Orville Anderson

(April 19, 1948 - February 29, 2008)




OSCEOLA- Orville D. Anderson, 59, died Friday, February 29, 2008 at Memorial Hospital in South Bend. Born April 19, 1948 in Mishawaka, he graduated from Mishawaka High School, was a U.S. Army veteran, and was employed at NIPSCO as a maintenance manager. Mr. Anderson was the former Police Chief in Osceola and former Fire Chief at Penn North. He was the treasurer of the American Legion, Post #308 and the treasurer of the POW-MIA Remembrance Riders; member of the Gold Wing Riders Association, Chapter N and served as Ride Coordinator; was a member of the Blue Knights and the Patriot Guard.

 

GARY L. STEVENS
1946-2001
2002 Inductee - Leadership Category

In his 27-year career as a police officer with the Fort Wayne, Indiana department, Gary L Stevens was deeply troubled by the large number of motorcycle fatalities he investigated. He soon channeled his love of riding motorcycles into a commitment to the safety and education of bike riders everywhere. 


Gary became a certified MSF instructor and in 1983, founded the award-winning “Fort Wayne Motorcycle Safety School”, training over 5000 riders in 13 years. He implemented a court referral program to divert riders with violations into the “Experienced Rider Course” (ERC) and as Region D Safety Directors for Gold Wing Road Riders Association, Gary and his wife, Kirsten, pioneered the Rider Education Regional Workshop which was subsequently implemented nationwide.


With firsthand knowledge of the extreme skills needed as a motorcycle officer, Gary opened C.O.P.S (Controlled Operation Performance Skills), a Police One Motorcycle Training school. This 54-hour program is so skill-intensive it challenges even the most experienced riders. Patrol officers who have graduated from his school later credited the course as saving their lives on the job.


Gary was well known for his gracious encouragement and support of his students, his comic sense of humor, and his ability to marshal very diverse groups and resources to implement his courses and support educational causes.


Though Gary dedicated himself to saving the lives of others, he was unable to save his own. He lost his long battle with cancer on September 9, 2001. Gary had continued teaching until the end - often seated in a chair on the training ground - despite pain and illness. He is survived by his wife, Kirsten, and his son, Ricky Lynn - and the thousands of riders who are alive today thanks to his dedication to their education and safety.

"He was truly one of the few good men..." 
Tom Falls, Ft. Wayne Police Dept. Detective