Edition 12-09-04
Are you tired of hearing this?
"We never do anything together....."

MILWAUKEE, Dec 9, 2004 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE: HDI) announced today that Jeffrey L. Bleustein, 65, has decided to retire as Chief Executive Officer, effective April 30, 2005. Mr. Bleustein will continue as Chairman of the Board of Directors. The Board announced that his successor as CEO will be James L. Ziemer, 54, currently Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Harley-Davidson, Inc. Today, Mr. Ziemer was elected to the Board and the Board size was increased to ten.

Mr. Bleustein's three decades at Harley-Davidson have been notable for both his personal attainments and the Company's success. In 1981 a group of 13 executives purchased Harley-Davidson from AMF. As one of the 13, Mr. Bleustein helped the Company regain market share; and by 1987 Harley-Davidson recaptured its position as the leading heavyweight motorcycle manufacturer in the United States. In 1988 Mr. Bleustein became Senior Vice President, in 1990 he was promoted to Executive Vice President, and in 1993 to President and Chief Operating Officer. In 1997 he became President and Chief Executive Officer, and in 1998 he assumed his current role as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer.

"In each of the seven years under Jeff's leadership as Chief Executive Officer, Harley-Davidson has achieved record revenues and earnings," said Richard I.
Beattie, a Director of Harley-Davidson. "And most importantly for the stockholders, their equity value has increased almost 400 percent. Those are superb results. Jeff is a superb leader who masterfully oversaw and balanced customer, dealer, supplier, employee, shareholder and community interests."

"The Board is delighted that Jeff has agreed to continue as Chairman following his retirement," said Barry K. Allen, Chairman of the Nominating and Governance Committee of Harley-Davidson. "Having Jeff's experience and wisdom readily available to the Company on an ongoing basis will be invaluable. The Board is also looking forward to working with Jim Ziemer as CEO. We know him well, and he has our complete confidence."

Under Bleustein's leadership, Harley-Davidson's annual revenues grew from $1.5 billion in 1996 to $4.6 billion in 2003 and net income grew from $143 million to $761 million over the same period. And 2004 is projected to continue the 18-year chain of successive record years of revenue and earnings. This has been accomplished through aggressive new product development, upgraded manufacturing technology, capacity and processes, a modernized and strengthened dealer network, and "close to the customer" marketing -- conceived and implemented through employees empowered to operate to their full potential.

"I've been fortunate to work with a great team over the years," said Bleustein, "and the Company has benefited from the team's shared strong commitment to Harley-Davidson and to excellence. I'm confident that Jim Ziemer, who has been a key contributor to that team, will continue to take the Company forward. Over his 35-year career with Harley-Davidson, Jim has served in nearly every area of the company. He will bring to this new job a broad-based knowledge of the business and the enthusiastic support and trust of the entire organization."

Mr. Bleustein serves on the Board of Directors for the Florentine Opera Company, the Milwaukee Jewish Federation, the Greater Milwaukee Committee where he leads a Task Force on Diversity, the Medical College of Wisconsin, and he is a Regent Emeritus of the Milwaukee School of Engineering. He also serves on the board of the Brunswick Corporation and Kohler Co. From 2002 to 2003 he was a member of the President's Council on the 21st Century Workforce, an advisory group to the U.S. Department of Labor under President Bush. Mr. Bleustein is an avid enthusiast and owns an Electra Glide and a V-Rod motorcycle.

10-12 (Fri – Sun) Ft. Myers . “ABATE of Florida, Inc. State Meeting.” Southwest Chapter. More info: call ABATE State Office at (386) 943-9610.

NAPLES DOWNTOWN NEW YEAR'S WEEKEND ART FESTIVAL 
~~~~~~~~ 
January 1-2, 2005 Naples, FL / 954-472-3755 Ring in the New Year at one of the nation's premiere fine art shows! This festival is the season premiere for the three tremendous fine art shows on 5th Avenue South. The festival is located outdoors in downtown Naples. The fair will feature a broad spectrum of media, including life-size sculptures, photography, original hand-crafted jewelry, functional and decorative pottery, ceramics, paintings and more. 

Over 35 states in the nation will be represented with artists coming from as far as California, Colorado and Maine. Not everyone is traveling a long distance - more than 100 of Florida's own talented artists will also be exhibiting in the show. The Art Fair is a juried show, which means each participating artist was hand-selected to ensure a first-class festival with only the highest quality, original artwork. 

If using your fireplace, install glass doors that fit well. 
This will reduce the amount of interior air drafted up the chimney, improving efficiency up to 20 percent. 

When using your fireplace, close off the room from rest of the house and crack open a window in the room. This will give the fireplace combustion air, without cooling off the rest of the house. 

A three year old little boy was examining his testicles while taking a bath. 
"Mama", he asked, "Are these my brains?" 
Mama answered, "Not yet."

 

Dec 07, 2004 (Herald Sun - ABIX via COMTEX) -- An uncertain festive season awaits the 3,000 employees at Australian car parts maker Ion. The troubled company went into administration on 7 December 2004, owing several millions of dollars. The collapse also puts under a cloud Ion's $A1bn contract to supply engines to Holden, awarded in October 2002. Ion makes alloy wheels, transmission assemblies, cylinder heads and other parts for various companies, including Ford and Harley-Davidson. 
It is also the country's biggest petroleum products trucker. A Victorian Government spokesman said it would be happy to work with the administrator to save the company.
Publication Date: 8 December 2004 

VF to buy Harley-Davidson licensee VF Imagewear, a division of VF Corp., USA, has signed a deal to buy Holoubek, Inc., the Wisconsin-based apparel licensee of Harley-Davidson, Inc.

Holoubek, Inc., has been an apparel licensee of Harley-Davidson, Inc. for over 20 years and has sales in excess of $40 million. Products include t-shirts, fleece and other casual apparel products, which are sold exclusively in Harley-Davidson dealerships throughout the USA.

CAVENDISH, P.E.I. - Nudism is to often the subject of jokes that many forget it is a movement with millions of serious adherents worldwide. Canadian tourism entrepreneurs should take note: Nudist travel is the fastest growing sector of the travel industry. Over two million people practise nudism in Great Britain, five million in France and 11 million in Germany. The Netherlands has 135 beaches where nudity is permitted. There are over 
650 clubs and resorts in Europe and 50 in Canada. Nudist travel is growing in the United States at the rate of 20% per year.

Our own experience is a case in point. When we recently acquired a nine-acre piece of property in Cavendish, P.E.I., we had the option of opening a traditional vacation resort -- or trying something different. We opted to attract clients who weren't already being served by P.E.I. We decided the many nudists who wanted to come to Eastern Canada, but weren't prepared to plunk down hard-earned vacation dollars for tan lines, fit the bill nicely. Thus was born the Oasis Resort.

When word got out that P.E.I. -- so often portrayed as sleepy, traditional and quaint -- was going to have a nudist resort, the media went searching for horrified residents. But in the end, it was only a cranky few who made it an issue.

Robert Bosch Tool Corporation, of Mount Prospect, Ill. is recalling 120,000 Skil(r) Table Saw Model 3400. The blade drive mechanism may loosen or the motor can separate from the tool. Only Skil(r) table saws with model number 3400 printed on the front side of the table base with the date codes listed below are included in the recall. Date codes are printed on the upper right corner of the table base and include 2002 date codes 28501-28831, 2003 codes 38101-39231 and 2004 codes 48101-48811. The table saw holds a 10-inch blade and is made of metal tabletop with a red plastic base. 
Home Depot, Lowe's and Menards as well as independent hard- ware retailers nationwide sold the saws from July 2002 through October 2004 for between $149 and $199. Contact Robert Bosch Tool Corporation to receive a repair kit. The kit includes hardware and instructions for installation. 
Call Robert Bosch Tool Corporation at (800) 351-5788 between 
7 a.m. and 7 p.m. CT Monday through Friday or visit the Skil Web site at www.skil.com.   

Internet phone service provider Vonage will sell videophones and a videophone service sometime before the end of March, its chief executive said Wednesday, stamping an important imprimatur on a market once derided by comparisons to the futuristic TV cartoon "The Jetsons." 

Vonage Chief Executive Jeffrey Citron didn't provide an exact date for the service's debut--first quarter 2005, he said--nor did he release pricing details. For a general idea on what a Vonage videophone service might cost, one can look to videophone provider Packet8, which sells unlimited video calling for $30 a month. Packet8 videophones, which have embedded cameras to capture the caller's image, come heavily rebated.