Ryan Johnston - Sponsorship Director

I love bike racing and I love being in Kissena. Both make my life better. Our club and its members give me a lot, so I feel obligated to try to give back and make the club better.

This year I served on the board as Vice President. VP is sort of a utility position – there are a lot things the VP can do, but not many specific duties. So, when I started as VP I began looking at areas that I thought we could improve. I began asking members who were working in those areas what were the problems and barriers they faced?

It quickly became clear that helping other members problem solve on issues that they just didn’t have time for was a very effective way to move certain things forward. I worked on a lot of different things throughout the year (clothing, technology, marketing, anti-doping, Prospect Park outreach, etc.) but more than anything else I worked with Myles – the current Sponsorship Director who has worked generously in this area for years ­– on sponsorship.

Myles told me right away that the biggest problem he faced was that he had nothing about the club he could hand to anyone. So, I worked with member Ros and his graphic design company Anti-Anti to conceive our great new “sponsorship brochure,” which I wrote all the text for and collaborated with Ros on, generally. (Ros and crew did an awesome job - it’s available on our website if you haven’t seen it.)

In addition, there is lots of coordination required between sponsorship and clothing, so, I coordinated with Jules and Ros on the massive task of making the new kits a reality.

I also cleaned up the details on all of our current sponsorships, including confirming deals, fixing codes and passwords, and conveying all of the opportunities we can take advantage of in one clear post on the message board. I negotiated our deal with Ride Brooklyn - the first viable shop sponsor I've seen since I joined the club five years ago, and we anticipate some other exciting sponsorship announcements before year's end.

We did a lot of hard work during 2012 and I would be happy to continue these efforts in 2013. 

Jim Nelson – Running for Member-at Large<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

I’m running for a member-at-large position because I feel excited about giving some time back to the club that has been a great source of fun, inspiration, and camaraderie for me over the past few years.

I joined Kissena over four years ago after a random encounter with Eloy and Ian L. while practicing my cyclocross skills in Prospect Park. They encouraged me to join and I’m glad I listened. The club has provided me with many valuable hours of experience in training, skill building, and teamwork (not to mention lots of laughing, cheering, pain, and imbibing of beverages of all sorts).

Often, as I stand at the start line for an early morning race in PP, I think about the fact that hundreds of folks have chosen to brave the early morning chill or buck the inertia that would keep them in bed and instead show up to see who can ride their bicycles fastest around the park that morning. There are numerous reasons why they participate but I think one of the biggest factors is the sense of community and Kissena is one of the community stalwarts, a strong member of the structure that is the NYC bike racing scene.

As a member-at-large I hope to help the club build on the infectious spirit of community that I see reflected at races, during training sessions, and on group rides. The current board has accomplished many greatly appreciated improvements and I feel encouraged to step forward and help build on that success.  I’m particularly interested in encouraging new riders, continuing the successes of the early morning PP training group, and supporting the other board members in their initiatives.

When I’m not wearing lycra most of my time is spent as a project manager for a large architectural firm and being a dad (not that those activities necessarily rule out lycra) – both which reward organization, creativity, and an ability to listen.

Thanks for voting and see you on Sunday.

Joshua Caesar -Treasurer:

Hey gang. I am running for club treasurer this year.

This past year was my first on the board, and I served as a Director at Large. Thank you to everyone who voted for me last year. It has been a great experience.

My goals last year when I ran were to give back to the club, and to gain a deeper understanding of what it takes to make amateur cycling function in NYC and beyond. It was a great year - I got to participate in discussions on a full range of issues our club faces – and work to address those items. We dealt with membership questions, kit redesign, web redesign, race hosting, and more.

After having volunteered at Supercross Cup in the past, I wanted to work with Myles this year in a greater capacity. Myles quickly became my Yoda. I spent countless hours getting items ready for the event including the bikereg.com page, and the logistics of merging the Staten CX racers into our event.

This year I am running for Treasurer because I would love to continue to contribute to the club. I think that I can serve the club well as a member of the board, and specifically as the Treasurer. Professionally I am in software design (often for financial systems). Additionally, I previously held the Chief Financial Officer position in a software startup with approximately $100K in annual revenue. I hold two bachelors degrees, one in Management, and one in Computer Science, so I have plenty of education around accounting and financial matters.

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I greatly value the friendships I have with many of the club’s members, and I have enjoyed meeting new members this year, be it on training rides, road races, track races in Kissena park, and in my favorite discipline, CX racing. Four hours in the car with Harry after Battenkill is something you can not forget. I am a cat 4 racer in all categories now, and I am training hard this winter (having broken my hand on a ride recently means LOTS of indoor trainer time). I entered this sport 75 pounds heavier a few years back, and I have improved each year. I am excited to see what this new body can do for me in 2013.

2013 Goals

• As Treasurer

           o       Maintain a balanced set of books

o       Provide a monthly update to all board members

o       Be the club’s economic voice across all issues, to ensure a stable club which remains in the black.

o       Provide in-depth reporting of accounts at the quarterly level

•  As a Board Member

o       Be a present, active voice

o       Build a “playbook” of the lessons learned in Supercross Cup 2012 to make the 2013 edition even better

o       Use this Supercross experience to contribute to potential new Kissena races.

o       Continue to give the club my all

 I hope to see you all at the Winter Party, and to serve you as Treasurer in 2013.  Thanks for reading.

-Joshua

The past two years have seen many, many positive changes to Kissena.  I am very proud to have been a part of, and contributed to, those changes.  Kissena has a bright future and I look forward to being an integral part of that future.  If I am re-elected secretary, I will continue to work to to make Kissena a better club and to ensure that it remains the best club in the City.

Thank you,

Todd McLoughlin

2013 Update - Elections are coming....

You may nominate yourself, or you may nominate someone else. Simply post your nomination in this thread. If you have been nominated and wish to accept, you may post your acceptance in the thread, but you must also post a statement in the “Nominee Statements” thread (http://kissenacycling.vanillaforums.com/discussion/843/nominee-statements#latest)

To just see Election Information: Click on the "elections" category on the left. It makes the other stuff disappear. 

Information about each position is here: http://kissenacycling.vanillaforums.com/discussion/845/board-position-responsibilities-full-text-from-the-bylaws#latest

SUmmarized Duties:

President: Supervise/control all club business, preside over Board meetings

Vice President: Ad hoc duties (e.g. elections)

Treasurer: Handle funds and property of the club Secretary: custodian of club records, record minutes of Board meetings

Membership Director: Maintain registry of members, collect dues, distribute clothing

Sponsorship Director: Negotiate with sponsors and mediate sponsor services

Road Race Director: Promote Kissena Road Races

Development Director: Oversees the club’s Mentor and Elite Rider Retention programs

Members at Large (4): vote on Board resolutions, serve on subcommittees
Again, the positions open for nomination (and the current person holding each post) are:

President: Michael Perlberg;

Vice President: Eric Ragot; 

Secretary: Todd McLoughlin;

Treasurer: Josh Caesar

Membership Director: Jules Roazen; 

Sponsorship Director: Ryan Johnston; 

Road Racing Director: Charlie Issendorf;

Development Director: JP Partland 

At-Large: David Stokes; Jeff White, David Stearns, Jim Nelson