Happy New Year fellow ARECers! Another year seems to have come and gone so quickly, but in reflection, what a wonderful one it was for this club.
For instance, and as always, a good time was had by all at the annual Jimmy Stewart Relay Marathon. Of course, we’ll do it again this April.
We also had between 30 and 40 dedicated people consistently attending the Saturday morning Long Beach Marathon training runs from mid-May through mid-October. We had a great pasta party/awards celebration, and then every trainee finished their respective distance on race day!
In August, we came together with friends, family and other members of the running community to raise money, donate our time and physically run so our own Heather Stevens could get to Switzerland twice for cancer treatment not available in the States. That was a truly remarkable event which raised over $25,000!
The first annual Shack to Shack relay got under way just after midnight on November 12 with 2 – 5 person teams attempting to alternate runners from Long Beach to San Diego. Unfortunately, we only made it to Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach after a violent car accident postponed our efforts. We have vowed to complete the newly named “Hoag to Shack” once everyone is again physically able.
Most recently, many of us gathered at Rich and Colleen’s for a Christmas party and gift exchange/steal. Never a dull moment with that.
Our Sunday morning run continued to be a great way to start off the day. With greater participation, maybe we can some day compete with the 50-70 person attendance we’ve been seeing at the Wednesday evening runs. Wow, what great crowds we’re getting there.
And to top it all off, we elected a new Board of Directors to lead us through the next 2 years. I won’t keep you in suspenders… and the winners are:
President – Todd Rose
Vice President – Win Freeman
Secretary – Emmett Rahl
Treasurer – Tamara Premsrirath
I am personally very excited for the future of the club, and look forward to working with this group of wonderful people. Please congratulate and welcome the new Board when you see them next. I also want to sincerely thank the outgoing Board for their past service to A.R.E.C.; and those willing to be on this latest ballot. I believe that nobody really loses, and I hope we can call on you to assist in other ways in the future.
With the New Year, it’s again time to remind everyone to renew their membership. Paid memberships for 2005 exceeded 135 people (up from about 99 in 2004, 65 in 2003 and 35 in 2002), and we can top that again this year. I think the increasing numbers indicate that we’re definitely doing something right, so let’s keep it going! This club depends on every person to survive and succeed, so continue to come out and bring your neighbors, co-workers, family and friends to the next run. Let’s make 2006 the best year yet!! See you all soon.