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From the President
Bigger Every Year!

The LBC Annual Awards Banquet keeps getting bigger every year. More than 155 club members gathered at Big Spring Country Club on January 27, 2007, to celebrate the highlights of the 2006 season, recognize the individual accomplishments of top riders and express gratitude to the volunteers who made it all happen.

(See LBC Awards details and pictures.)

The evening’s top award — Club Volunteer of the Year — went to Sara Ferebee, VP Communications. Sara’s contributions to LBC went far beyond the Communications position. Before being elected to head the club’s total communications strategy Sara was editor of this Newsletter for three years. She was also the club’s graphic designer: jerseys for Old Kentucky Home Tour (OKHT) and Mad Dogs, OKHT Web site, and a cleaner Newsletter. Sara also worked with Louisville Metro to design materials for the 2005 Bike Summit and the city’s bicycle plan, published in 2006.

Nine members were recognized as for their special contributions to LBC programs: Barry Zalph for advocacy; Connie Guild and Lori Boone for new-rider education; Jamie Gordon and Deb Sexton for the Old Kentucky Home Tour; Craig Dooley for racing; AB Sandefur and Joe Thomas for touring; and Larry Preble was chosen as ride captain of the year. Every club member should make a special effort to congratulate and thank them.

LBC mugs, the traditional volunteer recognition, were awarded to 41 members and LBC socks to 72.

The club organized a total of 881 rides during the 2006 season, a record.

(See 2006 statistics for details.)

Individual accomplishment was also recognized. The racers of the year were Don Loescher and Amy Clark. Kerry Herbine was selected as the rookie racer of the year.

The touring program’s yellow jersey award for highest club mileage during the season went to Bobbie Leslie and Steve Sarson. The blue masters jersey winners were Bernice McGill and Steve Sexton. Two touring members were recognized as most improved: Bobbie Leslie and Kelly Flowers, and five for reaching lifetime mileage benchmarks: Steve Sarson at 25,000, Bernice McGill and Bill Pustow at 50,000, and Alan Darby and Jim Tretter at 75,000.

The awards banquet is also the club’s annual business meeting, which, since we are a corporation operating under the laws of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, we must hold. Election of officers was one of the first action items on the agenda. Two members of the 2006 executive committee did not seek re-election. Stewart Prather, who served two terms as VP Advocacy and Sara Ferebee, VP Communications, were thanked for their service.

Steve Anderson, chair of the nominating committee, then announced the slate of officers for 2007. When no nominations were made from the floor, the members elected by acclamation Ed Tonini VP Advocacy and David “Packman” Ryan VP Communications and re-elected Steve Sarson VP Education, Mark Luking VP Racing, Chad Green VP Touring, Barbara Tretter, Secretary, Jim Tretter, Treasurer and yours truly as President.

In addition to electing officers, the members approved revisions to our bylaws.

(See the club’s bylaws.)

In my President’s Report to the annual meeting I compared LBC to the “average” club described by the League of American Bicyclists in its January 2007 newsletter, the Cue Sheet, based on the responses of 130 clubs to the League’s survey.

It has 325 members who pay $17 a year to enjoy a ride schedule of close to 250 rides in the year, including one major ride that has 600 participants.... [At the] end-of-year ... banquet, the board of eight directors thanks the 25 or so active volunteers and ride leaders for their time and makes a heartfelt plea for more people to step forward to help. The club’s membership is holding steady and even increasing a little, and it looks decidedly older each year.

If that article had profiled LBC it would have cited the 972 members who pay the bargain price of $15 for a single membership ($20 for family) and have 881 rides to choose from. It would have mentioned that our premier ride is the OKHT, which had 1200 riders in 2006, and that our year-end banquet had 155 registered participants who honored 33 ride leaders who sponsored 10 or more rides each. And yes, our success at retaining members means we’re aging but the significant increase in membership over the last five years has kept us vital. (The proliferation of Mad Dogs is ample evidence against ossification.)

An article about LBC would go on to describe a growing relationship with local government and increasing influence on transportation and public policy matters affecting cyclists and their rights.

The officers appreciate your confidence in our leadership and pledge to continue the work to keep the Louisville Bicycle Club in the ranks of top cycling clubs in the U.S.

We look forward to seeing you on the road in 2007. And, since Daylight Saving Time will start three weeks earlier this year, my chances of meeting my mileage goal have certainly increased. More on that later.