GHORBA February Meeting Minutes

The meeting Monday night was full of information and activities:

HUNTSVILLE BRIDGE BUILDING:  We will be building the 65' REI bridge this
weekend on Saturday, the 15th starting at 9:00 a.m.  Bring your hammers,
shovels, and gloves.  Wood, cement, and other materials will be supplied.
Please be sure to sign in at the Ranger Station on the volunteer sheet, as
well as the GHORBA list, which will be with Paul and Richard.  This will
count for PayDirt and GHORBA trailwork hours.

JACK BROOKS TRAIL UPGRADES:  As part of the IMBA visit, the Trail Crew
visited the trails at Jack Brooks Park with the intent of reviewing the
existing trails and sharing in the idea of improving them.  The trails
typically stay wet for almost 3 weeks after a rain, so the goal is to make
the trails ridable sooner and to take better advantage of the available
topography.  Since that time, the Clear Lake riders had great meeting a
couple of Sundays ago to get organized for revitalizing the trails at Jack
Brooks.  John Verinder and Edgar Bustillos have also met with Tom Sasser of
Galveston County Parks and are working out the details of monies available
for bridge materials, work parameters, and goals.  The group will first be
GPSing the existing trails to put together a more detailed map and then
begin laying out possible improvements and/or reroutes.  Bridges and
boardwalks will also be part of the improvements that will be implemented
over the next 1-2 years.  If you are interested in getting involved in this
effort, you can email:  Edgar at  focuz@ev1.net  or John at K2ZEDX@aol.com.

KIDS' RIDING PROGRAM:  Keith Porter and Jamie Lord are working with Houston Parks and Recreation to help conduct a Kids' Riding Clinic in the Sunnyside area of town as part of the Community Outreach Portion of the grant process for the Hill at Sims Greenway (future mountain biking park).  The clinic is to be held for kids in this area on April 5th with two sessions, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon.  The location and times will be
forthcoming.  Keith is also working to create a Trips for Kids or other
supplied-bike program for Houston through GHORBA.  He is seeking
sponsorship and working with bike manufacturers to determine the costs of
purchasing bikes and helmets for disadvantaged kids to use on organized
outings through GHORBA and other charitable organizations.  If you are
interested in being involved in this effort or teaching at the clinic in
April, please contact Keith at porterka@sbcglobal.net  or Jamie at
jamiel_1450@hotmail.com.

MEMORIAL PARK TRAIL MAINTENANCE:  GHORBA is looking for people who attended the IMBA clinic to be trail stewards for Memorial Park.  There are specific areas in the park that will need to be reviewed for improvements, as well as coordinating of the general maintenance on the trails.  We will also be putting together a 6-month rolling maintenance plan so that everyone knows what projects we will be working on (this is similar to what is done at
Huntsville and other parks).  We are wanting to have multiple trail stewards to share in the work load with trail stewards leading work parties on a rotating basis (i.e., every two months or so).  If you are interested, please contact Russell Adams at  radams@pdq.net  or Larry Pruitt at LPRUITT@texasamerican.com.

 MP MASTER PLAN:  Meetings with IMBA, master plan consultants, and
Parks-related officials indicate that new trails can be anticipated in the
Triangle or northwest area of the park.  These trails will be built to IMBA
standards and coordinated between GHORBA and the Parks Dept.  The Master Plan, which is due in March, will not have detailed plans for the trails.
This will be further developed in the subsequent Trail Management Plan that
is expected to be more comprehensive concerning better signage and maps,
clarity for communications and decisions, overall maintenance of every
trail, etc.  The meeting also resulted in an understanding that
approximately only 10% of the existing trails have specific problems the
Parks Dept and the Conservancy feel need to be remedied.

TMBRA FALL SERIES RACE:  GHORBA has preliminarily been selected to host the 2003 October 19th race of Fall Series pending final approval from the TMBRA board.  Scott Schaefer and Keith Porter will be in charge of this effort
and have already begun seeking sponsorship for the race.  The location of
the race is also being determined but should be confirmed in the next few
weeks.  We are very excited about this opportunity and know that Scott, the
race director for the Warda Race for the last seven years, and Keith,
GHORBA's interim events coordinator, will do a fabulous job.  We will need
around 20 volunteers to assist with the race efforts later in the year.
More information on the venue and volunteer opportunities will be
forthcoming!

GHORBA ELECTIONS:  We will be having elections in March for a 1-year term.
The following lists the board positions available and possible candidate
filling that position.  Some positions are vacant and need your love and
enthusiasm.

President:  Vacant.  (I have done this position for almost 4 years and have
everything ready for someone to take the torch.  It's a super time in
GHORBA's history to take the reins and share in the upcoming successes we
will have.  I will be there to hold your hand while you get up to speed.
Many of our projects already have great people working on them...you have
to help keep tabs on things going on.  Give it some thought!)

VP Trails:  Vacant.  (You will help ensure that the multiple trail stewards
have the materials and support they need to keep our trails in good shape.
You will also assist with any correspondence needed with area land
managers, as well as assist in GHORBA's efforts to obtain funding for
projects).

Treasurer:  Mike Lutomski  (Paul has done an excellent job in getting
GHORBA's books together and keeping our funds and projects straight.  Mike
has been a member of GHORBA since the beginning and is interested in
getting involved).

Secretary:  Vacant  (You will be responsible for helping in recording of
meetings and board votes.  Not too much work involved and a great way to
get your feet wet).

Membership:  Kirsty Bremner  (Kirsty has been doing membership and tracking trail work hours and enjoys it.  So, she wants to continue this position.)

Fundraising:  Chris Case  (I want to continue to be involved in and help
with obtaining grants and working with the trail stewards and other
positions to obtain funding for projects.  I am also familiar with the
requirements of a 501c(3) organization.  I also plan to continue to be
present at land manager meetings as an additional duty).

Events:  Keith Porter  (Keith recently took this position on for Steffi as
she is pursuing her racing and editor efforts.  Keith took on the Fat Tire
Festival and did an awesome job!).

At-Large #1:  Jeff Nielsen (Wants to continue his current advisory
position).

At-Large #2:  Vacant  (This position is advisory in nature, but it hoped
that this person will assist with or take the lead on other projects).

If you are interested in running for one of these positions, please email
me at jayhawkrider@yahoo.com for more details on the positions or answers
to any questions you might have.  Please make plans to attend the March
meeting at JAX Grill so we can vote on each of these positions.

ROCKY HILL RANCH RACE:  The Rocky Hill race is this weekend.  Kids' Kup
races are on Saturday, and the TMBRA series races are on Sunday, the 16th.
You can find more information at  www.tmbra.org.  Come and check it out!
There should be about 700-800 participants...it's a great race!

March Meeting Results

Thank you everyone for attending last night's meeting and for getting involved. This next year is shaping up to be truly great with our Kids' Program getting off the ground, the tremendous work being done at most of the trail locations, the fall series race, and the many prospects we have before us.  Houston mountain biking will only become stronger because of each of you! 

The results of last night's elections are as follows:

President - Jeff Nielsen                       VP - Kelly Strader
Treasurer - Mike Lutomski                  Secretary - Cynthia Stewart
Events - Keith Porter                          Membership - Kirsty Bremner
Fundraising - Christina Case               At-Large 1 - June Frye
At-Large 2 - Gary Strouz                    At-Large 3 - Larry Pruitt
At-Large 4 - Paul Saverance