Thanks for the ride
If you haven’t already heard: WNYMBA has a new set of Officers for 2012. Ben Clauss is now your new President with TJ Zydel returning as the Vice President. Replacing Ben Clauss as Treasurer is Joe Crumlish. Phil DeFranco, who had been filling in as Secretary for Charlene Orwat, is now the Secretary for 2012.
I can’t express to you how much I’ve enjoyed being the President of this Club for the last three years, but it’s time for new leadership, and Susan and I will be living in Winston – Salem, NC, by October of this year.
Here’s what we have accomplished as a Club with a cast of outstanding volunteers in the last three years.
·    Completion of the original trail plan at Sprague Brook Park
·    Naming of the trails at Sprague Brook Park
·    Construction and installation of (3) kiosks at Sprague Brook Park
·    Roughly 28 organized trail construction or maintenance days
·    The creation of an Advisory Board made up of past Club Officers.
·    A February Social in lieu of a meeting to get together and talk bikes when we can’t ride
·    Submission and acceptance of shared use trails in the ASP Master Plan (Thanks, Jon)
·    Three great Bike Swap / Fest events (Thanks Jerrine /Roger and Toddler / Team Orwat)
·    Completion of Eagle, Extension of Rocky’s Run, Re route of South Pale Ale / Billy Goat due to a tornado, and the beginning construction of the Mesa trail at EVL
·    The pursuit of trails at Bond Lake to no avail, due to restrictive Niagara County insurance requirements
·    Three successful National Trails Days (1 at Sprague, 2 at EVL)
·     Participation in the comment segment of the Strategic Plan for State Forest Management
·    The creation of a web site committee resulting in a new web site.
·    Establish a presence in social media with Facebook and Twitter
·    The creation and selling of WNYMBA jerseys and socks
·    Re-establishing racing back in our repertoire along with the corresponding affiliation with USAC, and the naming of Scott Jeziorski / John Roden as Race Directors
·    Create “Bike Shop” group rides
·    A visit to EVL by the IMBA Trail Care Crew for layout and building of a section of the Mesa trail
·    Establish a working relationship with local DEC personnel after the retirement of Victor Anderson
·    Naming of Thom Wright as the Chautauqua County Trail Coordinator
·    Establishing an exploratory Committee for the possibility of shared use trails at Darien Lake State Park
·    The scheduling of our first Fest at Sprague Brook Park in 2012
·    Re-establishing the NMBP (Thanks Scott)
·    Obtaining Club and event insurance from IMBA insurance carrier RJF
Three years ago I proposed pursuing the aspect of becoming an IMBA Chapter club. IMBA dropped the ball on their plans big time but now have everything in place to create this great opportunity. As of my last meeting as President on 1/18, your Club has researched, recommended and, approved that WNYMBA become an IMBA Chapter club.
I’m sure there are many more accomplishments that I have missed here that the members of WNYMBA have carried out in the last three years!
Whew!! There’s no way we could have accomplished all of this without the hard work of great volunteers, which made my job as President a joy.
So, thanks for the 3 year ride; it’s been great, and Susan and I’ll miss each and every one of you unless of course when we see you NC. The doors will always open!
Kevin Preston