2009 Rally Wrapup
by Carl McDonald, President
May 2009

The last four months I feel like I jumped out of a plane, not really knowing if I could trust the design, materials, and people that were responsible for my parachute. I think I’ve landed safely.

With the 2009 Lancaster Country Ride behind us now, I am not alone in breathing a sigh of relief. We are grateful for so many things…the cooperative weather, the huge turnout of interested cyclists (over 1,100), even the wildflowers put on one the best shows that could be asked for!

Above all, we are most grateful for the volunteers it takes to put this ride together. It is the largest event we do, the most important time of the year for the club, and the result was a fabulous rally. We owe a huge thanks to each and every one of the nearly one hundred volunteers that pitched in and made the ride a huge success!

Stepping forward this year to lend their considerable talents in organizing and oversight were two fairly new members of the club, Tawnia Wise and Jennifer Fox. They served as co-directors for the rally and did so in such a remarkable way -- they made a difficult transition seamless. Throughout this experience I know I had that “deer in the headlights” look about me, as I watched them assemble all the parts and kick the engine over that brought us through. We are deeply indebted to them for all their leadership and guidance.

Putting on an event the size of the rally is not unlike sitting down to eat a twenty pound steak. It can be done, but not all at once. You need some help and you have go about it one bite at a time. Tawnia Wise has been working tirelessly to put together a systematic approach to the organization of the Lancaster ride to include timelines, duties, correspondence, and coordination of efforts all in one place, so in future years the groundwork is covered for successful rallies.

Tawnia organized all the volunteers around team captains, who were charged with gathering their volunteers and overseeing the various pieces that put this event into motion. The captains stand out as the make-it or break-it crucial element of a successful rally and I’d like to thank the following individuals for their enormously important work:

• Gary Boudreaux – Finish Line Captain, map and cue sheet wizard, on-site packet pick-up
• Charlie Bailey – Rest Stop Five Captain
• Paul Brown – Packet Pick-up Captain
• Gerry Cole – Socks Captain
• Jonathan Schlesinger – Rest Stop Four Captain
• Jennifer Fox/Tawnia Wise – Rest Stop Three Captains, packet stuffing, packet pick-up, on-site registration, co-directors of the rally
• Bobby Emmett – Packet Pick-up Captain
• Steve Rovinsky – Rest Stop Two Captain
• Heath Lambert – Audio Systems Captain
• Tony Guthrie – Rest Stop One Captain
• Bob Murdoch – Packet Pick-up Captain
• Brent Aston – Rest Stop Supplies Delivery Captain
• Tommy Fitzgerald – Parking Captain
• John Gillard – Staging (start line) Captain
• Mike Eipper – SAG Captain
• Phil Watson – Pre-Rally Set-up Captain

In addition to these folks, our members stepped up to fill the nearly one hundred volunteer positions for this to be the best Lancaster Country Ride ever.

That bit about the parachute? I was asked by the membership to serve as president for a term and I agreed. The experience is not unlike jumping out of a plane. We just have to trust in others. Thank you for all your help!