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About

Officers

Neil Bernstein
President
David Hunter
VP – Rides
Chris Friesen
VP – Membership
 
 
 
 
Alex Rade
Treasurer
 
 
 
 
Coming Soon!
VP – Development
 
 
 
 
Melissa Weininger
Secretary

Elections

SFVBC encourages interested, motivated individuals to participate in guiding club policy by running for a position on the SFVBC Board of Directors. Do you qualify? You must:

  • Hold membership status in the SFVBC for a minimum of 12 consecutive months prior to taking office.
  • Maintain membership status throughout tenure of office.
  • [Have the] willingness to assume responsibility for all aspects of the office or position.

The duties listed below:

  1. President:
    1. Serves as chairperson of the Board of Directors.
    2. Presides at all meetings of members and of the Board of Directors.
    3. Appoints all committee chairpersons and makes all special assignments, subject to approval of the Board.
    4. Has general supervision of all Club activities.
    5. Executes corporation policy and acts as liaison to other organizations.
  2. Vice President – Rides:
    1. Performs all the duties of the President in his or her absence, and in case of vacancy, becomes President.
    2. Acts as chairperson of the ride planning committee,  maintains the ride files,  and has general responsibility for the ride program.
  3. Secretary:
    1. Records and maintains the minutes of special meetings and meetings of the Board.
    2. Keeps the seal of the Club and related legal documents in safe custody.
    3. Reports to the Board the official communications, inquiries, and requests addressed to the Club, and prepares responses.
  4. Treasurer:
    1. Acts as the chief financial officer of the corporation.
    2. Receives all funds due the Club and pays Club bills in accordance with the budget.
    3. Sets up savings and checking accounts which honor the signatures of the President or Treasurer.
    4. Maintains the books of the corporation and makes them available for inspection by the Board.
    5. Presents for approval by the Board of Directors the proposed budget for the coming year.
  5. Vice President – Membership:
    1. Maintains membership database and resolves technical issues in coordination with Vice President – Social Media
    2. Responds to membership-related accounting inquiries, and resolves disputes
    3. Works with Vice President -Social Media to ensure the confidentiality and security of club members’ personal information, and that it is not distributed or used for purposes not directly associated with SFVBC.
  6. Vice President – Development:
    1. Arranges for leases and permits for Club activities, and proposes and arranges all Club activities (other than regularly scheduled rides).
    2. Any special events proposed by the Vice President – Development requiring the expenditure of club funds or that put club funds at risk must be approved by a majority vote of the Board of Directors.

 

Club History

The official beginning of SFVBC was the formal adoption of the name “San Fernando Valley Bicycle Club” and the publication of the Ride Schedule under the new name for the first time on August 1, 1978, but the club actually started long before.

The SFVBC is actually an offspring of an industrial company bicycle club, which was formed on November 1, 1975. The Club’s name was Crankset Bicycle Club and the company was the Litton Data Systems Division, located in Van Nuys. The original members and their former Crankset Bike Club Officers were: Al Iler, President; Harvey Shore, Vice President; Harvey Ganz, Secretary/Treasurer; Bob French, Jim Mitchell and Sam Pawley.
The Crankset Bicycle Club reached its peak in June of 1976 with a membership of 32, not including spouses and other family members. However, not all 32 members attended the Club’s bike rides, which were scheduled twice each month. We realized that most riders who joined us on rides were non-Litton employees, like John Lukes, Charlotte McDonald, Bob Wong, George Masa and Bert Bivens, to name a few. Consequently, we decided to form a new bike club, which would be independent of any company and free from restrictions and constraints usually imposed by the sponsoring company.

Upon its formation, the name San Fernando Valley Bicycle Club was selected. The original Club officers were as follows: Al Iler, President; Gordon Petit, Vice President; and Charlotte McDonald, Secretary/Treasurer.

Our first Ride Schedule was published under the new name on August 1, 1978. It wasn’t until October 1, 1978 that we required membership dues to help defray operating expenses. An official membership list was established.

Since then, the membership has grown from the original three founders and 12 other charter members to the present dues-paying membership of 500+.

The Club’s ride format has grown from a modest Short and Medium ride schedule twice each month to our current wide range of rides set for every Saturday, Sunday and most holidays. We have attracted members from the entire San Fernando Valley and from other areas in both Los Angeles and Ventura Counties.

*Editor’s Note:
The above article is extracted from the November/December 1979 Newsletter and has been updated and edited.

Meetings

The club primary means of communications are periodic emails to club membership, Facebook notifications, and the website. Every so often the club will hold an event, a speaker relevant to the cycling industry, our annual picnic, BJ’s night, or other events that will be communicated through these channels. For ride updates please check the website and Facebook. If you are interested in a ride, click the going/maybe buttons on the website as it will signal to others that there is interest in that particular ride. We try and update as often as we can so check both places to be sure for any changes. We look forward to seeing you at the ride start and please let us know of any questions you may have.

Credo

The following list of rules was made official by board action in September 2015 as the club “credo”. Mostly common sense, the rules are nonetheless critical to members’ safety:

  • Obey all traffic laws
  • Be courteous and “ride friendly”
  • Don’t usurp anyone’s right of way
  • Represent our club and the sport of cycling well
  • Hold your line
  • Ride safely and predictably
  • Call and point out road hazards
  • Help each other out with flats and mechanicals
  • Respect regroup points and break locations
  • Let someone know if you intend to deviate from the route