nsmbA AGM 2008

My 2 cents.

Go after grants to build a wicked high alpine "xc" trail.

can you imagine? the view possibilities are staggering.

Lets not bicker about what didn't happen in the last couple seasons and look at what needs to happen to move forward. Finger pointing will not get us anywhere.

agreed. stop harping on the past everyone - all of the directors at the meeting were extremely committed about better communication going forward. the horse is dead, pick another topic.

More Rippers.

didn't you hear? the ripperS are no more - it's going to be a "ripper weekend" with a DH race down neds. end of May i think, or something like that.

didn't you hear? the ripperS are no more - it's going to be a "ripper weekend" with a DH race down neds. end of May i think, or something like that.

Going to Bike Weekend… name unknown.

To reflect the progression of the sport into more organized racing events, the Ripper "If you can call us organizers" felt that the time had come to hold off on the Rippers and have an entire weekend of biking on the Shore.

The weekend is May 23rd and 24th.

Main events… Epic XC on the Saturday, followed by a BC Cycling sanctioned Dh race on Seymour on the Sunday.

More news to follow once we get it all sorted… which may never happen. ;)

With regards to the NSMBA… give Matt a chance, if you have questions he is the guy to answer them. Great things will come from him!

Dan

Forgive me father, for I'm about to sin.

Cam, you're a well respected member of the biking community as well as the community at large. Your commitment to both is recognised by all.

However, NSMB is a business. As the owner of that business you have a financial interest in channeling NSMBA news, and the attached traffic, to your website. For this reason, your views on the subject, regardless of validity, are a clear conflict of interest.

You are entitled to your opinion and I'm glad you feel free to express it here. Dissenting views keep organizations honest - and I'm often on the dissenting end of discussions like this. I'll bow out of this thread.

With regards to the NSMBA… give Matt a chance, if you have questions he is the guy to answer them. Great things will come from him!

No pressure man, no pressure :D

Have you recently tried to solicit sponsorship dollars?

As someone whom has sent out MANY emails and made a ton of phone calls on behalf of the NSMBA to try and raise some funds this is much harder than it sounds. Yes some are able to donate a little product, but trying to get a pretty small sum of cash is almost impossible. Companies you think make their entire existence on North Shore trails give less than some local riders.

Also to note this wasn't just cold calling random people with no contact, this was using pretty much the most coveted personal contact list of Richard Juryn.

Not so say it's impossible but it's certainly not as simple having "industry cred".

I'd love to have the chance to come up and chat with the NSMBA directors about this. We've been able to grow the Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance in Seattle to the point where we have 2 full time staff plus another full-time equivalent in staff building bike parks/trails. It's been a bumpy road at times, but looking back, it's amazing how far we've come.

6 years ago, we were where you are today. We had maybe a $20k annual budget, and decided to invest that money in a half-time staffer. You guys have a lot more than us in some ways, with you kick-ass trails and dedicated volunteers/trail builders. We had to make the leap because getting trail access in Washington State, particularly in the Seattle area, is a wee bit challenging. It was time to grow, or watch our trail access wither away.

We've always been told that most of our donors will be private individuals rather than corporate sponsors. This has certainly held to be true. I think you also have to make contact an average of 7 times before someone donates. The exception is that we've gotten some big government and mid-sized corporate grants to build our 2 mountain bike skills parks (Colonnade is done, Duthie Hill is just starting).

I'm not saying we've got everything figured out, but I'm convinced that hiring staff was the best thing we've ever done. Jeez, I sound like a salesman with this pitch.

Justin

This is quiet the sewing circle.

How many were at the AGM? I bet not even 10% of the membership…

How many stepped up to offer yourself as a Director / Officer…

How many went to trail days vs how many days riding did you do this year on the shore…

How many of you donated anything at all other than your bullshit attitudes and opinions to the NSMBA…

Shirk - The Monkey was at the AGM, and has done many trail days, and assisted in other locales. He's also assisted the past few years with the gearswap (aside from last year's), where he and I tried to push ideas into the gearswap and were blocked…
Don't even start me on my non-returned nsmba email that led to a sizeable donation heading elsewhere…

The shore is surrounded by an urban area, with probably the highest concentration of riders in the world!!

Follow the Worca example, pay for admin, charge membership, pay for trail maintenance..they definately do it the right way..

You are entitled to your opinion and I'm glad you feel free to express it here. Dissenting views keep organizations honest - and I'm often on the dissenting end of discussions like this. I'll bow out of this thread.

Cam, please don't bow out of the thread. My comments were just about the forum.

I agree with Lee that if NSMB can act as an iterim solution to one of the communication gaps (e.g. the forum), than great.

As someone whom has sent out MANY emails and made a ton of phone calls on behalf of the NSMBA to try and raise some funds this is much harder than it sounds. Yes some are able to donate a little product, but trying to get a pretty small sum of cash is almost impossible. Companies you think make their entire existence on North Shore trails give less than some local riders.
.

If you want someone to buy you need something to sell.

Start with a Vision - why should I support you? So you can have a kick ass trail network to ride, sell your bikes on and sell to people who will buy your bikes.

What's in it for me? - By supporting us you will have your name associated with this kick ass trail system that is visited by 500 riders PER DAY over the summer months and not much less then that on the winter months.

What if I do more for you? - have your name directly associated with this Kick ass trail system by having your name on posters at the trail heads so that people from out of town who are just learning about this area see your name associated with these kick ass trails.

Why should I - Joe Blow - Give you my $20.00. Because look at all the work we've done on these trails. We've put up Maps, we've built this bridge, we've built this structure, WE have given YOU this riding experience.

Go check out the website for pictures of all the work we have done on the trails YOU ride, see how we support individual builders on trails YOU ride.

That not enough for you? Give us X dollars, we'll give you a tshirt, Give us X dollars we'll give you a Jersey!

Bottom line - Its all about the trails.

I like it: "NSMBA…It's all about the trails".

If you want someone to buy you need something to sell.

Start with a Vision - why should I support you? So you can have a kick ass trail network to ride, sell your bikes on and sell to people who will buy your bikes.

What's in it for me? - By supporting us you will have your name associated with this kick ass trail system that is visited by 500 riders PER DAY over the summer months and not much less then that on the winter months.

What if I do more for you? - have your name directly associated with this Kick ass trail system by having your name on posters at the trail heads so that people from out of town who are just learning about this area see your name associated with these kick ass trails.

Why should I - Joe Blow - Give you my $20.00. Because look at all the work we've done on these trails. We've put up Maps, we've built this bridge, we've built this structure, WE have given YOU this riding experience.

Go check out the website for pictures of all the work we have done on the trails YOU ride, see how we support individual builders on trails YOU ride.

That not enough for you? Give us X dollars, we'll give you a tshirt, Give us X dollars we'll give you a Jersey!

Bottom line - Its all about the trails.

I hate to say this Sharon (I know you don't want this), but we need you back directly involved with the NSMBA as a director. You have knowledge and insite that the new directors need to tap into directly, they need to learn from your past experiences. Statements like the one above give meaning and direction for the NSMBA organization, your words may sound a little "punk ass" in it's tone, but they are totally correct.

Maybe something like that should be posted on the NSMBA site as a donation request.

If you want someone to buy you need something to sell.

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Bottom line - Its all about the trails.

There was a vision…and a visionary person behind the start of the sponsorship team.

I hate to say this Sharon (I know you don't want this), but we need you back directly involved with the NSMBA as a director.

I disagree

She needs to come back and be paid for what she does.