VOTE NOW

On line ballot is located at the bottom of this page.

Paper ballot is available for download here. (PDF)

This paper ballot may be submitted:

• BY MAIL to: Attn: LaGrange Elections, 9751 Saturn Street, Los Angeles, CA 90035.
  All mail-in ballots must be postmarked no later than March 21, 2010.
• BY FAX to: 310.496.3175. All fax ballots to be received by 8:00 p.m. on 3/22/10.
• IN PERSON: On Monday, March 22, 2010, from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Peet’s Coffee and Tea, 11750 San Vicente Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90049.

SEANNE BIGGS

THOMAS BYRNES

JOHN DE RAGO

RICHARD KIM

BRIAN PERA

STU PRESS

JAY SLATER

MARC THOMAS

Candidate Statements

in alphabetical order

Download candidate statements here. (PDF)

SEANNE BIGGS

member since 2006

• Created successful application for USA Cycling Club Of The Year 2007.
• Up for nomination for La Granger of the Year 2008
• Volunteer Brentwood Grand Prix 2008 and 2009

Since joining La Grange, I have been a passionately vocal supporter of our club. Working closely with various members of the club to support social riding, racing, and cycling advocacy, I have become aware of the need to develop a clear La Grange mission directed platform that addresses our club's goals as well as outreach to our local communities.

As a La Grange member, avid cyclist and local resident I would like to see increased communication within the club and out in the community. La Grange has grown tremendously under the current and past sitting Board. My goal is to enhance the club as it is today.

THOMAS BYRNES

RELATED EXPERIENCE
La Grange Member since 2002
La Granger of the Year 2007
Sponsor, West Los Angeles Grand Prix 2006 and 2007
Sponsor, Brentwood Grand Prix 2008


STATEMENT
Like many others, I have received the benefits of being a member of Velo Club La Grange while inadvertently leaving the "heavy lifting" to others – most notably the Board of Directors. Our club has been very successful in many areas, e.g., racing, public safety, community involvement, etc. because of the leadership, guidance and work of the current members of the Board of Directors. USA Cycling's recognition of our club as its Cycling Club of the Year for 2007 acknowledges those accomplishments.

Each and every member of our club owes each of you a huge "Thank you" for your selfless services and contributions to the club. Out of 500+ members, the vast majority of the work needed to accomplish our club's goals and commitments comes from a very small number of people. Sadly, I feel that members of the Board have not been acknowledged and thanked enough for their tremendous contributions.

I am sorry to see that several of you have elected to step down from the Board and will not be running for re-election. I hope each of you made your decision based upon your own need for more time with your family, business or other personal matters.

It is only because there will be a huge void created by the departure of several of you do I nominate myself to fill one of the vacancies on the Board.  If elected, I promise to work hard to balance the varied priorities and interests of our many Club members in an amicable manner."

Thank you for your consideration.

Thomas Byrnes

JOHN DE RAGO

My name is John De Rago and I've been a member of Velo Club La Grange since 2000. I've been an avid cyclist all my life and a former Cat 4 racer. I work as the Director of Information Technology for Sony Picture's International Television Networks and manage international business systems projects. Sony owns and operates 3 branded channels in over 120 countries in Europe, Asia and Latin America. In the normal course of my work I am responsible for multiple projects ranging from the tens of thousands to several million dollars in size and lead diverse teams of technical and non-technical members around the world. As a result, I understand how to work with individuals and organizations from a broad range of cultural backgrounds.

As a Board member, my primary goals would be to promote the club in all aspects including both its racing and non-racing members, bicycle advocacy for our local community and the growth of our relationships with current and potential sponsors.  

I have a vision for our club and that is for Velo Club La Grange to be a household recognized name in Southern California as an organization that benefits the community.  I believe the way to achieve this is for us to be leaders in the cycling community as well promoters of organizations and events that benefit the community.  Having a business background in project management I would like to incorporate goal setting with timelines into the fabric of our club in order to reach these goals.  Throughout my interaction with club members over the years, I’ve met individuals who love cycling, but are also passionate about local causes.  I would like to tap into the energy of those individuals to maximize the club’s potential.
 
As a board member for the past 8 years of a 508 unit homeowner’s association, I’ve learned to listen to all members of the association especially those who are not very vocal, but may have great ideas.  Therefore, I will ask the Board to reach out to all 500+ members of La Grange by the use of surveys and other means to regularly poll the organization to find out what you want out of your club and to find out how well you think we are doing.

I welcome the opportunity to server on the Board of Directors and sincerely hope that you feel my contribution to the club will be a positive one.

RICHARD KIM

Experience:
Member of La Grange since 2001
Creator and Promoter of the La Grange Cup Racing Series
2009 Race Director, Westchester Parkway Sprints
2010 Race Director, Encino Velodrome Sprints
2010 Organizer, La Grange Practice Track Day and Clinic
Nominated for La Granger of the Year 2009
Awarded Chef Rudy Award 2009
2010 Cat 3 Captain
2010 Track Captain

Statement:
I have been a member of La Grange for almost a decade and, during that time, watched the club double in size. The current board has done a terrific job managing that growth and I want to build upon the activities and resources that the club has created.

I started this effort last year by building on the annual Piuma Hill Climb to create an intra-club racing series called the La Grange Cup. With the support of the board and volunteers, the series was and continues to be enthusiastically received. The long term goal is to expand the series and have it be a recurring annual event. It’s all about having fun.

I am passionate about the racing program and, as captain of the track team, have recruited elite and masters racers, tripling the size of the track program. I am especially proud to have reconnected former club members to our racing program.

In an effort to nurture and develop local racing talent, I am interested in strengthening our relationship with the UCLA Cycling Team. Along those lines, I have opened the La Grange Cup series to the UCLA team and continue to investigate further avenues of collaboration like the Brentwood GP.

Speaking of collaboration, I would like to strengthen our relationships with other cycling clubs on the Westside in particular and Southern California in general in promoting safe, fun cycling and to protect and expand cyclists' rights and remedies.

I consider La Grange to be hands-down the best cycling club in the western hemisphere. Regardless of whether I am elected to the board or not, I will work to continue the tradition of passion and excellence that has made it so.

Sincerely,
Richard Kim

BRIAN PERA

I am the managing partner of a 10-person architecture firm who, through an employee and very good friend, joined VCLG in 2007. My first two years with LaGrange were spent participating in weekday and Sunday club rides. I started racing for VCLG in 2009 and recently upgraded to the Cat 4 team due, in large part, by the encouragement of my fellow cycling peers. My involvement with LaGrange has been nothing short of a rewarding experience whether it be racing, club rides or helping with events such as the Brentwood GP. In the brief, 3-year span that I have been with LaGrange I have come to know many caring members that go out of their way to promote the club's goals and values. I have personally benefitted from and appreciate the support I have received. Therefore, I respectfully submit this nomination in an effort to support my fellow club members and help Velo Club LaGrange continue to be a positive influence in cycling and the surrounding community.

Thank you.
Brian Pera

STU PRESS

Many members of LaGrange and the SoCal cycling community know me well as the manager of our men's cat 1/2 team. Others know me as the guy who tries to keep the peace on the club e-mail list as our Yahoogroup moderator. Still others know me as the LaGrange member welcoming them in as a newbie to one of our morning rides. Velo Club LaGrange has been like a family to me for more than a decade, and I want to do my part to help maintain the vibrance and success of the club into the future.

JAY SLATER

Resume’ :
Member of Velo Club La Grange since 2002
Member of Board of Directors 2005 - 2007
Voted “Most Improved Male Rider” 2004
Nominated for “La Granger of the Year” 2008/9
Race Coordinator for Brentwood Grand Prix 2008/9
Race Coordinator for Piuma Hill Climb 2007/8/9
Member PCH Task Force, Cal Trans Dist. 7 BAC
Mayor Villaraigossa appointee and Vice Chairman, LA Bicycle Advisory Committee

Reason for seeking election to the Board of Directors:
As a long term member of the club I would like to bring my extensive knowledge of both La Grange and the need for serious involvement in cycling issues in the City of Los Angeles back to the Board.

I am very interested in strengthening our racing program, particularly by building a true youth oriented racing program to over time stock our current racing program with young riders developed in our own system,  as well as support our Grand Masters members as a true arm of the racing program.  The Grand Masters have shown fantastic results and we need to give them as much encouragement as possible.

I would like to continue the growth of the Brentwood Grand Prix. We have only begun to show the community and the City what we are capable of doing and we can grow the event with more support and help from Board members and volunteers.

I would like to explore various ideas to give non-racing club members more events to get involved in; i.e. a La Grange sponsored Century event in Los Angeles and get away weekends such as the Ojai event we have had for many years.

Finally, and most important, I want to make the Board more open to the membership. We need more communication from the Board to the membership and more input from the membership to the Board.

I would appreciate your vote and support.

MARC THOMAS

I offer my service to La Grange as a volunteer to the board of directors.
I will also do my own cycling activities outside the LG programs. Not related to LG.

My passion for cycling and love of the sport has me looking long term into what our cycling club can be tomorrow.

• I'd like to be a part of changes without losing the legacy or history of LG.
• I will work to mirror our member needs and priorities. we should be gauging our place and goals based upon our community and member need.
• I will work to bring in additional sponsors, Racer Pro deals, and support activities that engage racers recreational riders and our community.
• As a board member - I'd work for more transparency of projects on the board with a goal of openly engaging more members - more often in fun & social activities.
• I'd ask the racing teams to provide more service to our members- and member to become involved in mixers to meet and invest in each other.
• I suggest that we Review how we invest in our racers, to encourage & upper category racers of all ages.

Qualifications:
Cat 4 racer, Active in LG Race program support.
Supporting role in the BGP for the last two years.

ON LINE BALLOT