Dec 06, 2014 at 04:02 AM
malcoLmson!
Nominating & Accepting Nominations
Dec 06, 2014 at 12:04 PM
I accept VP
Dec 06, 2014 at 02:29 PM
I accept VP
Dec 06, 2014 at 10:40 PM
I'm nominating Bruce (Van Skywalker) van-Schalkwyk for Secretary.
Dec 07, 2014 at 03:44 AM
Thanks, Craig. I accept the nomination.
Dec 07, 2014 at 05:36 PM
I nominate Dale Suttle for Development.
Dec 07, 2014 at 10:26 PM
I'd like to put name out there for the Membership position.
Dec 08, 2014 at 12:20 AM
Thanks, Jeff. I'll give it a shot. I accept.
Dec 08, 2014 at 03:11 AM
Updated list of candidates:
President: Jules Roazen
VP: Thierry Bonnaire, Brendan Rigby
Treasurer: David Yang
Sponsorship: Craig Zolan
Secretary: Todd McLoughlin, Bruce van-Schalkwyk
Membership: Jeff White, Phillip Maronilla
Development: Patrick Grehan, Dale Suttle
Technology: John Malcolmson
Public Relations: ??
President: Jules Roazen
VP: Thierry Bonnaire, Brendan Rigby
Treasurer: David Yang
Sponsorship: Craig Zolan
Secretary: Todd McLoughlin, Bruce van-Schalkwyk
Membership: Jeff White, Phillip Maronilla
Development: Patrick Grehan, Dale Suttle
Technology: John Malcolmson
Public Relations: ??
Dec 08, 2014 at 03:50 PM
I'm Bruce van-S and I'm running for the Secretary Board position.
As Secretary, my duties will involve recording the minutes of the meetings, I'll keep a list of all active KCC members, and will fulfill other duties as needed.
And I want to expand that role by a much greater extent. I believe there should be considerable transparency between the Board and my KCC teammates; there should be no barriers, real or perceived, between the board and KCC members, since we all ride, train and race together. And we should govern together, and hold this team together. There's been too much division already.
When a new rider asks you when the next New Member ride is, what's on our website, who our sponsors are, how many times the board meets and when, and how many members on our team, you will be able to answer because this information will be communicated to you, along with any changes and updates.
I propose to begin this through posts on our site about meetings, upcoming public events, who's representing us and what was discovered. There is a Public Relations position on the Board that will liaise between our team and the public. I envision my job of Secretary as an internal relations role. While group communication is the purview of the President and Vice President, what's presented, how it's presented and how often, needs expansion and direction in order to fulfill my vision for greater transparency.
I have posted countless times on our site about training rides, team rides, solo rides, this year I've volunteered at the L&C races, the R&A races, at Supercross, and I've bailed water at the bottom of the hill in Prospect Park. You know me because I've ridden with you, I've trained with you, I've raced with you, and because I've written about these experiences.
I have a Master's degree in American Literature, I'm a SQL Developer for Barnesandnoble.com, I'm a cat 4 racer, and despite breaking my hip last December, I've put in 7,100 miles in 457 hours this year so far. And I will not be joining Sommerville Sports. I joke, I have a sense of humor, and I take all of this pretty seriously.
I ask for your vote for Secretary so I can make these contributions to the team, to you, and so I can expand the role I've already taken on. And I look forward to any suggestions you may have to help guide me in this vision.
Please vote for me.
Thanks very much,
Bruce van-S
Dec 08, 2014 at 05:49 PM
Hello fellow Kissena Members,
I am the incumbent Treasurer and running for the same position again for 2015.
2014 was my first year on the board and it was a learning experience. Frankly speaking, I was handed a very tangled set of books at the end of 2013 and spent many weeks with the help of various board members cleaning up our accounts and putting together a clearer picture of our finances. This was a long overdue necessity in order for the board to make informed decisions on how to allocate the club's budget.
My other major accomplishments includes creating an ongoing P&L and accounts summary statement for the board to review and setting up best practices for tracking funds and keeping accounting records for all of our income and spending (i.e. membership dues and group sponsor buys).
2015 will be transitional as the club pursues non-profit status. My initiatives as Treasurer will be to open and transfer our finances to appropriate accounts to reflect that change. I will continue with the P&L and accounting practices set up this year as well as look for ways to improve both. My goal has always been to strive for clarity and transparency.
Besides the specific treasurer duties this year, I was happy to volunteer for park races, support new member rides, and help on the Super Cross Cup team. I feel that volunteering my time and efforts not only benefits our members, but ultimately the local cycling ecosystem.
For those of you who don't know me: I joined Kissena in 2013 as a category 5 racer and immediately started annoying everyone on the forums with terrible photoshops and gifs. I am now a cat. 4 racer and don't post nearly as much annoying stuff as before, so I have a track record of improvements both on the bike and on the forums! Excelsior! I'm looking forward to racing, training, and eating doughnuts with everyone next year.
I am the incumbent Treasurer and running for the same position again for 2015.
2014 was my first year on the board and it was a learning experience. Frankly speaking, I was handed a very tangled set of books at the end of 2013 and spent many weeks with the help of various board members cleaning up our accounts and putting together a clearer picture of our finances. This was a long overdue necessity in order for the board to make informed decisions on how to allocate the club's budget.
My other major accomplishments includes creating an ongoing P&L and accounts summary statement for the board to review and setting up best practices for tracking funds and keeping accounting records for all of our income and spending (i.e. membership dues and group sponsor buys).
2015 will be transitional as the club pursues non-profit status. My initiatives as Treasurer will be to open and transfer our finances to appropriate accounts to reflect that change. I will continue with the P&L and accounting practices set up this year as well as look for ways to improve both. My goal has always been to strive for clarity and transparency.
Besides the specific treasurer duties this year, I was happy to volunteer for park races, support new member rides, and help on the Super Cross Cup team. I feel that volunteering my time and efforts not only benefits our members, but ultimately the local cycling ecosystem.
For those of you who don't know me: I joined Kissena in 2013 as a category 5 racer and immediately started annoying everyone on the forums with terrible photoshops and gifs. I am now a cat. 4 racer and don't post nearly as much annoying stuff as before, so I have a track record of improvements both on the bike and on the forums! Excelsior! I'm looking forward to racing, training, and eating doughnuts with everyone next year.
Dec 08, 2014 at 06:19 PM
My name is Phillip Maronilla and I am running for Membership Director. I have been a member of Kissena for two years now, and racing for three. I have been riding bikes on pavement and dirt trails regularly in and around NYC for over 15 years. I have done volunteer work for numerous Kissena events over the past two years, and will continue to do so for the team.
I want to grow our membership throughout the year by being more open, and more accessible to others. Our Saturday or Sunday ride could be a new member ride. I would encourage each Kissena to meet with non-members on the road, when they can, and introduce the club. Wearing the Kissena kit, if you are not training or racing, let’s talk to people, let’s ride with people. Let’s be welcoming.
At the same time, not losing track of current members, and making sure they are happy with the club by being available to them to listen. I would like to act as the liaison between the board and the members. If you have a complaint, if you have a suggestion, if you do not know who to turn to, if no one else is responding, come find me. The strength of the club is in its members, and as members, we are a team.
As a candidate with no previous board experience, I am excited to be able contribute these ideas, and many more as an outsider.
Thank you.
Dec 09, 2014 at 01:19 AM
My name is Todd McLoughlin. I am the current
Club Secretary and am running for re-election. I have served as Club
Secretary since 2011.
Rather than review my accomplishments, I will simply
state that I am a good candidate because I am reliable. A corporate
secretary's responsibilities (accurately keeping minutes and maintaining the
by-laws) will never sound like a significant accomplishment. However, those
responsibilities are essential and the person serving as secretary must be
reliable.
Except when dealing with an ill parent in 2011, I have not missed any board meetings. At each meeting I have taken diligent notes and reliably turned those notes into minutes. And, although it is not too difficult, I keep good records. In short, I am a good Club Secretary. If re-elected, I will continue to be a good secretary. Furthermore, if any changes are made to my role, I will reliably execute those new responsibilities.
In addition to my duties as Secretary, for the past several years I, together with a core group of volunteers, have done much of the physical work for Kissena’s cyclocross race, the Super Cross Cup. Each year, with short breaks for sleep and job-related obligations, I have been at the course from set-up on Thursday morning through break-down on Sunday night. Super Cross is a lot of work, and I can be counted-on to help get that work down.
I’m a lawyer by profession. I earned my law degree at Fordham Law School and currently run a real estate focused law practice in Brooklyn. I have been a Kissena member since 2005 and am the current Cyclocross Club Champion.
A wise person (it was Ryan Johnston) once told me that we each have to do our part to help make the Club awesome. Serving as Club Secretary and working at Super Cross are my parts. I do those jobs well and reliably. I therefore ask you to vote for me for Club Secretary. If re-elected, I look forward to serving the Club for another year.
Thank you.
Dec 09, 2014 at 02:04 AM
John Malcolmson wants to be responsible for the development and maintenance all of the Club’s digital infrastructure including; providing a current, comprehensive and accessible inventory of all digital assets and relevant login, billing, and registration information, and advise the Board of Directors as needed on technology issues.
He first joined Kissena in 2002, then got fat... in 2010 he used his ungodly mass to take out the Cat 5 AVD Spring Series (possibly due to a time trial where no times were recorded). Also, Yacks stole his green jersey.
He's a NZ'er, a designer by trade (RISD alumn), and due to be a dad in April.
He was an at-large board member last year working with Jules and Joe on the site and other digital efforts. This year he's been doing some clinics and mentoring. He looks forward to adding more emoticons to the vanilla forum, revising and updating the site to reflect Kissena's 2015 goals and whatever new craziness the board (or members) dream up.
Lastly, seeing as Joe has gone to the dark side AWOL to Las Vegas, it would be awesome if someone with a bit of html knowledge would join John on this journey.
Dec 09, 2014 at 03:10 AM
My name is ThIerry Bonnaire and I'm running for the Vice-President for 2015.
It has been a pleasure to be part of this team, I have learned so much since I've been part of Kissena and have met so many incredible riders. I also discovered that many teammates have been selfless and incredibly supportive when some of us have gone through a tough time ( bad crashes for example) and I know that from experience shortly after I joined the club.
I would like to echo what other candidates wrote in prior posts that we need to improve communication and share the agenda for this organization for all its members. I don't want Kissena to be someone's vision nor a top down corporate type of organization which can create unnecessary resentments and we saw the consequences of those not that long ago. I just want Kissena to remain a amateur racing team plain and simple.
The arrival of a woman team over a year ago has been extremely important to us. Dale has done a tremendous job sharing his deep knowledge of racing to the gals in the team and the results so far have been incredible. I would like to give more access to our female teammates to use our social media tools in order to organize women only new member rides. There are many Kayt, Erika and Gwennyth out there who can join us and the board should increase its disposal when it comes to overall support.
I realize that I have a formidable opponent who's a beast on a saddle during this election but I hope that you will vote for me and I wish you all wonderful holidays.
Thank you,
Thierry Bonnaire
It has been a pleasure to be part of this team, I have learned so much since I've been part of Kissena and have met so many incredible riders. I also discovered that many teammates have been selfless and incredibly supportive when some of us have gone through a tough time ( bad crashes for example) and I know that from experience shortly after I joined the club.
I would like to echo what other candidates wrote in prior posts that we need to improve communication and share the agenda for this organization for all its members. I don't want Kissena to be someone's vision nor a top down corporate type of organization which can create unnecessary resentments and we saw the consequences of those not that long ago. I just want Kissena to remain a amateur racing team plain and simple.
The arrival of a woman team over a year ago has been extremely important to us. Dale has done a tremendous job sharing his deep knowledge of racing to the gals in the team and the results so far have been incredible. I would like to give more access to our female teammates to use our social media tools in order to organize women only new member rides. There are many Kayt, Erika and Gwennyth out there who can join us and the board should increase its disposal when it comes to overall support.
I realize that I have a formidable opponent who's a beast on a saddle during this election but I hope that you will vote for me and I wish you all wonderful holidays.
Thank you,
Thierry Bonnaire
Dec 09, 2014 at 05:08 AM
Hello All,
My name is Dale Suttle and I am running for Development director.
As many of you know, I am currently the mentor for the newly developed women's team on Kissena which I believe had an excellent year of racing, membership growth, meeting, and improving skills and participation. This was mostly due to the hard work of Kayt, Erica, Gwynna and many others, but I was glad to be along for the ride and help point the group in the right direction.
I returned to racing this year after 10 yrs off encouraged largely by the great group of people on Kissena. I had about a decade of racing experience before the hiatus pursuing a professional racing career. I didn't quite make it, but I am a Cat 1 on the road with national and international experience. As Development Director I would like to pass some of this knowledge and experience on to the club, and particularly to younger riders who have yet to develop their potential. As much fun as it is to ride around with a bunch of 30 and 40 yr-olds, I believe that it is important to find and nurture young athletes who come in to the sport.
I would like to continue to work with and develop the women's team. I believe they have the potential to dominate around the city.
And there are also a number of ways that we can help you 30 and 40 yr-olds develop from 5s to 4s, 4s to 3s, and down the line.
I hope you will vote for me as your Development Director.
Best,
Dale
Dec 09, 2014 at 02:40 PM
I’m Patrick Grehan and I am running for Development Director. My goal is to help match up our mentor’s wealth of knowledge and experience with the needs and interests of our members.
I’ve been a member of Kissena since 2008. Like most of you, I love to ride and race and feel a deep loyalty to the club in which I have made good friends and shared great experiences. Over the years I have seen the club grow from an organization that was run out of a basement to a professional looking club with serious bike shop and sponsor support, as well as snazzy kits and serious aspirations. What as stayed constant is the club’s inclusivity and that sense of camraderie. The past year has seen some upheaval in Kissena and I wanted to take this opportunity to give back to the club.
While I have developed a wealth of knowledge in cyclocross, time trailing and road racing skills that I can share as a mentor, my interest in becoming development director is to leverage my organizational and analytical skills (I’m a Psychologist who spent 8 years doing social science research) to help better assess and meet the needs of the club membership.
As development director I want to align the mentoring with the needs of the club. At one point or another, all riders have a set of similar needs including learning skills such as riding in a pack and pace lines; planning how to train for an event and season; and developing strategy and tactics for a race. However, not everyone’s needs are the same. We have a large club with riders with from varied backgrounds with diverse needs. I’d like to ensure that our offerings are as relevant for all our members whether they be juniors, women, new riders or old guys like me in all the disciplines be they road, track, cross, TTs, and even mountain biking.
I propose that we identify these needs with a survey of the membership aimed at helping to answer a couple of key questions to better match the mentor offerings to the needs of the club. For example, what are the skills or areas that members believe they need the most help with? What mentor offerings have they found the most valuable? What mentor offerings would they like to see more of? What has made it difficult to take advantage of existing mentor offerings? You get the idea.
I appreciate your support (and vote) but win or lose continue to look forward to riding with you and the growth of our club.
Thanks
Dec 09, 2014 at 03:32 PM
Due to the cold, hard reality that Phillip would beat me in a head to head vote, and because PR Director is uncontested, I am withdrawing my Membership nomination and instead nominating myself for PR Director.
I'm Jeff. I've been on the board for two years and in the club for four, including serving as Membership director this year (many of you know me from all of the Meet Kissena rides I put on).
Communications and public relations have been very ad-hoc in years past and have generally concentrated themselves around the club president. However, our relationships with the ever growing cycling community as well as the community at large are so crucial to a club like ours that we decided one person should specifically be responsible for nurturing those. I would like to be that person and I am ready to take my Twitter game to a whole new level 
.
.
Dec 09, 2014 at 05:34 PM
Hello All,
In addition to being President this year, I was Membership Director for two years and an at-large member before that.
The Board has done a quite a lot that I'm proud of in the past few years - revitalizing and modernizing the club, building a women's team, growing relationships with new sponsors and of course - recruiting more of YOU; the beating heart of the club.
In many ways 2014 has been the culmination of several years work and we are poised - with your vote - to start the club off in it's next phase of awesomeness - which is a clean slate and a charitable organization status.
This year I spent a lot of time focusing on risk management of various sorts:
- On the bike: the basics - helmet policy, insurance of various kinds, pushing the integration of Bike Reg and Ride Clean, skillz and drillz clinics and a collaboration with MGCC on group ride "best practices"
- The big jobs of strengthening our relationships with Prospect Park (there have been three heads of PPA in three years) the 78th precinct and of course CRCA.
- Finally the structure of the club; removing single-person risk by carving out distinct PR, Tech and Risk Management roles, ending some financial practices that handcuffed incoming boards, and of course filing for charitable status.
The biggest job of all has been preparing the club for the restructuring, which will allow us to do more for our members and our sport than we ever have before.
One important note on the restructuring and transparency; by filing for charitable status we'll be committing future Boards to a level of financial transparency that has been difficult to achieve in the past; I think this is great thing for the club and sincerely hope you do too.
I believe it is every Board Member's job to consistently leave the club better than they found it. If you elect me for 2015 I will do my best to raise the bar even further on the awesomeness that is Kissena.
Thank you,
Jules
Dec 10, 2014 at 02:51 AM
Hello ladies and gentlemen,
I joined the club not so long ago and have had a tremendous time here. This will be my third year with the club. Last year I was on the board as an "at large" board member, where my role consisted mostly of heckling the other board members while they tried to do their jobs.
Just kidding. We did make some serious decisions this year regarding sponsorships and the upcoming structural changes. I think change is what keeps us relevant; it's important to have newer folks and newer ideas on the board. Kissena has always been an open team and that's why I chose it over others. I want to maintain that openness and accessibility while also exploring ways to ensure experienced riders aren't drawn elsewhere.
The Vice President role requires that I develop risk management procedures and preside over next year's vote. As an attorney, there are few things I enjoy more than managing risk, designing procedures, and organizing votes.
Vote for me if you like fun, sunshine, and bicycle rides!
Dec 10, 2014 at 04:20 AM
One more thing: If you vote for me in my uncontested race for PR Director, all water fountains in Prospect Park, Central Park, and on the 9W/Low Road Corridor will stream Coca-Cola during the summer months and both recess and lunch period will be extended by ten minutes.
Dec 10, 2014 at 04:19 PM
Only if it's Mexican Coca Cola (w/ actual sugar and not HFCS)
Oct 13, 2015 at 01:36 AM
I would like to remain vice-president for 2016.
Oct 13, 2015 at 02:27 PM
I would be interested in taking on the role of membership director for the upcoming season. I have taken an interest in recruiting new members, especially other women riders, to the team. Recently, I have been sent emails from new riders who are interested in finding a team, so this role feels like a natural fit for me. I also pride myself on being very organized, efficient and a good communicator, which I feel will help me to manage the membership directory and clothing orders.
Oct 13, 2015 at 02:31 PM
I would be interested in taking on the role of membership director for the upcoming season. I have taken an interest in recruiting new members, especially other women riders, to the team. Recently, I have been sent emails from new riders who are interested in finding a team, so this role feels like a natural fit for me. I also pride myself on being very organized, efficient and a good communicator, which I feel will help me to manage the membership directory and clothing orders.
Oct 13, 2015 at 02:33 PM
Jill Sink said:I would be interested in taking on the role of membership director for the upcoming season. I have taken an interest in recruiting new members, especially other women riders, to the team. Recently, I have been sent emails from new riders who are interested in finding a team, so this role feels like a natural fit for me. I also pride myself on being very organized, efficient and a good communicator, which I feel will help me to manage the membership directory and clothing orders.
That's great Jill! Now make your interest known in the "Accepting and Nominating" section.
Oct 14, 2015 at 02:23 AM
I nominate Jeff White for President.
Oct 14, 2015 at 03:49 AM
Rascal beat me to the punch. Accept. I'll post a statement soon with some thoughts about next year. I hope to see other nominees for president as well.Jules said:I nominate Jeff White for President.
Oct 16, 2015 at 05:00 PM
I nominate Sean Miles for Treasurer.
Oct 16, 2015 at 05:02 PM
I accept Dave's nomination.