Ann did such a great job on  my Member of the Month Bio. I made a copy for here so people not in the club can see it too. Thanks Ann!

 

Gary Yates

Gary was born at Tacoma General Hospital on July 19, 1957, the second of four boys: Mike, Gary, Joe and James.  Gary and his brothers mostly grew up in Federal Way, but they moved around frequently.  As a result, Gary ended up attending four different high schools, ultimately graduating from Thomas Jefferson High.
Like most teenage boys, Gary was extremely interested cars.  His first car was a 1966 Rambler Classic 660, which he purchased at the age of 16.  The most important thing about this car was that the front seats slid forward enough so that when the seat backs were laid down, it made the interior into one big flat bed.  But his favorite car was a 1967 Mustang, which he rebuilt three times.  It was lowered and had a Shelby suspension and 4-wheel disc brakes.  He put a cage in it and raced it at Monroe until it was destroyed.
Gary’s other big interest was square dancing, and in fact this is how he met Lori when she was just 13 years old.  Gary and Lori went into international competition together, and for a few years Gary was a caller.
After high school Gary and Lori soon became the proud parents of daughter and only child, Penny.  They celebrated their 35^th wedding anniversary last month.  They renewed their vows in 2002 at a beautiful ceremony at Emerald Downs in Auburn.  They have two grandchildren, one in college and one in diapers.  They also have two very spoiled Miniature Australian Shepherds, Tink and Callie.
Gary’s first job was at Herfy’s Burgers.  Next was a Union 76 station, then a route driver for a medical lab in Seattle, then another 76 station on top of Capital Hill in Seattle, where he was once robbed at gunpoint.  After that incident he left 76 and went to Kmart for auto management training.  He took over the Edmonds Kmart auto department when he was just 23 years old.  Later, when Kmart closed all their auto departments, Gary went to work at Big ‘O Tires in Redmond.  He worked there for twelve years and then moved up the hill to Eastside Tire in Kirkland in Feb 1992.  Six years later he bought the company, which had been relocated to Stanwood.  It is now called Stanwood Car Care.  This summer Gary expanded by buying Northwest Tire in Kent.  Right now he is extremely busy!
Lori is currently the Practice Manager of the Richmond Internal Medicine Clinic, which means she essentially runs the place.  When Gary and Lori retire, they plan to sell everything and travel the country in their motorhome.
Gary first started riding motorcycles at the age of twelve.  Bikes he has ridden include:

• 1967 Honda Trail 90
• 1964 BSA 250
• 1975 Honda CL360 (bought brand new)
• 1972 Harley Sportster
• Suzuki RE5 (rotary engine) (where he learned the most important motorcycle lesson – don’t Amour-all the seat…)
• 2007 Yamaha v-star 1300 (lori’s current bike)
• And his current bike, a 2012 Cross Country Tour

Gary was attracted to Victory by the crisp, clean look.  He bought his Cross Country from the Lynnwood Motoplex last year, and has already logged 45,000 miles.  He estimates his total mileage on all bikes to be in the neighborhood of 150,000 miles.  His favorite places to ride are British Columbia and anywhere in the southeastern United States.  His most memorable trip was when he and Lori took three weeks and rode to Key West, Florida and back.  Together they have ridden in 49 states and five provinces of Canada.
Gary’s other big interest is 4-wheel drive jeeps and playing in the mountains on the rocks.  In fact, that is what the “TJ” in his VMC handle stands for.  His current rock climber is a 1997 Jeep Wrangler, not even close to stock.
When I asked Gary if there was anything else he wanted people to know about him, he responded that all his life he knew he was going to die before reaching the age of 45. There was never a doubt in his mind.  When he started getting close, he and Lori went on a spree for about a year and a half where they lived life to the fullest because he was certain he didn't have a lot of time left.  They sky dived, snorkeled all over the Caribbean, visited the Mayan ruins, white water river rafted, hot air ballooned, swam with the Stingrays in the open ocean, swam with sharks, zip lined in Costa Rica, went cave exploring and did just about everything else they could think of. It was the best couple of years of their lives.  The best part was that Lori has been with him through all of it.  They truly are each other’s best friends.