October 11, 2007 — To all members and supporting parties of the Ontario Masters Cycling Association. It has been a great year for cycling for the Ontario Masters club. Our races saw many varied venues, some from years gone by were revisited. Many others presented the challenges of the familiar. For practically all of them, the cycling gods smiled on us with great weather!

Many thanks to our President, Peter Morris who stepped up and did a fine job for the club! Peter’s creativity, flexibility, and knowledge of the cycling community saw some great innovations this year. We increased exposure to the public generally, and were rewarded with many “first time” OMCA riders.

Please take notice of :

Annual General Meeting
Saturday, November 3 at 3pm
China House Restaurant
Cambridge, ON
Highway 24 at 401

We will elect officers and directors, amend the constitution or not, hear reports from all committees. The meeting will be followed up by dinner and fellowship ie. The race Prizes will be awarded in all categories followed by war stories & beers;

The OMCA is always in need of Officers and Directors. If you feel inclined or if you considered serving at one time or another, your support is needed now more than ever so that the club can keep the momentum going !

The State of the Association

As a long-time member (33 years) of the OMCA, I feel I have a vested interest in its well-being. It is for this reason that I am writing this unabashed epistle regarding the “˜state of the Association.’

Over the years we have had numerous changes in what we call “The Management Committee”, nineteen different Presidents to be precise, including one who was impeached for “acting against the interest of the Association.” Apart from this and a few other minor hiccups, the Association activities have run smoothly and with no major discord. Of course, it has always been difficult to find people willing to run for committee positions at the AGM, but with a little gentle persuasion most positions have been filled with competent members who have treated their elected status with pride and have performed their duties admirably.

However, this past year, things seem to have come a little adrift. One committee position resignation, two near resignations and one position that has exercised little direction has left the Association in limbo.

It is fully understood that all the people in office must put their private lives first, and if there is a conflict, then their OMCA commitments should be the first to be shelved. So, I’m sure no member is going to criticize any of the disruptions that have occurred within the Management. However, it is critical that we get things back on track for next season! We need a strong and active Management Committee, one that will dedicate adequate time to ensuring that the OMCA is a viable group. A Committee that understands, that without their direction the OMCA will cease to exist.

Attendance at the past few AGM’s has been abysmal. Some would say that its location in Paris is responsible for this. Personally, I’m sure this is not the case as the majority of the OMCA’s active membership is from the Golden Horseshoe area, to which Paris is central. I think the reason is apathy! Apathy is not the sole ownership of the OMCA, it is reflected in many walks of life today – politics, many volunteer organizations, industry, etc. But, on the other hand, there are organizations similar to ours that are thriving……….. The reason they thrive is strong management. They have individuals running the organizations that are excited about what they do, that are willing to put as much or more in, than they take out. Think about this guys. We have some long-standing members who participate in our events on a regular basis but to this point in time have put nothing, except their membership fee, back in.

The OMCA is solely a racing club! We have no touring section anymore and we don’t organize social events. We only get together during the racing season at the individual races. I know everyone who participates in the races thoroughly enjoys them. The competition is generally pretty good and the race distances and courses are superior to many of the Masters events promoted by clubs and sanctioned by the OCA. They are also inexpensive……….. you get twelve races for less than you pay for one OCA event. Do you want to lose this luxury?

I’m hoping that my spiel has roused a little enthusiasm for our/your Association and that you will seriously consider contributing some time to its organization and will submit your name for nomination at the AGM.