Everyone – here are some highlights from our meeting with IMBA early this week. I put it as a seperate post so it would not get lost in another topic. Jerry H posted a useful link so please be sure to check it out if you haven't already. http://www.bikevmb.com/forum/general-discussion/imba-chapter-membership
The meeting was a simple Questions and Answer session so IMBA didn’t have a prepared presentation I can share. Regardless, we had a diverse turnout for the meeting and therefore discussed a broad range of topics. If anyone has any significant concerns we may have overlooked, please feel free to reach out via PM. I would be have to get into the details and follow-up
IMBA requires that we have bylaws and our existing bylaws will stay in place.
IMBA has no direct input on VMB bylaws, officer elections and does not monitor that we even follow the bylaws. It is all up to us.
IMBA provides template and starting points for important forms and agreements including volunteer service agreements, bylaws, etc. We are free to use them or not. An important note: the templates have gone through legal review with the intention of protecting the interests of both the club and individual in mind.
The boundaries for the club are flexible and we can adjust them as needed in the future. So if we find a lot of riders are coming from the South to ride Nox, we can extend the club to include them
As a general rule, the club’s boarders are roughly a circle 50 miles from a center point (Bethlehem for example). Naturally there are other clubs boundaries to consider.
We most likely will have a smaller radius in the beginning so we don’t overextend ourselves. This is still being worked out.
IMBA will handle membership renewals in addition to offering several successful programs to help increase membership.
IMBA provides a local rep for each region (a full time employee). Our rep is based in Virginia and his area extends to upstate NY and includes about 27 chapters. Some clubs use his resources and other do not. Realistically he splits his time with fraction of those. It is up to us if we use his time and expertise.
IMBA provides a member portal on their website. It is a central point where we can access their wide range of services and support.
IMBA offers club website services and a Facebook platform for VMB to reach its members.
IMBA through their local rep provides full fund raising support
IMBA offers a full time staff for grant writing on our behalf – they have raised several hundred thousand dollars for various clubs and their professionals are well versed in handling the more complicated grants in excess of $50K
IMBA is available to approach land managers and municipalities. They can be particularly helpful in lobbying for our concerns at the state level. Their work with the state to access state gamelands is a current example. More locally, they can work to help gain access to other areas within Walking Purchase Park. Remember that the IMBA rep is a full time employee that can work for us.
Trail solutions, fund money and services are available - money and support for various projects (i.e., increasing our trail networks)
Trail Solutions- member clubs get preferred status and IMBA will attend planning meetings if requested
We will have access to all of IMBA educational classes
IMBA has no input of trail features, jumps, etc. Approval for those items stays with the land managers as it is today.
In return, IMBA expects their club chapters grow trail opportunities, grow membership and build trails in a responsible manner. This is consistent with our exisiting club goals
On a closing note: no group has joined IMBA and then decided to leave.
Summary – The move to an IMBA chapter appears to be a very positive move for our club. IMBA brings several key resources to the club that will take the burden off our volunteers as well as resources to improve our organization. There are many resources available to help us strengthen our club and improve our trail systems. Since no deal-breaking concerns have been identified, and following our unanimous open vote last December supporting the move we are continuing with the application. Please be aware that we are still gathering information and if we uncover details unfavorable for our club, we will reconsider. Lastly, IMBA is not permanent and we can choose to leave the organization if things do not work out.