December, 2009

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2009-12-10 ABC Annual Meeting Minutes

Saturday, December 12th, 2009

December 10, 2009 19:00

Approximately 18 in attendance.

Arctic Bike Club “Big Board” Officers:

President: Ed Sniffen

Vice-President: Christopher Souser

Secretary & Treasurer = Janice Tower

Board Reps:

Road: Ed Sniffen & Tom Peichel

Touring: Christopher Souser & Jim Baker

Mt. Bike Div =

Tim Bernston, Brent Gorman, & John Lackey (Two people share 1 board spot)

Member at Large: Janice Tower

Board Proposed by Ed, Seconded by Tom P.

Tim B. & Brent G. : Mt. Bike race season went pretty well. Kepler Bradley course had positive response. Races were well attended and it picked up as the year went on. Finances still to be reconciled for the year. 2010 Schedule outlined already, to be finalized by end of the year.

Rose L: Touring/Recreation Division Season went well, including a good turnout at our Women’s Mt. Bike Clinic. No Permitting issues. To meet mid-January to work out the schedule for 2010. Core members were once again ride leaders/volunteers for the the CAC / Special Olympics ride from Houston to Talkeetna and the MS-150 ride from Hope to Seward. Our rides are still 100% free, though general club membership is still encouraged. IMBA insurance greatly increased from $3 per member to about $8 per member as a trail building clause, so Touring/Recreation division did not choose to renew for the entire club membership again, but did get other insurance for the division.

Tom P. : Road Race attendance was up and down depending on the race. Tour of Anchorage went really well, but we lost money.

Women’s Alison Dunlap road racing camp was held and was very successful with approximately 45 attendee. In 2010 talking about bringing in women’s Cyclo-Cross professional Katie Compton for a clinic.. Final road race schedule expected soon.

Financially doing well, lost a little bit of money, but still doing well.

Bruce R: Cyclocross season was awesome with attendance increasing every race, and 75 attendees at the last race. Financially did ok, but unsure of covering Katie Compton clinic.. though Road Division was planning to cover. Possibly have an extra race at the end of the clinic prior to the cyclocross season beginning.

Tom P. : ABC main club is doing ok, just over 300 memberships in 2009. Net Income is expected to be a little bit over $1000 for the year.

Tom P. Revised membership form, simpler, faster completion at the races.

Ed S. : Fireweed 400 is seeking 501 ( c ) 3 status and disaffliate from ABC for insurance and liability purposes. Fireweed 400 money split 4 ways between 3 divisions and the junior division.

Misc Website Discussion , specifically adding a site for the CycloCross.

Christopher S. : Club has a Twitter, Facebook, and the Chainletter is now a blog format that can be easily updated. Though almost not content was received over the last season.

Divisions need to add Chainletter@arcticbikeclub.org to their notification lists so that the information can make these lists.

Ed S. : Directors and Officers Liability Insurance in process. General Insurance costs are going to be going up a little bit because of inflation, despite no claims.

Ed/Bruce/Tom P. Discussion of being a USCF/USAC club, just to be a registered club.

You would not need a USCF licenses unless we conducted USCF races, you only need a license if you get insurance through USCF; which is very expensive.

It was discussed that you can’t gain points for races in Alaska.

501© 3 status cannot be gained because we are membership driven. So large organizations cannot donate to us for a tax deduction.

501© 4 we did qualify for, which can then be used for businesses for advertising

Application for 501©4 is still on Ed’s desk.

Next Board Meeting:

January 13th, Guidos Pizza, 6:30 pm

Webpage, Hotline, ORBRA Information, Jerseys

Additional Dates to Add to Website Calendar of Major Cycling Events:

Tour of Fairbanks June 10-13th

Fireweed July 9-11th

State Mt. Bike Championships August 20-22nd

Anchorage Seward Relay 5th Sept

Reminder: 2009 ABC EOY Meeting

Wednesday, December 9th, 2009

Arctic Bicycle Club Members,

You are cordially invited to attend the

2009 Arctic Bicycle Club General Meeting

Thursday, December 10, 2009 at 7:00pm
Guido’s Pizza

549 W Intl Airport Rd # 14 Anchorage, AK 99518-1182 - (907) 563-2222)

The Arctic Bike Club will be ordering Pizza and Non-Alcoholic beverages

Agenda
-Year End Wrap Up of Club Activities with Division Reports
-Confirmation of the 2010 Arctic Bicycle Club Board of Directors
-2010 Calender of Events and dates to denote
-Open Discussion
-Wrap Up

Alaska Air National Guard Bikes for Afghan Children (Bike to Bagram)

Wednesday, December 9th, 2009

December 7, 2009
Alaska Guard transporting bicycles to Afghanistan

Guard and community members work together to help Afghan youth

KULIS AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Alaska - More than 20 disadvantaged
children in Afghanistan will get new bikes this month thanks to a
groupof Anchorage volunteers and an assist from the Alaska Air
NationalGuard.

The bicycles, together with parts and tools, were donated by the
Anchorage Community YMCA, The Bicycle Shop, Paramount Cycles, Chain
Reactions and REI, Inc. They were then refurbished by Off the Chain, a
non-profit, all-volunteer bicycle collective in Anchorage. Funded
purelythrough donations and grants, Off the Chain offers bicycle
education and maintenance to the community of Anchorage. Their
services are aimed at providing mobility to those whose only
transportation are their bikes and who cannot afford maintenance
elsewhere.

A group of Off the Chain volunteers came up with the idea of giving
bicycles to underprivileged Afghan children. The big obstacle was
getting them there. A couple of months ago, organizers approached Lt.
Col. David Glick, a pilot with the Alaska Air National Guard’s 144th
Airlift Squadron. The squadron routinely flies personnel, equipment
and supplies into the remote, war-torn country.

Chris Himes, a long-term Off the Chain volunteer, said “I can’t
imagineany other way it could have happened. It’s a perfect confluence
of interests and abilities … the Air Guard being on the way anyway
and being able to distribute the bikes, which we would never be able
to do.”

On Dec. 5, a group of Air Guard members arrived at Off the Chain with
a flatbed truck to pick up the bikes. On Dec. 8, Guard members at
Kulis Air National Guard Base, deploying to Afghanistan in support of
Operation Enduring Freedom, will load them onto a C-130 tactical
airliftplane for the three-day flight. Once there, they will be handed
over to a local U.S. military unit at Bagram Airfield for distribution
to Afghanchildren.

“With our Guardsmen rotating in and out of Afghanistan throughout the
holiday season, it was the perfect opportunity to support a worthy

causeand provide a little cheer for Afghan youth,” said Brig. Gen. Thomas H. Katkus,

adjutant general of the Alaska National Guard.

Alaska Air Guardsman Master Sgt. Tess Walsh hands Senior Master Sgt. Thomas Martin a bicycle from the truck bed on December 5, 2009

Alaska Air Guardsman Master Sgt. Tess Walsh hands Senior Master Sgt. Thomas Martin a bicycle from the truck bed on December 5, 2009

Media: For more information or to request interviews, contact 1st Lt.
John Callahan at 306-8665 or Maj. Guy Hayes at 382-5189. Hi-res photos
are available for download via the web at www.176wg.ang.af.mil
<http://www.176wg.ang.af.mil> .