Liza Miller receives Friend of the AMA award

Motorcycles & Misfits’ Liza Miller Chosen for Friend of the AMA Award

Liza Miller, creator of the Re-Cycle Garage in Santa Cruz and Motorcycles & Misfits podcast (captured above at last weekend’s One Motorcycle Show), has been chosen to receive a 2019 AMA Board of Directors award, the Friend of the AMA Award.

The Friend of the AMA award honors those in the motorcycling community that have strongly supported the AMA mission and programs, whether they be clubs, companies, sponsors or partners of the American Motorcycle Association.

The AMA sez: “Liza Miller founded the Re-Cycle Garage in Santa Cruz, Calif., in 2009, one of the nation’s first ‘do it yourself’ community motorcycle repair and restoration cooperatives. She also started the weekly podcast, “Motorcycles & Misfits,” about all things motorcycling. Miller and her crew have been enthusiastic AMA supporters, have attended and promoted AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days and provide the AMA with a monthly 60-second PSA slot on ‘Motorcycles & Misfits.'”

We covered Liza, her crew at the Re-Cycle Garage and the Motorcycles & Misfits podcast back in our October 2016 issue. We also periodically join the podcast to shoot off our mouths with the Misfits.  We’re fans, and glad to see her and the Misfits getting some much-deserved recognition from the AMA. The award is perfectly timed, as the podcast just broke one million listens.

Other Recipients of the 2019 AMA Board of Directors Awards

It wasn’t just local DIY and podcasting heroes that earned the respect of the AMA. Some cat by the name of Malcolm Smith earned the Dud Perkins Lifetime Achievement Award. “Legendary motorcyclist,” indeed.

Other 2019 honorees:

  • AMA Outstanding Road Rider Award: Larry Walker, Port Orchard, WA
  • AMA Outstanding Off-Road Rider Award: Lyon Payne, Hillsboro, OR
  • AMA Bessie Stringfield Award: Genevieve Schmitt, Emigrant, MT
  • AMA Hazel Kolb Brighter Image Award: North American Trials Council, Louisville, KY
  • Friend of the AMA Awards: Tom and Karen Umphress, Jordon, MN; Scot Harden, Menifee, CA; MotoVentures, Winchester, CA

You can read more about the other award recipients over at AmericanMotorcyclist.com, and while you’re there, if you’re not already a member, consider joining the AMA.