ommencement addresses are traditionally given at the end of an academic year. But a commencement actually marks the beginning of a process. So I figured it would only be fitting to give a brief commencement address marking the end of my first year as the club’s president and the beginning of my second term.
It’s been quite an exciting and interesting year filled with numerous accomplishments and some unrealized goals. The club is financially sound, the marathon program is flourishing, and membership is steady. A fantastic new newsletter was created by Richard Garland to compliment our amazing blog. Member perks were increased including a run sponsored by New Balance, a new benefits directory, and increased subsidies for the Marathon Pasta Dinner and Awards Gala. Informative and inspirational speakers addressed the club including Mary Wittenberg and Matt Long.
I have learned a lot as your President, most significantly that it is difficult to achieve all your goals within a year. There can be no doubt that more can be accomplished in the second year of a presidency than in the first year when you are still learning. With the knowledge gleaned from the past, the road ahead is extremely bright.
This is a golden opportunity which must be seized by us all. We are at a crossroads. The club has over six hundred members and conducts numerous events. There are so many more events, runs, and programs we can and should do. However, volunteers are needed to work on these events. Some events that were done in the past and new ones proposed for the future are not done because we lack the necessary manpower. This issue will be addressed by the 2011 Executive Board at its first meeting next week. Numerous proposals have been floating around and some involve reforming the organizational structure of the club to more effectively disperse the responsibilities and power.
The paths we choose with have ramifications for years to come. The programs and events we organize will benefit us all. I would like to further expand the Marathon Training Program, have the Flyers sponsor more interclub socials, arrange a charity run, and expand member benefits. But these (and many other) ideas require volunteers. So in the end, we need the members to step up and help out or all these and other ideas will be nothing more than pipedreams.
As rocky as the road may be at times, I want to finish the journey I started. At times it may be difficult, but like a marathon the end result will
outweigh any pain incurred along the way. I asked that you join me on this exciting journey. Together we can accomplish the difficult; alone we
stand to fail ourselves and the club we love so much.
lthough I'm a relatively new member of the Flyers, I'm excited to share my love of running and contribute my management skills to the club. As Glen put so well, "there are so many more events, runs, and programs we can and should do." As Vice President, I'm looking forward to helping organize and manage some of these efforts, and to recruiting the energetic volunteers we need to move them forward.
I have a ton of experience with large-scale event planning and project management. In business school, I was Co-Vice President of Community Service. I organized and publicized events for over 2000 participants-- including community clean ups, home building, Hurricane Katrina fundraising, and charity races. I also managed large projects as Yearbook Editor and Outreach Director for the Marketing Club Conference — an event organized for hundreds of business executives and students. With my career in digital marketing, I manage multiple large-scale teams on projects spanning from several days to several years. I lead monthly management "peer group" forums and have planned several company-wide events, including a Vice President off site for 100+ executives. In addition to my experience with event planning and project management, I think that my knowledge about digital/ social marketing can be a valuable asset to help bring the Flyers’ marketing efforts to the next step.
Beyond helping others achieve personal goals — nothing beats that complete battle of fear and excitement at the starting line of a marathon — I’d love to integrate my passion for helping others with my love of endurance sports. I will help the NY Flyers become even more active with charity programs and events that members feel excited about, from kids' running programs to cancer support. I have been an active volunteer in the past, primarily as a lifeguard for Special Olympics events and as a weekly volunteer at Memorial Sloan-Kettering's pediatric oncology unit for two years.
I’m relatively new to the club, but I expect to bring a fresh perspective and energy to the management team. I look forward to building a lifelong
relationship with the Flyers, and to hearing your ideas and feedback.
am honored and humbled to be serving as Treasurer for the Flyers for 2011. Since moving to New York City in 2007, the Flyers have played an important role in making me feel at home in this new city, helping me develop as a runner and, most importantly, making some terrific new friends. I am lucky to be following in the footsteps of Treasurer Brian Mayor and other talented Treasurers before him. I will do my very best to continue this tradition of excellent financial responsibility.
I have a degree in accounting from Drexel University in Philadelphia and I am a CPA. I worked for over 10 years at the accounting firm, Price Waterhouse (and then PricewaterhouseCoopers) in Philadelphia. I was a Senior Manager specializing in individual taxes for Americans working overseas and foreigners working in the US. Subsequently, I worked at Comcast Corporation running the executive payroll and stock option plans. In addition to handling the unique technical aspects of these specialties, both jobs required explaining complicated tax situations to non-financial executives. I am experienced with Microsoft Office programs and Quicken. Given the variety of issues I've dealt with, I am a quick learner of new accounting issues. I feel I would be organized and reliable as Treasurer.
Thank you for this opportunity to serve the Flyers and give back to this club that has given me so much.
s the secretary I hope to help the club address the needs of its members and find ways to make it easier for members to be active with the Flyers. As a new member it took me a while to find my way to be part of the club and I want to make it easier for others. With such a large and diverse membership, it would be great to hear directly from members on what you would like to see implemented in the upcoming year. The newsletter is a great vehicle for communication. I’d like to highlight accomplishments of our fellow Flyers, so let me know what you are doing, and I will try to make it a point to stay connected and find out for myself.
In my professional life I work for an accounting firm overseeing the administrative support for all functions. I also manage the firm’s volunteer and community relations activities for our New York office. My firm is very supportive of the New York community, and I’ve been able to incorporate running and fitness into some of what we do as an office, and support those activities for others in my firm. I won our Chairman’s Award and was able to use the corporate donation in my name to join a Charity Team for the New York Half Marathon. In fact, it was through work and an introduction from a colleague in the office, I became pretty serious about running. It is great to combine a personal passion with giving back. As a group, I can help the Flyers with volunteer efforts, and of course highlight the accomplishments in the newsletter.
I am looking forward to serving on the Board. I look forward to and welcome your articles for publication in our newsletter. Feel free to submit articles to me on running (obviously), fitness, nutrition, PR’s, races, advice, etc. to . Thanks!
t is with a humble heart and great sense of excitement that I begin my year as Member at Large! For all of you who voted for me, a sincere thank you. And for those who didn’t — what was the matter with you? (Just kidding!) Seriously, I want to assure all of you that I will work extremely hard to help make what is already the best running club in NYC even better!
My official duties as “MAL” (which means “bad” in French by the way — oh yeah, I’m bad, you know it!) will include taking the lead in organizing such fantastical events as the New Flyer Run, Club Champs Picnic, Holiday Party, Pasta Party, TGIF, Club Mixer, and Scavenger Hunt. However, I will rely on all of you (yes, this means YOU!) to provide me with input in regards to what you would like to see happen with not only these events, but others as well. And of course, I will be relying on you (yes, this definitely means YOU!) to volunteer to help at events…after all, we can’t do anything without your help.
In addition to the above-mentioned duties, I will be your representative in other matters of interest to the club as needed (an example was the recent forum on how to get more people involved in weeknight group runs). So please feel free to email me with any question or concerns you may have — and I do mean ANY — no question/concern is too small. Rest assured that your voice will be heard and concerns addressed. On a related note, I am going to recommend that an annual survey be sent out to the members, to include such matters of interest as group runs, etc. Then we can get a better idea of your wants/needs. I would like to see this go out in the next month or so. Please feel free to contact me with issues you would like included on the survey.
And last, but most certainly not least, I will be the “face of the Flyers” in regards to a point of contact for those interested in joining the club. Scary thought, I know, if any of you have seen me at social events of late, but I promise that I can actually be professional and someone you are proud to put out front — and I LOVE to recruit people, so our club is likely to grow even more! More important than sheer numbers, of course, is the quality of the club, and that everyone feels they are being heard, so again SPEAK UP! And let’s all pull together to make this the best darn club EVER!!!
Thanks again, and I look forward to seeing many of you at the upcoming Awards Gala!!