With our Annual General Meeting a week away, the current Board of Directors is putting out a call for skills and diversity. The BOD is a group of people passionate about steering the mountain biking community toward a bigger and brighter future. As a club, we have seen explosive growth in the last couple years. Being a member of the board is a large responsibility and answers to the membership. We are looking for people that have skills that will help this club grow in a responsible way. We will be voting on the BOD for 2022 at the AGM this Wednesday January 26th at 7:30pm via zoom. For more information about the AGM and to register please visit: https://www.blacksheepmtb.com/2022/01/13/blacksheep-2021-annual-general-meeting/
In the words of Brent Maranzan, current Treasurer of Blacksheep.
“As we get closer to the end of the year and our annual general meeting, it’s time to reflect a bit on where we have come from, and where we are going as a club. Personally, I joined the board in 2018. At that point, we had just come through a blockbuster year as a club – membership was up almost 70% from the year before, to just over 300 and we were starting to contemplate exciting initiatives such as funding a snowdog for grooming. Fast forward to 2021 and now we have over 500 members, we’ve secured over a million dollars in grants for trail development and we are playing a vital role in the development and maintenance of one of the best multi-use trail networks in Canada east of the Rockies.
The passion and skills of our Board have led us to this point. It’s been great to work with such a talented and dedicated group – both those currently on the board and past members since I joined. The issue that we face now is that we can’t go back to being a small club governed by an inexperienced group of young guys (mostly white males) with a passion for mountain biking. As our club gets bigger, so do the issues facing the club. Also, our board desperately needs to reflect our membership and our community, and right now it does not. Our membership is a very diverse group of men and women, yet our board is only young men. This needs to change. We desperately need women to join our board! As well, First Nations people make up roughly 30% of the population in Thunder Bay and we have none on our board. We need First Nations representation to move forward. The bottom line is that our board really needs more diversity so that it more closely reflects our community, and has those voices are at our table.
As we continue to grow, so will our headaches. A small club with a small budget and footprint can get away with cutting corners that a larger club can’t. We need to move towards being a strength-based board and attract people with specific skills. We have been moving in this direction (as a CPA, CA, that was why I joined initially). When I look at our membership list, we have some incredibly talented people who would have a lot to contribute. Skills and experience in areas such as legal, fundraising, event planning, marketing and volunteer coordination are always needed on a board like ours. Our board is in great shape right now, but we need to always be looking to the future and thinking about succession planning.
I’m writing this in the hopes that there are people out there with a passion for what we are doing, and what we can do in the future, who may read it and consider joining us next year. If you have any questions or interest in getting involved in our board or a committee, please feel free to contact any of our existing board members to discuss what that might look like. You don’t have to dive right in, we have positions which are perfect for dipping your toes in first. Please consider helping us become a more representative, inclusive and strength-based board in 2022 and beyond!”
The BOD will be discussing and the club will be voting on Board turnover moving forward. Historically the board has been positions of convenience. We are looking to recruit new and diverse talent to continue this amazing growth. To view the current BOD and see the positions please visit: https://www.blacksheepmtb.com/aboutus/. The current positions we are looking to fill are:
- Vice President
- Secretary
- Trail Development Chair
- Member at Large
- Sponsorship Director
We are looking for people with skills that will help this club progress. If you or someone you know is looking to join the board, or has any questions regarding the board, please get in contact with us at info@blacksheepmtb.com. If you have skills you are able to volunteer but aren’t interested in a leadership role we are also interested in you. There are also many committees that are in need of some talent. Again please reach out. We would love to have you. See you all at the AGM!
