New President's Beginning of the Year Statement (by Shane Smith)

Hello GLCR Club Runners—and Happy New Year!

Today, January 1, 2019, is my first day as the president of the Good Life City Runners club, and I couldn’t think of a better way to spend it than by participating in the 2019 Resolution Run.  I came to the race this morning expecting to be a spectator.  Two Saturdays ago I developed a blister on my heel during my weekly long run that was so painful that it had sidelined me for ten straight days.  However, as I stood in the parking lot of Wild Side Running watching other runners warm up for the run, the urge to get out there and run with them became overwhelming.  I did a short warmup run, noticed that I didn’t feel any pain in the blister, and decided to run the 5K course at an easy pace.  Man!  Did it feel good to get out and run again after a ten-day layoff.  2019 has definitely gotten off to a good start.

I want to start this year off by thanking all of the club members who have entrusted me with the office of president of this club.  I am honored, and a little bit nervous, to have been given such a responsibility.  I also want to thank the club members for nominating and then unanimously electing Braden Miller (treasurer) and Kricia Morris (secretary) to serve on the board with me.  Both Braden and Kricia are excellent choices for their chosen offices, and I have no doubt that the three of us will work well together in service to the club and to all of its members.  Furthermore, I want to take this moment to directly say “thank you” to Braden and Kricia for accepting the nominations and taking on the responsibilities that come with your offices.  I sincerely look forward to working with you both.

I would be doing a serious disservice to all of the past officers and board members of GLCR if I didn’t use this moment to say “thank you” for all that you’ve done for the club and its members in the past.  Many of the people who stepped down today have served the club in some capacity since its inception.  When I was informed that I had been nominated to be the new president of GLCR, I was reluctant to take the job because every officer and board member who has served in the past did such an incredible job in building this club from nothing to the organization that it is today that I wasn’t sure if I could follow their act or not, especially since I had never served on the board before.  To tell the truth, I was so reluctant to take on the job that I took a solid 48 hours to think it over (which, no doubt, kept then president Arnoldo DeJesus on pins and needles for two days) before deciding to accept the nomination. After I spent two days weighing all of the pros and cons, the thing that tipped the scales in favor of me accepting the nomination was my conclusion that after everything that GLCR has given to me during the year and a half that I’ve been a member, it would be selfish of me to say no to the club when it asks me to step in and serve it as much as it has served me.  Therefore, I said, “yes.”  As I step into my new role today, I want to take this moment to say “thank you” to all past officers and past board members who put in the hard work to create and to grow the Good Life City Runners club on such a strong foundation before handing the reins over to me today.

As president of the Good Life City Runners club, I promise that I will work closely with the club’s treasurer and secretary to do what’s best for both the club and its members.  Although the club’s board has been reduced from about fifteen or sixteen members to three voting members, I want to assure all of the members of the club that I will ask for input from all club members before voting on any issue.  Our club serves a wide variety of runners, and I promise that I will use my office as president to serve all of its members as best as I can.  I will need input from members throughout the year in order to know how to best serve you.  Therefore, I will frequently check the club’s email inbox to make sure that I don’t miss any emails.  I will also be found frequently at Wild Side Running’s Tuesday night runs and at running events throughout the year.  I will also give my cell phone number to any member who feels the need to reach out to me by text or by phone call.  In a nutshell, I may be the president of GLCR, but this is your club.  Together, I have no doubt that we can continue to serve the Southwest Georgia running community today and for many years to come.