WASILLA — The Harley-Davidson shop in Wasilla was abuzz with holiday cheer yesterday as they celebrated both the Christmas season and 10 years of business in the Valley.
Children and adults alike walked the store with painted faces, nibbling on chocolates and other snack foods and getting their photos taken with a Santa Claus decked out in Harley gear. Regular-priced items were 10 percent off, brand new bikes lined the store — complete with big, shiny bows — and various Harley-themed prizes were given out while local bluesy rock band Jerry’s Situation played songs by Fleetwood Mac and other classic rock artists.
But Alaska’s Harley-Davidson shops aren’t just all fun and games, or all about looking — or being — rough, tough and gruff. According to a press release by their marketing department, Harley-Davidson has hosted a plethora of public events at their Wasilla location, and supports many local non-profit organizations, including the Muscular Dystrophy Association, the Mat-Su Miners baseball team, the Food Bank of Alaska and Wasilla High School.
Owner Dia Matteson confirmed their community focus.
“For us personally, and me as a business owner, and for (General Manager) Paul (Ramage), we see the value of giving back to the community,” Matteson said.
Matteson also owns the Anchorage and Soldotna stores — she bought them three years ago from her father, who brought Harley-Davidson to Alaska in 1975 — so there’s some continuity across the state in her philosophy of giving back.
But “it’s not just us,” she said.
“Whenever there’s an opportunity when we feel can help out in any way, we do,” Matteson said. “I think that’s our philosophy as a company, it applies to Harley-Davidson as a whole.”
The most obvious evidence of this is probably in the national partnership between Harley-Davidson and the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
MDA Alaska administrative office manager Christa Kendall said their “Live Ride” from Anchorage to Willow and back to Wasilla every year is one of their biggest fundraisers. This past July, the event raised $43,000 in rider sponsorships, a motorcycle raffle and other donations.
“I’ve been here since 2007 and every year the Wasilla Harley, the Soldotna Harley and the Anchorage Harley have always done the Live Ride with us and it’s been absolutely amazing,” Kendall said. “They’re a really good sponsor.”
Kendall said the bikers would let children with muscular dystrophy ride around in their sidecars before the event, and most of the money raised at the Live Ride goes to the children’s summer camps.
Matteson said she’d like the general public to better understand what Harley-Davidson is about, but that takes more than driving a bike with the company’s name in big orange letters on the road.
“We’re certainly always looking to spread awareness about the brand,” she said, “but we also want people to feel comfortable checking out the store or hanging out at the store, coming to have a good time.”
There was one little black cloud over the party, however. General Manager Ramage was in a serious accident while on vacation in Arizona, and could not attend the anniversary and Christmas party event in person. He did, however, send Matteson a recorded message thanking everyone for coming and keeping Harley-Davidson in business for a full decade, which she played over the loudspeaker at the event.
