I am running for VP because I believe the Lehigh Valley has the potential to be a community that embraces the sport of mountain biking and the people that participate in that sport as a form of fitness and recreation incorporating the great outdoors. I believe our club needs to provide the community at large with guidance regarding the positive aspects of our sport including accessibility at all skill levels, a fun and family friendly approach to mountain biking, and a responsible and conscientious attitude toward trail building and maintenance. This will be achieved by outreach via social media, direct contact with land managers, and direct contact with elected officials. It will involve a fair amount of enthusiastic marketing of our sport and its potential contributions to the community.
As an officer, I would push forward the idea of making the Lehigh Valley an IMBA Ride Center (see the efforts of BAMBA and the city of Reading’s ability to embrace them - the front cover of their tourism magazine for 2016 was a full page picture of a mountain biker). I would further promote the membership drive that I started with the welcome card provided to area bike shops by helping to move it to the provision of free memberships for one year to new members (a program already in place in other parts of the country and almost ready to go here). I would continue to promote programs like the Little Bellas, which I was able to bring to Nox and the Lehigh Valley basically just by writing down the positive aspects of our cycling and outdoor communities (if anyone is interested, I will post the application). Finally, I would be a progressive voice for our trail systems by communicating with land managers and elected officials to promote what we are doing to improve those areas for all users. I would perform that duty with the knowledge that I am essentially a lobbyist for the Lehigh Valley’s mountain bike community, and my goal is to improve the experience for mountain bikers first and foremost. That approach will mean sometimes having to push a little harder to help move the conversation forward.
I'm sure there are more reasons I want to be VP, and other reasons I would be a good VP, but does anyone really want to read this drivel?
The bottom line is I will help get stuff done, like any good VP should!