It's time for the annual elections for the club Board of Directors

All club members age 12 and older are eligible to vote. Votes may be cast by mail or in person at the Annual Meeting to be held on Monday, November 2, 2009 at 7:00 pm at the F.X. Matt Brewing Company Tour Center.

You may vote for up to six (6) candidates. If you vote for more than 6, your ballot will be voided. All club members should have received a ballot in the mail. If not, please contact Paula May (see http://www.uticaroadrunners.org/pages/contacts.html ).

Here are the candidates:

TOM BICK has been a club member for the last 12 years. As a member, Tom has served on the Board for the last four years. During this time, he has served as the Merchandise contact for the club. His favorite large race would be the Boilermaker, of course. And another of his favorite races is the Falling Leaves 14K. He has been on the committee for the annual Falling Leaves race for a total of three years. Tom recently joined the Utica Roadrunner Competitive Team. He is part owner and President of Bick & Heintz, Inc.

JIM FIORE, a club member since the late 1990s, was elected to the board in 2005 and has served as President for the past three years. He has won Male Open Roadrunner of the Year twice, the Ed Bruni Sr. Inspiration award, and the Utica Roadrunners Hall of Fame award; and also serves as de facto captain of the men’s racing team and club web master. He is employed as a professor in the Center for Mathematics, Engineering, Physical Science and Applied Technology at MVCC. Along with running, Jim follows many other pursuits with his wife, Karen, including bicycling, kayaking, and hiking.

KATHY FULLER would love to become more involved in the Utica Roadrunner program. She is a Utica native and a Special Education teacher at Oneida County BOCES. Kathy first became involved 3 years ago when she joined our Boilermaker training program. She started running with her family and continues to run, “even after my family stopped!” Through the training program, Kathy discovered that she loves running, and even more, the friendships that she has developed. Now Kathy volunteers with the Boilermaker training program and for various races (“when I am not running them”), and you can usually find her at the finish line at the Wednesday night Development Runs collecting your numbers. In the Saturday morning training program, you can usually find Kathy in the back of the pack. She feels that doing this allows her to encourage new runners. Kathy continues to be very dedicated to the Utica Roadrunners and would love to see the club and its programs develop.

RALPH IMUNDO got involved with the Utica Roadrunners through the Boilermaker training program. “I loved it,” he says. “I run for the physical, mental and social aspects of it, to live a long life and enjoy it more day-to-day.” Ralph is interested in continuing to promote running in the Utica area, and the sense of community it helps to build. “I’d like to work on building up the social aspects of the club, for the camaraderie and to bring people together as a cohesive group.” Ralph lives in South Utica and is a lifelong resident of the Mohawk Valley. He has had extensive experience working on community boards and committees. Currently serving on the Upstate Cerebral Palsy and Heritage Home Foundation boards, Ralph is also a past president of the Board of Directors of Leadership Mohawk Valley, the Family Nurturing Center, the South Utica Little League and the Utica Rotary Club. Ralph works at Mohawk Limited, where he has served in numerous positions, including Plant Manager, Personnel Manager and Vice President of Plant Operations.

SYBIL JOHNSON has been a member of the Utica Roadrunners since 1976, and has served as a Board member for much of that time. She has held the positions of Secretary and Treasurer for 12 plus years each. Looking ahead, Sybil would like to cut back (at least a little) on her volunteer commitments, to enjoy her retirement even more. She would like to serve one more term on the Board and then pass the torch to a new Treasurer. Her current duties include monthly finances (profit/ losses), annual and race budgets, paying the club’s bills, check writing, attending monthly Board of Directors’ Meetings and event meetings, and keeping track of annual finances for the NYS Charities Bureau, just to name a few.

MIKE KESSLER says he’s best described as a “recreational runner,” Mike started running five years ago. He has run five Boilermakers, and “won zero!” He started as a student of our Boilermaker Training Program and has become “one of Linda Turner’s assistants”. Mike has volunteered for and/or run most of the area races. He has found volunteering to be both very demanding and very rewarding. Mike says, “I enjoy the people I have met since running, the physical and mental rewards, and stress and weight reduction. I would like to help grow the club and more importantly get others involved.” Mike also expresses that “if you want to get to know me come help at a finish line, water station, or course, and let’s crack some jokes.”

MOE LaLONDE has been a club member for five years along with his wife, Sarah and their two children. A member of the Roadrunners racing team, Moe has run several marathons, and recently completed his first Ironman distance triathlon. He is an avid fitness walker and has race-walked competitively. Moe has worked with high school runners for many years and volunteers regularly at community events including our Parkway Development runs. He is a teacher of middle school science in the Westmoreland School District.

CHRISTINE McGLYNN has been a Utica Roadrunners Club member since 2005. She has been an active Board member and Club Secretary for the past 2 years. She has also been an active runner for over 20 years, running varying distances from the mile to the marathon. Christine (Sisting) McGlynn attended SUNY Geneseo where she ran on the cross country and track teams. Upon graduating, she ran her 1st marathon in just under 2:49:00. This allowed her to qualify for the 2000 Olympic Trials. She has also run a Boilermaker PR of under 55 minutes. She is currently a member of the Utica Roadrunner racing team. Christine has also been an active volunteer for the club by donating her time at various races and being a committee chair for races in the area. She would like to continue to be on the board and would enjoy being the Secretary once again to help the club in some way.

ANITA MOLLER, a member of the Utica Roadrunners since 1998, Anita is a self proclaimed running addict who also has a deep commitment to our community. Serving on the Board of Directors would provide an ideal opportunity to bring these two interests together. Anita is a veteran of 15 marathons and countless other races from the 5k to half marathon distance, and she is currently a member of the Utica Roadrunners racing team. When not on the roads of CNY logging mile after mile, Anita can be found studying (currently working on her nursing degree) or baking (what better way to fuel all those miles?).