MINUTES of CentreBike General Meeting
March 17, 2015
Meeting held at Videon Central, 2171 Sandy Dr, State College, PA.
Present:
- Jim Serene, President
- Joan Potter, Secretary
- Anna Morrison Nelson
- Paul Rito
- Brian Dempsey
- Lynda Crow
- Brucie Serene
- Sarah Pollock
- Cliff Kanz
- Ed Jenkins
- Henry Margusity
- Andrew Artz
- Cindy Petrick
- Jean Bemis
- Mark Higgins
- Garnet Ninosky
The meeting was called to order by Jim Serene at 5:30 pm. A quorum was present, and the meeting was ready to proceed with business.
Jim welcomed everyone in attendance and introduced a guest, Garnet Ninosky, who is the Safety Press Officer for the PA Department of Transportation. Garnet announced a press event being organized for May 8th in front of Old Main or at Pattee Library with the focus on bicycle safety. Local media will be invited and she asked CentreBike to encourage members to attend for a photo opportunity.
Old Business
Website – Anna Nelson gave an overview of the new website and said it will be ready to go live very soon.
Winter Bike to Work Day – The event organized by Anna Nelson on February 13th was well attended in spite of the bitter cold. Coffee was provided and a great photo of all the riders was taken on Old Main steps. Anna has recommended promoting more “bike to work days” every Friday in May and offer free coffee for cyclists at a different location each week. Suggestions are Allen Street Gate, Old Main Steps, the Bike Shops, the Borough Building, and the IST bridge on Burrowes. Anna will follow-up with more details via email.
Announcements
Megan Tuttle is resigning as Vice President of CentreBike and Anna Nelson has agreed to step in as VP. All in favor.
Light Step Right Step Festival – Lauren Muthlers, an Americorp member organizing the event on May 1st, has asked if CentreBike will partner with them to kick-off Bike Month. The event theme is “Alternative Transportation” and is tentatively scheduled to be held in the Sydney Friedman Park. They hope to have music and food trucks, and other event ideas include a bike clothing fashion show and valet bike parking.
Keystone Transportation Funding Coalition [http://keystonetransportation.org/]– Contacted CentreBike to request we become a member of their Coalition. There is no financial obligation. Their goal is to secure a “comprehensive, long-term, multimodal solution to PA’s transportation funding needs.”
New Business
Discussion of May Bike Month events –
May 1st: Brian has reserved a table for the Allen Street Gate on May 1st to kick off Bike Month. Volunteers from CentreBike, NMBA and SC Cycling are needed to staff the table from 8:00a-5:00p, and the bike shops will be contacted to provide bike repairs. This will be a coffee stop for commuters. The Light Step Right Step Festival will begin at 5:00p. The National Bike Challenge kicks off.
May 3rd: Linden Loop Bike, Run or Walk
May 8th: PA Dept of Transporation Bicycle Safety event will take place on Old Main steps. This will also be a coffee stop for commuters.
May 10th: Mothers Day Ride
May 15th: National Bike to Work Day. Commuter coffee stop
May 16th: Ride with Mayor Goreham
May 22nd: Commuter coffee stop
May 28th: Commuter coffee stop
May 31st: Bestwick Foundation’s “Bike for Life” Ride
Andrew Artz, a member of the Penn State Cycling Club, is the organizer of the Nittany Stage Race planned for August 1st-2nd in State College. He gave an overview of this multi-event cycling tournament that will include criterium, time trial and road race elements, and all proceeds will go to the Bestwick Foundation.
Paul Rito mentioned that he will register CentreBike to host a local challenge in the National Bike Challenge again this year, which starts on May 1st. Regardless of what team, workplace or school an individual registers with, everyone with a zip code in the Centre Region will automatically be grouped in the local challenge community.
There being no further business to come before the meeting, it adjourned at 6:50 pm, and was followed by a social hour.
Respectfully submitted,
Joan Potter, Secretary
