A Big Thank-You to Our Volunteers for 2009

A heartfelt thank-you message from the New River Valley Bicycle Association:

Everyone,

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the multitudes of people that made this year’s Wilderness Road Ride and Mountains of Misery a success. I am positive I have left names off the list – feel free to let me know, and we’ll give a shout out to those I missed!

First, I would like to thank James DeMarco, Director of the Cycling Double Header Event. For the last six years, James has been organizing the various planning committees to host two of the best rides on the East Coast. Additionally, he works non-stop for about 72 hours during the Memorial Day weekend – does he sleep? The comments we receive from riders following the event are testimony to the great work James does.

We would especially like to thank Chris Betz, at East Coasters - our Title Sponsor, for their support. East Coasters continuously promotes road cycling and mountain biking and has a new youth program to bring along a new generation of cyclists. Please be sure to thank Chris when you see him.

Next I would like to thank Tina King, Director of the New River Valley Agency on Aging, for bringing new energy and an army of volunteers to the Wilderness Road Ride. (And I’m sure I missed a few names in the host of volunteers she brought along.)

A huge round of applause goes to the following people who served as the Cycling Double Header Planning Committee Chairs. These are the folks who coordinated the following: contact with all of the sponsors, making the advertisements, recruiting volunteers for rest stops, recruiting and coaching SAG drivers and mechanics, setting up the Start/Finish venues, organizing the parking, marking the courses, and making sure everyone had two fun-filled and safe days of riding. And many of these folks worked both Saturday and Sunday!

Wilderness Road Ride

Iain Clelland

Katrina Cometa

Susan Helms

Pete Huber

Cecil King

Cassie Mills

JP Palmer

Everett Peterson

David Pynn

Geoff Saunders

Don Singleton

Ava Stillwell

Kathy Terwillinger

Mountains of Misery

Rob Davie

Jerry Ford

Ava Howard

Andrew McElvery

Karen Novak

Matt O’Toole

Wil Orndorff

Zenah Orndorff

Spencer Riddile

Dave Roberts

James Rosar

Steve Skripak

Gretchen Willard

While Liz Hokanson did not have a specific Committee Chair position, she was there every step of the way, offering advice, filling in where needed, and completing all of the miscellaneous tasks that popped up. She was an invaluable resource.

There were a number of people throughout the planning process who had impeccable timing, showing up just when help was needed. Special thanks goes to: Ed Hokanson, John Novak and Clay Nichols.

Now, I would like to recognize all of the day of event volunteers – without these people, we could not hold these rides. Again – I know I’m going to miss some folks, and this isn’t intentional. Let me know if I’ve missed anyone!

Registration

Laurel McMillan

Cate Berenato

Ian Shreckengast

Jamie Ness

Phil Thompson

Kelly McPherson

Wilderness Road Ride

Brian Meadowcraft

Scott Wilborne

Shawn Veltman

Dick Kates

Jim Kline

Mark Piechoski

Dean Mook

Jason Wilson

Kathy Byrd

Curt Nuenginghoff

Sally Mook

Deb Lineweaver

Sheila Nelson

Bobby Parker

Pat Hulaska

Carol Walters

Elyse Politi

Anne Thompson

Tom Keenan

Steve Walters

Janet Brennend

Richard Meador

Andrew Shepherd

Ian Million

Teresa Burke

Donna Meador

Angela Little

Mountains of Misery

Ingrid Burbey

Kylie Johnson

Darlene Brookman (Depot Lodge)

Ted Settle

Katherine Ferguson

Beth Kipp

Carmen Green

Lisa Horney

Ron Bos

Tiffany Gross

Faustine Settle

Elizabeth Ferguson

Mimie Dannhardt

Chris Dunavant

Daniel Homa

Dave McMillan

Adam Carpanetti

Eum Chang

Maggie Ferguson

Beth Abbey (& Tim)

Karen Davidson

Bob Broyden

Rich Harrell

Carlton Thornberry

Yuriko Renardy

Travertine Orndorff

David Burke

Gretchen Weinnig

Janet Rankin

Velvet Minnick

Kathy Hixon

Aaron Mullins

Naomi Orndorff

Teresa Burke

Doug Clary

Pam Higginbotham

Dave Jenkins

Tyler Price

Arun Sivaraman

Charlotte Waggoner

Don Jensen

Dan Casey

Kim Farmer

Colleen Carpenter-Woods

Matt Brinckman

Julian Esguerra

Valdis Kletnieks & the Boy Scouts

Edith Jensen

Clair James

John Alerding

Dale Kipp

Beth Howell

Steve Nagle

Todd Metz

Chuck Kugler

Dan Mirolli

Roger Woolford

Helen Renquist

Gloria Kiernan

Earline Orndorff

Bill Orndorff

Rhiannon Chandler

Beth Cross

Jerry Cross

Naomi Pomrenke

Ellen Binder

Ted Gates

Denny Carlyle

Ed Davidson

Linda Burk

Troy Smith

Casey Boxall

Tom Keenan

Wendy Kelley

George Simmons

Lee Ferguson

Adam Grose

Yusef Messallam

Jim Marchant

Dave Abraham

Blake Parker

Ben Parker

Wynne Parker

And I would like to give a big shout of thanks to the Blacksburg High School Cross Country Team & Booster parents and kids. These folks record rider times, take exceptional care of the bicycles – loading and unloading the bikes, preparing food for the riders at the end of MoM, and hauling out trash at the end of the day! A special thanks to Stephen and Mathew Howard for overseeing the bike unloading and claim area!

I would like to thank Ava Howard for assistance with poster design, organizing the finish venue, coordinating parents for the VDOT flagger training, and for the unpacking party at the locker on Memorial Day. A trooper to the very end!

Lastly, I would like to thank LB Day, VDOT employee by day and volunteer by evening, for offering his expertise in planning the shoulder closure, the lane closure and the Route 460 crossings.

Again the rides would not have been possible without all of these people. Pat them on the back for a job well done the next time you see them on the street or on their bikes!

Beth Lohman
NRVBA President