When I wrote yesterday’s post, I was feeling pretty cruddy (upper respiratory infection) and all I wanted to do was sleep. I went downstate, last weekend, and all I brought back was this stupid cold! While swimming in my self-misery, I forgot to mention one of the key things that took me down to Lansing.

As some of you may remember, I accepted a nomination to run for one of the Michigan Mountain Biking Association’s At-Large State Board Member positions. At the end of Sunday’s expo, the new At-Large Board Members were announced:
• Martin Hall
• Heather Kubiak
• Marty Shue
• Diane Ursu

I consider it an honor that so many of the voting members consider me to be one of the right people for the job. Thank you so much for voting for me.

While sitting at my very first state-level board meeting, I felt a little overwhelmed. As we discussed insurance, I found myself wondering what I had gotten myself into. I really am not very useful where financials are concerned. As the meeting moved on, I found us discussing topics where I could be of use. These were the types of things I was brought into this position for.

While I am the board member that lives the furthest away, and by a considerable distance, I am finding that distance is no barrier for board communication. We discuss issues by email and forum and most of our meetings are by teleconference. It seems as though board chatter never ceases.

Of course, I still firmly believe that the organization is only as good as its volunteers. That means that the people at the local level – those not in board positions – are the most important people there are. Those are the people who need to show up to trail days and volunteer for different programs. The more people get involved, the stronger and more productive this organization will be.

I hope you get involved.