Greetings! from the keeper of Red Tape:
Traci D’Elia – Business Operations Director
Back in November, Carlo introduced the new club structure and our plans to incorporate as a non-profit. I’m sure there were a few eyes rolling when the overall structure was announced. Wait, we have an org chart? Don’t most of us show up on Saturdays (or any other day of the week) so we can ride, leaving org charts and business plans behind us? Darn right. But as it happens, Portland Velo has grown to such a size and consistent level of success that we needed to make this happen, probably far sooner that it did. So yes, we have names in boxes, and we are working to keep everything required to run the Business, the Rides, the Races, and the Events as seamless and stress-free for our members as possible. We want to continue to build on our success: polish & shine the areas we excel at, and improve those we don’t.
As of 2008, our website infrastructure is new and improved. This will continue to be the central source of club information. We’re building a strong team to support Online Operations, Membership Management, our Sponsors & Partners, and an Editor to help organize and correct our communications. Within each of these areas, we’ll be establishing specific rules & boundaries as needed, as well as setting and sticking to deadlines. Every effort will be made to ensure that these are simple and clear, with minimal impact to club members.
While we’re well positioned to start and support this year in cycling, we still need to fill the Treasurer role. We’d prefer to do this from within the club – if you have a way with numbers, or know someone who should be acting in this role, please send the names my way. This person will be responsible for creating the budgets, upkeep of Portland Velo’s bank account, incoming payments, vendor payments, tax reporting, and provide financial status reports on a monthly basis. There will be some additional workload requirements as we get organized, but once we get everything established this should settle down to a manageable volume of work. Like all of the roles at PV, this is a volunteer position, and we’re targeting a two year term. If you’re interested in helping keep Portland Velo in the black – here’s your opportunity!
When we wrap up 2008 – I look forward to seeing our club running smoothly and efficiently. I will be working hard to help make that happen, and appreciate your ideas and feedback along the way.