NWTA Newsletter - December '09
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General Meeting Recap: A vote, a cheer, a beer, a chat.
On Tuesday November 24, the Northwest Lucky Lab was the location of our last general membership meeting for 2009. The year-end meeting is where we traditionally elect new board members and recognize the past year's top volunteers.
The meeting began with a membership vote on new bylaws, modeled after IMBA chapter bylaws, that will help streamline the board's decision-making process. After the new bylaws were approved (by what looked like a unanimous show of hands), the meeting proceeded to the election of five new board members. Will Heiberg, Brian Baumann, Tom Slovak, Joel Holly and Dennis Veatch were all voted onto the board with broad support of the members in attendance. Overall, people seemed genuinely excited to see the Board "fully stacked" with 12 individuals who bring a variety of backgrounds, skills, and a ton of passion to the table.
 Next up, our top Trail Stewards were recognized and showered with classy certificates, some cool Northwest Trail Alliance bling, and a bunch of raffle prizes donated by our business supporters Sellwood Cycle Repair, Yakima and Chris King.
Lastly, we unveiled our new "Trailwork Ahead" signs that were developed to alert and educate riders (and other trail users) wherever we're working on the trail. We hope to see these signs a lot next year. Keep an eye on our calendar for upcoming work parties. We hope you can join us!
Congratulations to all five new board members, to outgoing board member John Joy and to outgoing secretary of the board Jordan Norris. Also congratulations to our newly elected board officers Tom Archer (President), Joe Barcott (Vice President), Will Heiberg (Secretary), and Amy Singmaster (Treasurer).
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The Year 2009 in Review.
2009 was undoubtedly one of our most active and successful years in recent memory, beginning, most obviously, with the major rebranding effort that resulted in a new name for the organization as well as a new logo.
 Great progress was made in securing better mountain biking opportunities in Forest Park-the very issue around which the organization originally coalesced. After a well-publicized meeting with Portland Parks & Rec Commissioner Nick Fish, a new Singletrack Advisory Committee was formed to explore how and where to increase singletrack access in Forest Park. This past year, Northwest Trail Alliance also signed a trail care agreement with Portland Parks & Rec and the Forest Park Conservancy, which should improve goodwill towards mountain bikers as well as benefit the trails themselves.
Other 2009 highlights:
- Northwest Trail Alliance spearheaded significant trail advocacy efforts at Gateway Green, Powell Butte, Stub Stewart State Park, and in Washington County;
- NWTA volunteers built a state-of-the-art bike skills park, which was one the most popular attractions at the three Sunday Parkways events, held last summer in various Portland neighborhoods;
- A well-attended Tour de Tillamook, a two-day family event in the Tillamook National Forest, that in cluded rides, bike demos, kids clinics, and overall good times hanging out around the campfire with friends.
- Northwest Trail Alliance volunteers put in close to 500 trailwork hours in the Mt St Helens area, a 60% increase from last year.
- The opening of new trails at the Sandy Ridge Trail System, an exciting new all-mountain trail system on BLM land, east of Sandy and north of Hwy 26.
- Throughout the year, we saw increased attendance at our monthly meetings, which featured great programs such as the much-liked presentation by Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance.
Last but not least, we ended the year with another major milestone, by signing anew charter agreement with IMBA, updating our bylaws, and becoming the first IMBA chapter in the Northwest!
2009 will go down in our books as a year of major change, a lot of renewed energy and some great new initiatives. Next year, we hope to built on that momentum with some exciting new programs we have lined up in the realm of advocacy, trail care & trail building, education, outreach, and a new-and-improved website. If you like to be involved in helping us move these rocks - and have some fun while we're at it - just give us a yell or come to our next membership meeting (on Jan 26 at the NW Lucky Lab). We are an all-volunteer organization and we can only accomplish our goals with the help of our members and passionate folks like you!
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Holiday Gift Idea: a joint Northwest Trail Alliance & IMBA membership for just $30!
That's right, thanks to our recently signed IMBA chapter agreement, new or renewing Northwest Trail Alliance members will now enjoy FREE membership of IMBA. And if you sign up for a higher level of support, you will qualify for a free pair of IMBA socks or an IMBA T-shirt. So, do the right thing and give back to the trails by joining Northwest Trail Alliance and IMBA. We need you!
Don't wait around. Click here to become a joint Northwest Trail Alliance/IMBA member today!
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Advocacy Alert: Last 2 weeks to comment on Powell Butte Trail Proposals.
 In the light of the planned overhaul of the Portland Parks facilities at Powell Butte, the Advisory Committee is progressing towards a close and making a recommendation as to which trail and park improvement plan will be the preferred solution. Last Tuesday's meeting was the last chance for in-person public input into the process.
The only way now for the public to provide input is to fill out the online comment form on the Powell Butte Park web site. The comment form will be open until the end of the year (that's just 14 days left!). It is vital that we make our voices heard and show support for increased, sustainable trails on Powell Butte and that increased trail access does not have to come at the detriment of wildlife and habitat.
The form allows for detailed comments on each trail design concept; please be as detailed as possible in your answers (like referencing the trail design principles, access and trail experience, and natural resource protection). The concepts range from maintaining/improving existing trails to creating many new trails and routes. Thanks for taking the time to help shape the future of Powell Butte! Please fill out the form!
For more background and commentary about this exciting project, read today's article by Jonathan Maus on BikePortland.org.
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Hold the Date: Sunday Feb 28 - Northwest Trail Alliance's Bike Swap Meet at Sandbox Studio!
That's right, our annual Swap Meet is on, we moved the date from November to February, and we found a great new location in NE Portland!
The event will take place on Sunday Feb 28 from 10am through 3pm at the Sandbox Studio warehouse located at 420 NE 9th Ave in NE Portland. Look forward to a flyer with more details soon, but for now, we want you to hold the date, write down your bike gear wish list for next season, and start corralling all those used bikes, parts and accessories you'd like to find a new home for.
For more info about our Bike Swap Meet, contact Amy Singmaster.
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