The President has something on his Mind
Tony Guillen’s Footprints,
“It takes a village to raise a child.”
-Old African Proverb
“It take a village to replace Mike Burns.”
-Old GWTC Proverb
If you have not heard by now that GWTC member Mike Burns has moved to Ohio, then welcome back from whatever remote place on earth you have been visiting. I tried to say goodbye to Mike at his going away party, but the line of friends that had gathered made it quite difficult. So this is my chance. Thank you Mike, you will truly be missed. Two things about the last night I saw Mike here in Tallahassee stick out in my mind. The first was the number of folks that got together on a very short notice on a very hot summer work night to get a chance to thank him and say goodbye. It is truly a testament to the relationships that he built in our community. The second was when I overheard someone say that they thought Mike had been in town for 20+ years and been involved with GWTC for as long. It made be me realize what a great impact he made in such a short time. Luckily, what I believe attracted Mike to our club was the number of individuals that are just like him, willing to give their time to serve. My panic at realizing that I had to replace Mike who was serving several roles this year in the club, quickly subsided when I had members volunteering to take over his duties. Judy Alexander has taken over Mike’s duties on the GWTC Grand Prix Committee, Jon Nash has graciously taken on the race director duties for the GWTC Palace Saloon 5K, and Zack Scharlepp is is serving as the GWTC Vice President for the remainder of the year.
Our village still needs more people to volunteer and there are always numerous opportunities. Felton Wright, as immediate past president, is heading up the nominating committee for our Board of Directors next year. If you have any interest in serving or want to nominate someone, please reach out to Felton (or anyone on the board) and let it be known. We have open elections each year for all our positions, so don’t assume that because someone is serving this year that it won’t be available next year. Following our by-laws changes earlier this year all our voting positions will be voted on by our members:
President
Vice-President
Secretary