THE HISTORY OF THE IVA
"How It All Got Started"
Mr. and Mrs. Leroy Held attended the 1997 Mega Rally in Lacrosse, WI which was also combined with the American Voyager Association’s National Rally that year. They had noticed there were a lot of Indiana license plates on Kawasaki motorcycles. They thought, "Wouldn't it be great to get the names and addresses of the people who own these bikes?" The reason for this was so that they could get together after the rally. Leroy Held and his wife, Arvella “Billi” , decided to take the time to get those attendees names and addresses, while they were at the Mega Rally.
Billi sent out postcards to the riders whose names and addresses she was able to gather, inviting them to come together in the early fall of 1997 and meet at a place in Cromwell, Indiana.
Kevin and Valerie Bottorff had received a postcard and found the Sargent's name in the AVA roster called Charlie Sargent and asked if Colleen and he would like to ride with them to Grovertown, IN for this gathering of riders. A group of six; Kevin and Valerie Bottorff, Colleen and Charlie Sargent, Kevin and Mona Case rode out to Grovertown. The other postcard recipients had come from all corners of Indiana. Bedford, Wolcott, and Covington just to name a few. They had never before seen so many Kawasaki Voyagers in one place! It was as if all those who attended the gathering had known each other for many years and were dear friends.
The group had lunch and at that time, Billi mentioned that either the Michigan AVA chapter would like those in attendance to join their organization or the group could form their own AVA chapter.
At the next meeting of the group, it was decided to become a formal chapter of the American Voyager Association, the Indiana Voyager Association. See the first known group photo.
As with most logos and insignias, there is special significance to the IVA logo. At first glance, most who look at the logo would think the gold star marks the state capital, however this is not the case. The star, which is located in the northeast corner of the state is there to honor Arvella “ Billi ” Held, who had passed away. Billi was the person who originally garnered together a group of a few Indiana Voyager riders which ultimately grew to became the Indiana Voyager Association. This group of people who would come together and enjoy the common bond of motorcycling!