Happy Sunday my fellow Wanderers!
First, I hope you are well!
Second, I must apologize for not communicating with all of you much sooner. It was very inconsiderate of me not to send anything out for months and you and the club deserve better than what I have done as club president these past several months. I hope you will forgive me and know that I am committed to my responsibilities and will be in better communication and engagement. (Please see the fourth point, because I recognize we are a club and it's about us, not me.)
Third, below is the original message I started and found in my drafts regarding our annual meeting.
As you are probably aware, we held the GWCC annual meeting, ride, potluck, and elections then.
Here's a (semi) brief summary:
(Joyce will share minutes at a later date.)
A mix of riders braved the winds and had quite an enjoyable time together. (Yay!)
The Treasurer's report and minutes from the last board meeting were reviewed and accepted.
And then we went to elections. (Drum roll...)
All board members are re-elected:
Dave Mansfield, Jessica Lanave, Jim Lanave, Jim Hoppenrath, Joyce Wierzbicki, Matt Assenmacher, Mike Kincaid, Paulette Maloney
Thank you everyone for your willingness to serve GWCC!!!
If you are interested in serving on the GWCC Board, please let any of us know!
Now for the officers: (Another drum roll please...)
Yay, Congratulations, and Thank you!!!
Paulette and Joyce have done a fantastic job in their respective roles and we're all very thankful for their willingness to continue in them!
Jim is coming back into his role as an officer of the board and is happy to help!
I am grateful for the opportunity to serve as GWCC's board president! Thank you!
As we discussed at the meeting, some of the feedback from the survey (you still have time to respond) was:
- More rides throughout the county (not just Tuesday in Lennon)
- Collaboration/Promotion of other clubs/orgs/rides in the county
- Getting together quarterly without riding to socialize
- Coordinate club members traveling to do a specific ride
- Distinguish rides with varied speeds and offer some 12mph or less rides for a group
- Inform members of advocacy opportunities that affect cycling in Michigan and/or Genesee County
(I didn't finish the email so this is the end with regards to the annual meeting summary.)
Following that meeting multiple members regularly started posting their rides in the forum and I believe they each had new riders and many times an increased number of riders for their rides. GWCC members had (road and gravel) rides in Lennon, Fenton, Metamora, Grand Blanc, and Gaines shared in the forum.
I recognize we missed some opportunities, as we are at the end of the riding season for 2025, however this gives us an opportunity to be better prepared for 2026.
Fourth, to be better prepared for 2026, it will take some people to do some things that will likely make a big impact on the club and individual members. Think about how you might like to be involved- would you like to coordinate the quarterly get-togethers (off the bike); would you be willing to be the liaison to some of the other local clubs/groups and share our and their ride info (send it to the forum email); would you be willing to repost our social media posts; does something on that list above interest or excite you and do you have an idea of what we could to do it?
If there is something that does interest you, please don't think it's too much work or I don't know what to do, know that help is available. We (the board) want to involve more people in our endeavors. We hope you know you have a place in GWCC. (You have a place in GWCC whether you volunteer or not!) Maybe you already have an idea and are ready to implement it. Sweet!
Please let me know if you are interested, have questions, comments or concerns.
Fifth, some of you may know I wear a few hats, in addition to serving on the GWCC board, I am the Ride Coordinator for the Assenmacher 100 (save the date- August 16, 2026), and outside of the club, I am the Outreach Coordinator for the League of Michigan Bicyclists (LMB). If you are not familiar with LMB, we are the statewide organization that advocates for safer and more accessible cycling throughout Michigan. I would like to periodically share pertinent information with the club because it impacts cycling in our area. LMB is a non-profit, member based organization. I will do my best to remove any type of appeal that might be in a message. (i.e. I will share one regarding the upcoming House Judiciary Committee meeting regarding the VRU bills. These bills have already passed in the Senate. If they make it out of Committee, they are likely to pass in the full House and it is very likely the Governor would sign them into law.)
I am sorry for the length of this. If you made it to the end, thank you! And thanks for being part of GWCC!!
Please feel free to share any comments, questions or concerns about anything in the email or about GWCC.
SIncerely,
Jessica
Jessica Lanave
810-955-3892