January 2018 Top Talk
President Chip Kyle
The Awards Banquet is coming up at the end of this month on the 28th. We will all face a significant challenge: to see if we can recognize our fellow bike riders in street clothes without their riding kit and bike helmets. (Please refrain from saying “Hey, I didn’t recognize you with your clothes on”. It gives rise to unfortunate connotations!) Fortunately, there will be name tags. The Awards Banquet is where we take the opportunity to recognize members who have made significant contributions to the club as well as highlight those individuals who have been most active on club rides. We also typically have a few humorous awards (the “Grand Fartessa” award comes to mind), identifying a few individuals’ distinct characteristics. It’s a fun time, and the food is good. I encourage you to attend.
I look forward for a third (and last) time to serving with a strong, capable and dedicated board. We have something unique for the coming year – more than half the board members will have served for six months or less. With that many new faces, you should expect some changes in perspectives and areas of emphasis. It is a nice mix of longer serving members who can provide institutional knowledge as well as new members who will bring fresh ideas and initiatives. Each brings their own distinct talents and personal expertise and it will be fun to see how they complement each other. I have full confidence that despite my straying hither and yon, the rest of the board will keep the club going in the right direction.
Since this will be my third year as your president, you are probably bored with my Top Talks. So, I think it will be informative to hear from some other board “voices”. As the year progresses, you should expect to see other authors of this newsletter article. For full transparency, we might need to re-title the article to “Almost Top Talks”, or perhaps “Top Talks, Maybe?”
The first event for the club President is the New Year’s Day Ride. I’ll be there and hope to see you there as well. Until then, stay warm, avoid the ice and safe riding!