[*BCM*] Opinions on move by MassBike

[Tom Revay]

I'll respond to one grossly incorrect implication made by our very high-standards contributor, Anne Wolfe, because I think it's important that people who read the list understand that we're are a fiscally responsible organization:

On 1/28/2005 at 9:44 AM Anne Wolfe wrote:

> Tom Revay wrote:
>> That's why MassBike will lead a group to Washington, DC to meet with
>Massachusetts'
>> Congressional delegation during the National Bike Summit in March.  

>1) Why aren't you meeting with the Mass Gongress delegation here in Mass? 
>Why aren't you
>meeting with officials at the State House to get your legislation passsed
>and funded? 

Did someone say we're not?  

Of course, the Massachusetts "Gongress" delegation is rarely all in-state at the same time, since they work and mostly live in Washington, DC.  We do meet with the Massachusetts Legislature's Bicycle Caucus, and other members, in state.

>Why spend membership dollars for a fun weekend away for staff in DC rather
>than wandering
>the halls of the statehouse achieving something locally?

The reason why we're going to Washington, DC to attend the National Bike Summit in Washington, DC is because it's in Washington, DC.  If the National Bike Summit  were held in Boston, Massachusetts, we wouldn't have to go to Washington, DC to attend it (would we?).  

The Summit's primary organizer is the League of American Bicyclists, and their website contains a press release summarizing last year's Summit at 
http://www.bikeleague.org/mediacenter/medprs031904.htm .  It's important to attend conferences like this and interact with the attendees, because it's the only time all year that both bicyclist advocates, members of Congress, leaders of the bicycle industry and so on, are all in one place.

The "for staff" you refer to means that MassBike is paying for exactly one person to go to the National Bike Summit.  That's Executive Director Dorie Clarke, and considering that she's working for substantially less than I (for one) think she deserves given the hours she's put into the job and how fast she's come up to speed on it since she was hired last spring, it's the least that we should do to send her down and put her in a hotel for a couple days.  We always have a few other MassBikers attending, but MassBike doesn't reimburse them -- they're on their own to pay for it.

Our Executive Director is precisely the person who should represent MassBike there, too.  So I'm happy that Dorie is going.  Further, I don't see any reason why her presence there, or MassBike's comping her for reasonable expenses should create the implication that we are spending our money frivolously on a "fun weekend" for her.  If you'd ever met her (have you?), you'd realize she's a person of great energy and focus, and not someone who's off joyriding on our membership dollars.

Sorry if you feel "rebuffed" by this ...

.................................Tom