From the President 

 General Meeting Thursday, Sept. 14

Although this meeting may be mostly business, we WILL have door prizes. So come to the Everett PUD, 2320 California Ave, Everett, WA at 7 p.m. to see your BIKES Club friends in “civies” for once (well, some of us will be in “civies.”)

Look on page 2 for a review of the meeting’s
program “A Match Made in Heaven (or Hell)”

 One item of important business for the meeting will be a review of club officer duties and openings. Anyone can run for any position, but I have bolded the positions for which the incumbents have indicated an interest in “retiring” (ie open positions)

·     President. Presides at general meetings. Calls committee meetings as needed for McClinchy Mile Ride, picnic, etc. Represents (or appoints someone else to represent) BIKES with outside organizations as needed. 5-8 hours a month.

·     Vice President. Plans the program at general meetings. Assists with committees. Performs duties of president when needed. 2-5 hours a month

·     Treasurer. Deposit membership dues and notify Database Coordinator of updates. Provide monthly financial statement. Pay bills and member reimbursements. 4-5 hours a month

·     Secretary. Keeps minutes of general meetings and provides to newsletter editor. Collects club records. Handles correspondence related to McClinchy Mile Ride. Tracks and reports miles for the Frequent Rider Club. 2-4 hours a month

 Club member expertise and time helped create the first and the latest Snohomish County bike map, and we help run Snohomish County Bike to Work events. We’ve participated in Everett’s recent bike facility planning efforts, and try to keep an eye on road and other projects affecting cyclists. We coordinated the local Ride of Silence to commemorate killed and injured cyclists.

There are a few other jobs that keep the club
going and need volunteers:

·     Ride leader. Lead your first ride with the support of an experienced club member. Just pick your favorite route and notify the Ride Coordinator in time for the next month’s newsletter. Lead three rides in a year and earn yourself an invitation to the club’s Volunteer Breakfast and a thank you gift.

·     Ride Coordinator. Pick a month to be the one who emails, calls or personally arm twists rider leaders old and new to commit to leading a ride in the next month’s ride calendar. Then compile the list and send it to the newsletter editor. Less than 2 hours a month.

·     Newsletter Editor. Compiles and solicits items of interest for newsletter. Lays-out newsletter (currently done in Publisher) and sends to printer and webmaster. 4-7 hours a month.

Club volunteers are the people who keep this club going. Once upon a time we were all just regular members who went on rides or came to a meeting once in awhile. Then we decided it was time to give back a little and take some leadership. This club is what we make it.

I am so proud of what the current members and officers have made of this club in the past several years. Dedicated ride leaders offer rides at many levels every week of the year. We have some great weekend rides, too, and our annual club picnic and party benefit from generous hosts and good spirits by all.

Our website and newsletter keep both members and the larger community aware of our activities and of bike issues. The McClinchy Mile Ride has been going for more than 20 years, and it’s consistently a success thanks to dozens of great volunteers. We support the Bicycle Alliance of Washington through McClinchy and the Ride Around Puget Sound. Club money also supports bike helmets for kids and Sharing Wheels.  (con’t Page 2)

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