IMBA LEADERSHIP WORKSHOP

Last Saturday was a long day but the payoff will be worth it. I want to thank all of the THOR members (and a couple newbies) who sacrificed their whole Saturday to take part in a grant-funded workshop put on by Ryan Schutz, IMBA's regional director.

His call to action: To help us figure out how to become a bigger, better, more fun and more stable organization.

Come to find out we're much like most trail groups. A decent member-base. A supportive bike community but as we all know the same few do the most work and cracks are starting to form in the foundation. Thus, the call to IMBA for help. Simply, we need more visibility inside and outside the bike community in hopes of finding groups and individuals who want to give back to their community in a unique way, by building trails, gateway parks and pump tracks. We are positioned to become a cornerstone in the advancement of outdoor exercise and recreation in our area. THOR could become the go-to club for building these types of outdoor spaces but until we gain more members and more resources, we can't even throw our McCleod into the ring.

Schutz gave us some great direction and some attainable action items for 2010, all of which will be divulged soon in a minutes summary. There you will find out about a newer structure; one that will spread the work load across a few instead of one and also guide us along the way.

So stay tuned for more details. Kent has worked his way through the political quagmire to get THOR plugged into other health-minded groups and he has helped turn the spotlight on our community through visits from bike industry leaders. So, in return, he needs our help to get the word out about our group and what it can and will do for the active community. Let's be there for him!

General Membership meeting February 6. Save the date. More details to follow. Come willing to give it your all!