The Estes Park Cycling Coalition (EPCC) elected its first Board of Directors. The new leadership will guide the Coalition to work towards achieving its Mission in the coming years. The Mission of EPCC is to create, enhance and preserve great bicycling in and around Estes Park, and create a bicycle-friendly community through cycling awareness, safety, advocacy and promotion of bicycling for fun, fitness and transportation.

EPCC started in 2014 as a grassroots effort by local bicycling enthusiasts who wanted to improve opportunities for all forms of bicycling in Estes Park. EPCC’s main goals and objectives are to focus on improving bicycling safety, developing trails, and improving and maintaining bicycling routes in and around town. Estes Park is recognized as a bicycling destination for professional level road cyclists.

There is potential to attract mountain bikers and more families looking for safe places to ride with their children. Board Chair Alicia Rochambeau explains “On behalf of the Board, we are very excited to improve cycling opportunities of all kinds in and around Estes Park. Bike riding has countless benefits for our health, the environment, the local economy, and community building.”

EPCC holds meetings once a month with the next meeting on January 20 at 7:00 p.m. at the Rock Cut Brewing Company. Anyone interested in attending is welcome to join and learn more about the Estes Park Cycling Coalition.

Estes Park Cycling Coalition Board of Directors, left to right on the photo: Mike Lewelling (Director), Alicia Rochambeau (Chair) Todd Plummer (Treasurer) Erica Goad (Secretary), Thad Eggen (Vice-Chair)

Thank you for the wonderful input on the EPCC survey over the summer, we learned a lot from you in terms of how the Cycling Coalition can best meet your needs. In order for EPCC to start accomplishing all of the great projects, ideas, and events we all have in mind and have been discussing for a while, it’s time to get a little more formal. We are going to start the journey to becoming a 501(c)3 organization, which will allow us to do fundraising, purchase liability insurance, and have more clout as an official organization. The first step is to establish a more official leadership structure. From there, we can start working on drafting by-laws, getting bank accounts set up, narrowing our objectives, and incorporating the organization.

None of the following ideas are set in stone, so we welcome any feedback to bikeestes@gmail.com.  Please let us know if you have any thoughts, comments, or questions as we start moving through this process! Here are the highlights of the structure that we are most strongly considering:

• Beginning in 2016, EPCC will begin charging annual membership dues of $25 per person/$30 family. Funding will be available for upcoming projects, events, or to leverage more funding from granting agencies.
  • By becoming a paying member of EPCC, you can vote on important decisions, serve on committees, and know that you are supporting a better biking culture in Estes Park
  • Membership will also get you a 15% discount on non-sale items at both the Mountain Shop and Via Bicycle Cafe
• We will have a Board of Directors with 5 members, including a President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. Each member will have a term that lasts one year, with annual elections occurring in November or December.
• There will be Board meetings quarterly, where business and administrative information, such as budgets, by-laws, and policies will be reviewed. These meetings will be open to anyone, but only the Board of Directors will be required to attend.
• We will continue to have monthly membership-wide meetings on the third Wednesday of the month, where the purpose of the meetings will be to provide a place for the Board of Directors to hear from the members and to update the members on any news, where new ideas and projects can be discussed, and where fun events can occur or can be organized. We’ll keep these meetings light on “business”, and as short and efficient as possible, so we can all go out to happy hour afterwards.
• Group rides, potlucks, and happy hours will become a bigger focus, and can be organized by anyone.
• Project- or goal-specific committees will be organized and can include both Board of Directors and volunteers from the wider membership. General members may lead committees.

The Board of Directors will be nominated and elected by the wider membership. We would like to hold the first vote at the next meeting on November 18^th at 7 p.m. at Rock Cut Brewing Company. If you can’t make the meeting, we’ll send out another email with information on how to vote online. Please see the job descriptions for Board of Directors below, and send any nominations to bikeestes@gmail.com. If you or anyone you know is interested, please let us know (you can nominate yourself)! Help set the direction and impact of EPCC!

Board of Directors will be required to attend 4 meetings per year. Directors will rotate “hosting” monthly membership-wide meetings (so each member will be responsible for 2-3 meetings per year, but not required to attend all meetings). Board of Directors may always abstain from votes or decision-making if there is a conflict of interest. In the near term, the focus of the Board will be to formalize EPCC as an organization.

President:
The President of EPCC Board is the main contact and spokesperson for EPCC. In addition, the President will be responsible for leading Board meetings, managing or delegating the management of official collaborative relationships, fielding outside inquiries, and assisting with committees.
Estimated time commitment: 5-10 hours/month

Vice President:
The Vice President of EPCC Board will be in charge of maintaining membership information, communications with the membership, and leading meetings if the President is unable to do so.
Estimated time commitment: 4-6 hours/month

Secretary:
The Secretary of EPCC Board will be responsible for taking minutes at Board meetings, keeping official records, and working with the President to set the agenda for the Board meetings. The Secretary will also work with the Vice President to communicate EPCC news and events to the wider membership and the public.
Estimated time commitment: 5-8 hours/month

Treasurer:
The Treasurer of EPCC Board will be responsible for managing the finances of the organization, and reporting on the finances biannually at Board meetings. Any fundraising efforts or spending will be approved by the Treasurer.
Estimated time commitment: 5-10 hours/month

Director:
Any Board Director not serving in one of the above 4 functions is a Director.  Directors will be responsible for assisting with committees, researching and voting on important decisions, and representing the organization.
Estimated time commitment: 3-6 hours/month

Email nominations for Board of Directors to bikeestes@gmail.com. Nominations will be announced at the November 18th meeting at Rock Cut Brewing Company, and voting will start there!