Executive Board Alert
In case you haven’t heard, many of our club’s board members are retiring or taking a break from their current PBC board roles after years of devoted service. This leaves vacancies that need other similarly devoted members, such as you, to step in and help out.
Portland Bicycling Club is a CLUB. As such, we are dedicated to bicycling in our community. We promote safe riding. We are not a meetup group – not that there’s anything wrong with that – but we don’t just get together for bike rides. We have meetings, try to better ourselves as bicyclists, and advocate within our cycling community. We raise money (through Pioneer Century® and Seattle to Portland finish line), and we donate profits to like-minded organizations.
Being a club requires action. Our members are called upon to organize, prioritize, make decisions, and contribute to the well-being of our organization. We need YOU to take on such a role. ✎
At the recent board meeting on October 18, some solutions to vacancies may have been discovered; and some board members have been reaching out to club members about different vacancies and how they may help. However, while often the election consists of mostly unopposed contenders, that is not necessarily desirable, and secret ballots can be taken.
Here are the current openings (with job duties as described in Article 4 of our constitution and bylaws):
PRESIDENT: Mark Barnes sees himself drawn in other directions in 2024 and so is relinquishing the job.
Conduct all club meetings and board meetings. Represent the club in the community as necessary. Appoint committees; conduct elections; be a standing member of all committees; appoint a temporary board member if one resigns.
VICE PRESIDENT: Ann Morrow comes and goes on the board in various roles, and she is going to step away again for a bit. She would share that vice president is a supportive position to help the president do their best.
Act as the president pro-tem in the absence of the president. Assist the president as necessary to facilitate meetings. Represent the club at functions and serve on committees as needed.
RECORDING SECRETARY: Kathleen Hellem has been recording secretary for a few years and is ready for a break.
Maintain a written record of all executive board and general membership club meetings.
MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY: Christi Horton also sees herself being less available for club duties in 2024 and so is stepping down.
Process new members’ applications; maintain the membership files; prepare an annual report on membership to be presented to the membership during the first quarter of each year.
TREASURER: Corey Eng has served the club diligently for many years and is slowly but surely passing the batons to others.
Manage club finances; prepare and/or arrange for filing of all necessary tax reports or returns; provide the board with a financial report at least quarterly; prepare and submit to the membership an annual financial report during the first quarter of each year.
ROAD CAPTAIN: Todd McCullum is one of our two road captains and is up for re-election in December. He has offered to remain on the board for 2024.
Solicit, receive, and review club-sanctioned rides. Maintain and oversee the ride calendar. Oversee ride leaders and promote adherence to rules of the road and ensure ride leaders have materials needed such as ride sign-in sheets and envelopes. Recruit and train ride leaders. Maintain a catalog/database of rides. The board may, by a majority vote, cancel any proposed ride.
MEMBERS AT LARGE: Dave McQuery and Richard Higgins are also up for re-election in December. As of this writing, Richard Higgins has agreed to run again for his position. Dave will run for membership secretary leaving his member at large position open.
Serve as a conduit between the board and club members.
Please note that three board positions are filled in June, so the board has a few experienced members serving should there be a mass exodus such as we are seeing this year. Maria Sworske, Gary Lunsford, Members at Large, and Rob Schroeder, Road Captain, continue in their present terms. Their positions will not be included in the general election in December.
These jobs require varying amounts of time for a variety of reasons. The best resource is the current board member to explain the job details and the efforts involved. You will need to log in to the PBC website and go to PBC Contact Information for Elected Officers.
As a periodic board member myself, I can assure you that it is a team effort. It is a democratic endeavor, and discussions at the meetings are usually very civil and respectful.
Board members receive free annual membership as a benefit of service.
Read some of the meeting minutes (must be logged in) for an idea of what is discussed and the types of decisions that are made.
Help us steer the club through 2024.
Ann Morrow, Vice President
Return to Table of Contents (November 2023)