Saturday night, February 8, marked the 2020 annual BBC banquet and business meeting. We had a large turnout, good food and fellowship, several important reports, election of officers whose terms were expiring, and the presentation of awards.
Attendance ran about 80 people. Hors d’oevres were provided as folks arrived around 5:30. A slide show ran continously through much of the evening.
The meeting was called to order by president Andrew Houlne with an overview of the schedule for the evenng and three committee reports to be presented before dinner.
Treasurer Jim Powers provided an overview of club finances. He noted that although finances were in good shape, with comfortable reserves, we operated at a small loss for the year. As a consequence the board decided to raise 2020 RAIN fees as well as club dues slightly.
Out-going grants chair Jen Miers reviewed BBC grants for last year and emphasized the importance of everyone pitching in to volunteer in some aspect of RAIN, which provides the bulk of our funding. Grant applications are due at the end of February.
Safety chair Craig Medlyn put in a plug for safety and education, highlighting the plan for public service announcements on the radio.
After a nice buffet dinner, we had several presentations.
Mallory Rickbeil, City Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator, spoke about planning and development of bicycling infrastructure. The latest information about ongoing City projects is available at https://bloomington.in.gov/engineering/projects. She encouraged people to contact her with questions and suggestions, as well as to report “near misses” as they work to improve public safety. Her contact information:
rickbeilm@bloomington.in.gov
812-349-3529
Bob Holahan, owner and founder of the Bicycle Garage, gave some historical reminiscences in the light of the firm’s 40th anniversary. Then Fred Rose, mechanic at Bicycle Garage, gave a short presentation on basic important aspects of bicycle maintenance. In brief, keep it clean and lightly lubed. And consider changing your chain more often, the easiest way to maintain that “new bike” feel.
Jim Schroeder gave a presentation about the advocacy and education work of the state-wide organization Bicycle Indiana, on whose board he serves. He highlighted the passage of the new “3 feet passing” law last year, and urged that the club continue its support of the group.
Andrew Houlne then moderated the election of new officers. Under our staggered system of officers, the positions of secretary and president were up for election. Current secretary Kathy Cummins was nominated for another term, and Matt Summers was nominated for president. There being no further nominations from the floor, these two were elected by acclimation. Congratulations and applause for our new president Matt! A big thank you to outgoing president Andrew Houlne for his service and leadership! And a thank you to Kathy for agreeing to continue her excellent work as secretary for the board (not to mention the RAIN committee)!
The evening concluded with the always anticipated presentation of club awards, represented by a handsome engraved lucite desk plaque for each winner.
This year Matt Summers chaired the Awards Committee. Thanks to all who made nominations. Seven awards were presented.
- Most Improved: Katherine Lin (presented by Andrew Houlne)
- Outreach/Advocacy: Jim Schroeder (presented by Sylvia Schroeder)
- Good Samaritan: Chris Hahn (presented by Matt Summers)
- Volunteer/SAG: Jeanne Powers (presented by Jim Powers)
- Club Service: Andrew Houlne (presented by Matt Summers)
- Mileage Maximus: Ron Selby (presented by John Bassett)
Finally and most poignantly
7. Lifetime Biker: Robert Serbent (presented by Yusuf Nur)
Remembrances were shared of this much-loved promoter of mountain biking in Brown County, affectionately known as “Gnawbone Lefty,” who left us too soon.
With that the meeting adjourned to informal conversation and goodbyes.