2014 AGM Recap
NSMBA’s 2014 Annual General Meeting was held on November 26th at the Lynn Valley Recreation Centre. Our objective was to review the past year’s progress and to address our goals for 2015. As our NSMBA membership base continues to grow, we are obliged to adopt a more formal AGM approach. However, we believe we were able to strike the right balance of professionalism and fun to entertain more than 105 members and 11 guests in attendance – a record turnout! Thanks to everyone who participated. Events were published real-time via Twitter, for those who were not able to attend in person.
The evening began with a brief introduction from our President Vince Béasse, who outlined the agenda, including the NSMBA Legacy Fund, goals and directions for the 2015, financial reports, trail building achievements, special recognitions and changes in our Board of Directors.
Treasurer Rachid Nayel presented the financial report. Due to an increase in our number of paid members, partnerships, sponsors and donations, the NSMBA ends 2014 in a healthy and stable financial position. As a result, we have been able to set aside a dedicated amount of money for the creation of a Legacy fund for future projects and ongoing care for our trails. Donations to the Legacy fund will be matched, dollar-for-dollar, for the first $15,000. We would like to thank all our supporters for their generosity!
NSMBA Program Director Mark Wood provided a recap of the 2014 trail achievements. To date we have accrued 79 TAP trail days, 9 public trail days and 12 Builders’ Academies. A sincere thank you to our sponsors and volunteers who who contributed to incredible success! Collectively, the NSMBA will account for over 100 trail days in 2014, a milestone for the organization. While most of the historical work has focused on beginner and intermediate trails as a necessity, our focus into the future includes opportunities for the advanced rider – after all, it’s what put the Shore on the map! Detailed information on our trail work can be found here.
Our success can be gauged by our significant increase in membership over the past 5 years: from under 50 members in 2009, we have grown to 600 paying members. Purchasing an annual NSMBA membership demonstrates support for your local trail network on the North Shore and provides a cohesive voice for our community. Not only do memberships provide much needed financial support, they also lend credibility in discussions with land managers in our advocacy endeavors. Peter Morin and Todd ‘Digger’ Fiander, who have contributed many years to the mountain biking community on the North Shore, were recognized with lifetime membership cards to the NSMBA.
Prior to the AGM, we announced changes in our Board of Directors, creating new positions including the Director of Youth and a new Vice President role. For the first time in NSMBA history we had multiple candidates with excellent credentials vying for the same board position of Vice President. Voting is a membership privilege, and our members elected Ben Campbell-Berry for Vice President. Nick Brush was acclaimed Director of Youth, Sebastian Mueller took over the duties as Director of Marketing, and Jenny Beazley is our new Director of Advocacy. To the Directors stepping down in 2015, Norma Ibarra, Chris Brown and Matthew Lee, we offer our gratitude for their contributions and wish them all the best in their future endeavors.
President – Vince Beasse
VP – Ben Campbell-Barry
Treasurer – Rachid Nayel
Director of Marketing – Sebastain Mueller
Director of Advocacy – Jenny Beazley
Director of Membership – Heidi Manicke
Directors of Events – Tara Mowat & Sieneke Toering
Director of Trails – Todd Fiander
Director of Grants – John Kearns
Director of Races – Brian Earle
Director of Youth – Nick Brush
Secretary – Penny Deck
After the announcement of the special resolutions the open questions were marked by an interesting and emotional debate on Electric Powered or Assisted Bikes ( e-bikes), triggered by the recent decision by the Bureau of Land Management in Moab, Utah, to classify ebikes as motorized vehicles. As of the AGM the NSMBA has not reached a formal position on ebikes. Other topics included updates on the planned parking lot on Mountain Highway and an update on the trail situation on Cypress Mountain by Alan Bardsley.
We are looking forward to an ambitious 2015 thanks to support from our sponsors, donors and continued membership growth.
Our 2014 AGM Minutes can be found HERE.