It's that time of year! Falling leaves, pumpkins, halloween and nonprofit annual meetings. If the last item on that list doesn't seem like a whole lot of fun, the Greater Grand Rapids Bicycle Coalition (GGRBC) is out to make Annual Meeting a #MIBikeAdventure.
Join the cycling community at Wealthy Theatre on October 29 for Handlebar Happy Hour at 5:45 p.m. The social hour in the theatre lobby will offer meeting attendees a Soup-erior Soup Bar from Uncle Cheetah's and a Bike Packing Expo organized by Central District Cyclery.
The Annual Meeting is open to the public for 2015. Why an Open Meeting? Well beyond the obvious reason of attracting new-comers to the organization, those people that add to the vitality of a nonprofit, are not necessarily offically "members."
"There are many people who contribute to the success of GGRBC and our events and to the success of the Room to Ride campaign," says Development Coordinator, Calli Crow. "From corporate sponsors to bike corral volunteers, we want to show our appreciation to everyone who has given time, products, services and/or donations to Greater Grand Rapids Bicycle Coalition. It would be great to grow our membership in the process. A healthy bike culture is a necessary component to thriving city."
GGRBC is an advocacy group with the mission of helping Grand Rapids establish a better bicycle infrastructure and decrease bicycle fatalities through safety education. The organization works to help local businesses become certified Bicycle Friendly Businesses with the goal of increasing alternative transportation usage in the city. Decreasing single occupancy motor vehicle trips has a positive community impact that is tri-fold: economic, environmental and individual health. GGRBC is currently working on the Bicycle Safety Education campaign with the city of GR to launch in 2016. The organization also has representatives on several key committees working on the formation of Grand Rapids' Bike Plan.
This year, marks the end of the Room to Ride Campaign for 100 miles of bike lanes.
"GR installed the first mile of bike lanes in 2010," says Executive Director Jay Fowler. "We can now boast more than 80 miles of bike lanes in the metro area. What a success for our city!"
This year, GGRBC's Annual Meeting has partnered with the Lower Peninsula premier of the film "Superior" by writer/director and Michigander Edd Benda. This beautiful coming coming of age story was filmed entirely in the Upper Peninsula and depicts two friends who set out on an epic 1,300 mile bike ride around Lake Superior. Movie starts at 8pm.
Q&A session with Edd Benda to follow the film.
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