Well, what I can say? The past two years were not what I was expecting. If I’m being polite, I’d say that my term as co-president was “unusual.” (I had other adjectives in mind, but this is for public consumption, so I’ll stick with “unusual.”) I came in with big plans of attempting to expand membership through fun runs and advertising at SCSU, St. John’s, and St. Benedicts, as well as with the local high schools. I’d hoped to get more people involved in trail runs and maybe even get regularly scheduled trail runs on the club calendar. However, as previously stated, things got unusual.
There was nothing in the manual for club operations during a pandemic. As a result, Don and I, then Jill and I, focused on trying to keep the club together via Facebook. I don’t think I’m speaking out of turn, when I say that our primary focus was to keep club members safe during this time. (To date, we aren’t aware of a single COVID case linked to a formal club activity.) It hasn’t been all doom and gloom. We’ve had many informal small group runs and activities, some actual club sanctioned group runs and meals, and the membership, thanks to Jill and others, is still fairly strong. Assuming there’s no further major spikes, setbacks, or lock downs, the future looks good.
Those of you who know me well understand how I feel about non-runners, A.K.A. - people. (This excludes former runners and family or close friends of club members.) To say that I have a slightly skewed view of those I don’t know might be an understatement. Joining the St. Cloud River Runners and becoming active in the running community has arguably made me a better person. I’ve gained more from this club than I could possibly give back. New friends, shared good times, and maybe even growing as a “runner.” I feel indebted to the club and hoped that I could give back by serving as co-president.
I want to say thank you to the club presidents that came before me, specifically for the examples set by Mark, Jody, Wanda, and Don. (I’m younger than all of them and haven’t been around that long, no offense meant to those that predated their terms.) I also need to thank Jill for coming in and taking the bull by the horns. Her organizational skills and motivation to move the club forward bodes well for the club’s future. Finally, I want to thank the club membership. Your dedication to our chosen sport/activity serves as an inspiration to me. To be honest, I have a hard time considering myself a runner compared to the bulk of the club membership.
I’ll still be active in the club and plan to continue organizing small group runs, but this is me signing off as co-president. Ryan Wateland is taking over as co-president effective January 1, 2022. He’s a lot nicer than I am and I’m confident he’ll do a great job.
I hope I get to run with all of you soon!
Sincerely,
Rick Lind