2022 Annual General Meeting

The 2022 SIMBS Annual General Meeting will be held virtually, on Thursday February 24th, from 7-8.30PM. 

The agenda will include elections for board positions, presentations and updates on the society’s activities in 2021, and — of course — there will be prizes for attendees! Sign up instructions will be sent to members in advance of the meeting

Details on the positions up for election and current nominations are below. Nominations have been submitted for several positions from current directors, and there are a number of open positions with no nomination. 

Members are invited to submit nominations for any of the positions listed below with a blurb describing a bit about yourself and the impact you want to make as a director (500 characters or less) and picture to info@simbs.com

Positions with no nominations:

Treasurer: The Treasurer is responsible for managing the Society’s finances, including keeping the accounts, paying invoices, preparing an annual budget, and presenting a financial report to the members at the AGM. All Directors are also expected to attend monthly board meetings in Victoria and contribute 2hrs/wk of time throughout a one year term.

Events Director: The Events Director is responsible for organising events for the society, such as races, virtual competitions, in-person meetups, group rides and other community-building events. All Directors are also expected to attend monthly board meetings in Victoria and contribute 2hrs/wk of time throughout a one year term.

Sponsorship Director: The Sponsorship Director is responsible for coordinating with local community partners to raise donations and build partnerships with companies that want to support the local mountain biking community. All Directors are also expected to attend monthly board meetings in Victoria and contribute 2/wk of time throughout a one year term.

Community Engagement: The SIMBS Community Engagement director is responsible for connecting the SIMBS board of directors and volunteers with the perspectives of local mountain bikers, First Nations, and community partners. Directors are expected to attend monthly board meetings and the Community Engagement Director should be prepared to facilitate 6-8 engagement opportunities for members and periodic meetings with FN and community partners over the course of a one year term.

Director of Fundraising: The Director of Fundraising is responsible for generating revenue streams for SIMBS through grants and donor relationships, membership and fundraising drives. All Directors are also expected to attend monthly board meetings in Victoria and contribute 2hrs/wk of time throughout a one year term.

Positions with open nominations:

Vice President 

Brendon Earl (Currently serving as Sponsorship Director)

Brendon is a born and raised Islander. He's been mountain biking since his youth in Nanaimo and has grown passionate about all genres of off-road cycling. Working as a Software Engineering Manager, Brendon brings along an organised problem-solving attitude to find ways for SIMBS to grow its impact. Brendon is excited to continue elevating SIMBS by focusing on the volunteer experience through meaningful work and creating a collaborative environment. Brendon's always happy to get out and meet, just get in touch!

Secretary

Michael Houston

Michael’s love for two wheels on dirt was cultivated by crushing Rolos between heats at the JDF BMX track. Time, studies and work took him off the dirt for a while but when he was reunited with the trail, he knew he’d never leave it again. Thriving in a fast paced, remote work environment where time, task and organizational management are critical, Michael is excited to apply his skills to help propel the SIMBS strategy. He has been fortunate to travel the world with his wife on mountain bikes, but is always eager to get back to riding the best place on earth: home.

Communications Director

Hannah Nawroth (currently serving as Events Director)

Alongside her partner and son, Hannah enjoys leading an active, outdoor lifestyle that includes hitting the trails on foot or wheels whenever possible. She works as a Recreation Program Coordinator, and has education in sport and fitness leadership, along with sustainable community development. Hannah has enjoyed getting better acquainted with the local mountain bike scene in the past year as Events Director and hopes to continue doing so this coming year in the role of Communications Director. She’s keen to introduce regular member communications, keep the society’s social media presence strong and continue amplifying the voice of mountain biking on the South Island.

Trails Director

Dylan Bartel (currently serving as Vice President)

An Islander born and raised Dylan grew up riding, racing and building trails in Campbell River until he was 18. After moving to Victoria in 2007 he got involved with mountain biking again in 2012 with some close friends. It’s been full throttle ever since. Victoria is home and he looks to improve and progress the riding community both as a rider/builder and an advocate for our sport.

Advocacy Director

Yvonne Mendel 

Yvonne is most passionate about community events and trying to create new riding opportunities on the South Island. She started Topaz Bike Club in 2017 to advocate for a bike park at Topaz Park in Victoria. She has helped a lot of young children learn to ride bikes! On the side, she runs a bike lending library for kids in Hillside-Quadra and has helped built obstacles for community events. Yvonne is the past vice-president of Greater Victoria Cycling Coalition. Yvonne was born and raised in Smithers, BC. She plays guitar and violin, has two kids and loves surfing when she's not on two wheels.

Director at Large

Mahon Lamont

Mahon Lamont grew up in a mountain biking family in Whistler. He raced nationally in xc before attending the University of Victoria in 2015 to complete his Mechanical Engineering Degree, graduating in 2020. Since 2018 he has been a mountain bike coach for The Cycling Co. Recently he has transitioned from racing xc to racing enduro. Mahon’s passion is advocating for trails and growing the mountain bike community. His ideal vision for South Island riding is climbs that allow for faster climbing that get you to the top of sustained descents.

Ongoing positions:

President

Alon Soraya - 2nd year of 2 year term

Originally from Ontario, Alon grew up dreaming about mountain biking in BC, so it didn't take him long to get hooked on the local riding. In our "pay-to-play" world, the volunteer driven nature of MTB trails stood out to Alon as something special, and he felt a duty to contribute to our amazing trails. 

As President Alon is committed to helping our region reach its full potential as a MTB destination by supporting the development of awesome new MTB opportunities, stewarding our existing trails responsibly, and promoting our diverse community.

We acknowledge with gratitude that we live and enjoy recreation on the unceded territories of the W̱SÁNEĆ People.⁠

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