We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Pam “nytro” Musler a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Pam “Nytro”, thanks for joining us today. We love heartwarming stories – do you have a heartwarming story from your career to share?
When a child has been abused, either physically, sexually, (emotionally, mentally or psychologically-things they witness or experience), . We, as B.A.C.A. (Bikers Against Child Abuse) will get a call. We then verify the case. Once verified, we go with the whole chapter (that has had cleared Back-ground check) on what we call a Level 1. There was an article written in 2012 by Karina Bland. It is currently on AZCentral.com type Bikers Story 2012. The children in this article and video have since grown up. Once is in College and the other has gotten her masters in Child Therapy. What other paycheck do you need, but what you get in the heart.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I was doing an event with a group called the AZ Stray Feathers. We were raising funds for Semper Fi. I saw at the end of the event a guy with a back patch on that said…Bikers Against Child Abuse. I ran up to him to ask what that was all about. He handed me a tri-fold and I have been going since. I have been in B.A.C.A. now for 17 yrs and can’t see doing anything else. I am the longest Member in Arizona.
To be a part of B.A.C.A. you have to have a motorcycle or access to one. My husband, named “Rembrandt” was my access. At first he didn’t want to get involved, but he has been our Chapter President (Currently is again), State President and is currently the International Chapter Development Officer. This organization will change you.
If interested, you will come to 3 consecutive meetings, after the 3rd meeting you will get our Finger Print Process, doesn’t matter if you already have finger prints, we have our own process. You cannot have any crimes against a child, or domestic violence. If cleared, then you will go through a minimum of a year of training before you are consider for a patch.
The difference between a patched member and a supporter is, a support cannot be a Primary for a child, vote or hold a position. Some stay as a supporter and that’s ok too.
Our main goal is to help our wounded little Brothers & Sisters to grow and not feel afraid of the World in which they live. What happened to them should not define who they can be. Below is our Mission Statement.
Bikers Against Child Abuse (B.A.C.A.) exists with the intent to create a safer environment for abused children. We exist as a body of Bikers to empower children to not feel afraid of the world in which they live. We stand ready to lend support to our wounded friends by involving them with an established, united organization. We work in conjunction with local and state officials already in place to protect children. We desire to send a clear message to all involved with the abused child that this child is part of our organization, and that we are prepared to lend our physical and emotional support to them by affiliation and our physical presence. We stand at the ready to shield these children from further abuse. We do not condone the use of violence or physical force in any manner, however, if circumstances arise such that we are the only obstacle preventing a child from further abuse, we stand ready to be that obstacle.
We go to court with them to help them to stand tall and give their impact statement. If there’s a threat and the abuser/perp or family members of the abuser tries to intimidate them to not prosecute, we will camp out on their lawn 24/7/365. We are tired of the way they continue to be victimized.
The article that ran back in 2012 went viral. We were only in the US, but we are now International, getting our first Chapters in Romania & Portugal and currently working in Costa Rica. The reason for this is to let those that helped when that article went out, to see what they did by supporting our children.
I am proud of being part of a phenomenal organization. It was started back in Provo, Utah in 1995, Our founder JP Lilly aka “Chief” was a License Clinical Social Worker and a Registered Play Therapist. He’d work with children and make incremental changes, but then the abuser would manage to find a way to shut them down. So he asked a few friends to help and his dream has grown to help thousands of more children. Unfortunately, Chief passed away, so in his honor we will continue his legacy.
My Brothers & Sisters who give their time & money to help our children is beyond one of the best things I have been a part of. None of us gets paid all the way up to the International Board. We are ALL Volunteers, there’s just no amount of money that can pay us, compared to what we get in our hearts when we can put a smile on a wounded child’s face and give them their voices back.
Our wounded will get a jean jacket with their road name on it, (road name is for anonymity purposes to protect them). They get much more including two full patched members they can call 24/7/365 if their having a bad day, good day or indifferent day. We do regular visits with them to let them know we are here. If they go on vacation to another state or country that we have chapters in, we, with their permission will let the chapter that will be close to them know they are coming and would like a visit. When they see how big we are, the safer they feel.
All the funds we raise goes strictly to our children in B.A.C.A.. We also put on a two huge parties for them. A winter & summer party, so they can come and meet other kids and be able to have fun and be a kid. We pay for therapy, a lot of these children’s families do not have insurance or enough insurance. We want them to thrive and heal.
We also raise funds for our conferences where we learn more of what we can do to help them. These conferences can be pretty expensive and because we are bikers, we don’t get the help (Sponsorship’s we need). People don’t understand that we are Moms, Dads, Grandparents, great grandparents, business owners, home owners, tax payers who love to ride, but we ride for a reason.
There’s two things I believe in:
It Takes a Village to Raise a Child, and all the Agencies, organizations, foundations & Love out there, we are that Village and we need to continue to work together to bring our children safely to the future.
And Einstein once wrote:
The World is a Dangerous Place, Not only because of those that do Evil, but because of those that look on and do NOTHING!!
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
Can go to BACAworld.org There is a video on this site that gives a quick synopsis of what we do, but it’s not all of what we do. We would love to do a presentation for anyone, from Church’s, business, agencies, foundations, organizations, PTA meetings, Teacher Staff Meetings, neighborhood Block Watches or anyone that would like to learn more of what we do. We have tri-folds and other items to display and hand outs. We want to meet the public so they can see who we are and ask all the questions they have. We love setting up a booth at an event, this is so people can come visit us.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
The lesson I have learned is that what I went through, doesn’t define me and that there’s nothing I can do about that, but I can help a child who suffers now to not live with their horror & terror wondering what they did to deserve it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://BACAworld.org
- Facebook: B.A.C.A. International Facebook Page
Image Credits
This is just a few of us in Arizona. We have 4 chapters. Maricopa County Chapter, Pima Chapter, Black Canyon Chapter & White Mountain Chapter. In these pictures are on our 100 Mile Awareness Ride that is done Internationally.