Written by Ellis Alexander

Wednesday, 12 March 2008 22:07

SORBA Woodstock Chapter Meeting Minutes
3/10/08

John Hicks opened the meeting with word that the spring SORBA Board meeting will be this Saturday, March 15. IMBA/SORBA database issues have been resolved. We will soon be one organization. Tom Sauret will be full time with SORBA in about 60 days.

Ellis Alexander reported that we have raised $48,430 in cash contributions for the Blankets Creek New Trail Construction Campaign and that gross receipts for the Dirty Duathlon are approximately $11,000 before expenses for the event. Lisa Randall estimates that net cash generated by the event for the new trails will be $7-8,000. This does not include recognition for in kind contributions from sponsors for the event.

Dan Thornton spoke about the Georgia Ride to the Capitol on Tuesday, March 11. Free-Flite will be providing the sound system. Last year eight mayors participated, this year hopefully fifteen will ride. Approximately 1,500 riders are expected. Dan encourages riders this year and for future years. Georgia’s Lt. Governor will speak, Mayor Shirley Franklin and other mayors. The Metro Atlanta Mayors Association are behind this event—60 plus mayors. The Mayors of Woodstock and Ball Ground are planning to participate. John encouraged individual notes to mayors thanking them for support.

The Bicycle Summit was held in Washington, DC this past week—500 biking supporters lobbying politicians. Dan participated in this important event that draws attention to biking issues and funding for members of Congress.

John Hicks spoke about the City of Woodstock Greenprints Project. Scott Gordon and John Hicks are members of the Project Steering Committee. The committee will see draft plan in two weeks. Open houses will be held on April 1, 2, and 3 for interested parties to listen, learn, ask questions and provide feedback. Go to www.thegreenprintsproject.com for more information about the open house locations and times.

The April SORBA Woodstock chapter meeting will be held at Blankets Creek, April 14. We will have a very special guest speaker. The reigning female endurance mountain bike champion, Monique “Pua” Sawicki, will attend our meeting and speak to us about her experience as a professional mountain biker. Thanks to Bruce Dickman for arranging this visit from a world class athlete.

Dan Thornton will sponsor an event with Gary Fisher at the Free-Flite store in Marietta no Saturday, May 17. Gary Fisher will be in town for the 24 hours of Conyers. Dan will hold an event at his store Saturday night as a fundraiser for the new trails at Blankets Creek. Regardless of what money is raised at this event, Dan commits to an additional $5,000 contribution to our new trails fund. Gary will be there from 7:00-9:00 pm—do a talk and answer questions. Dan plans to have a silent auction with equipment donated by suppliers.

As reported earlier in the meeting, gross cash receipts for the Dirty Duathlon are up to $11,000. The event should generate $7-8,000 for the new trail fund. Lisa is chasing down last prizes for the event. If you have volunteered and have a conflict, let Lisa know. She has others who are available to volunteer. 215 riders have registered. We need to post the trail closing times on our chapter web site. Van Michael will have a Cut-a-Thon that day providing hair cuts for contributions. Proceeds will be donated to the new trail fund.

We will have work parties this weekend. Saturday morning, 9 am to 1 pm and Sunday afternoon, 1 pm to 5 pm. We need all the volunteers we can muster to attack the hand finishing of the Van Michael Trail that remains. If you are available during the week, coordinate with Charlie Schulz or Jay Wilkes so we can identify what work needs to be done.

A large pile of mulch is available from a builder adjacent to the trails. We will use it as ground cover on some sections of the trail.

Pedalpalooza is May 3, which will serve as the grand opening of the Van Michael and Mosquito Bite Trials