really good life experiences.”

Chris’ professional journey with H.O.G. began when his local dealer, Destination Harley-Davidson, put on the event Rally For The Troops to raise money for the Fisher House Foundation, a charity that provides homes where a serviceman’s loved ones can stay free of charge while the serviceman is receiving treatment in hospital. An appearance by Chris on Seattle classic rock station KZOK-FM provided the perfect opportunity to publicize the event.

“We were initially expecting three or four hundred people, but more than 15,000 motorcycles turned up, closing off the interstate and filling the parking lots of every business on the industrial park with bikes,” laughs Chris. “I’d organized promotional support from all the armed forces recruiting stations, as well as the staff from Fisher House, who came to raffle their promotional teddies. We raised $15,000 from that alone! Since then we’ve successfully organized Rally For The Troops on multiple occasions.

“After the event, Harley-Davidson flew me to a training session in Milwaukee to explain to volunteers how I motivated everyone involved, which led to a position as an instructor on the HOG Officer Training (HOT) program, and then eventually Regional Manager.”

With his life now filled with many and varied H.O.G.-related tasks, it’s fair to say that Chris has little spare time for anything else. “I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he says. “That’s what paying it forward is all about.”

Words by Jeremy Pick