We need help! We are really good at trail building and we can always use more trail workers but there are all kinds of other ways you can get involved that have nothing to do with trail building. Here are a few:

Fundraising
They say money won’t make you happy but it sure does solve a lot of problems. We could do a lot more if we had more money. We need someone who is interested in fundraising…even better would be more than one person so we could have a fundraising committee. I know there is money to be had out there but we have never been very successful in going after it. We need people who are good with people, like asking for money and can promote a positive message in a way that will convince companies that it’s a good idea to give us money.

Marketing
We need more stuff with our name and logo on it. We could make a little money off selling stuff and money is cool but really it’s more about getting our name out there and being more visible. And it’s also just fun to have cool accessories with our name on it. I have a source for stickers and business cards now and am working on that but really I’m kind of flailing around and don’t really know what I am doing. I would like to have a broader range of merchandise…posters, signs, pint glasses, hats, car accessories, whatever, so it would be great to have a couple of people take the lead on this. Maybe form a marketing/merchandizing committee.

Volunteer coordinator
We really try to thank our volunteers and recognize the awesome people that you guys are…really thank you all for what you do….but really at the end of the day we fail to adequately recruit, organize, thank and recognize our volunteers. I would like to have a dedicated volunteer coordinator who could take the lead on getting the word out for upcoming events, how many volunteers are needed, where they need to go, what type of help is needed, etc. Again more than one person would be cool too.

Membership coordinator
We need more members. Charlotte is a big city. We are hovering somewhere around 320 members or something like that. I know there are more people than that out there riding their bikes. We need to convince those people that it makes sense to officially join. We make a little money of memberships and again money is cool but really this one is not about the money. Having a larger membership base means more power and influence when we approach land managers for access or when we approach companies for money or apply for grants. It is significant when we can say we represent 320 members of the riding community….think of how much more significant it would be if we could say we represent 500 people; 1000 people. We can say “hey XYZ company, you should give us money because all these members will like you if you do”. 


 
So if you think you might be interested in any of the above please let me know…..president@tarheeltrailblazers.com….or you can just post here. Even if you just think you might be able to help but aren’t really sure and want to talk about it…let me know. We can talk about it and you can decide later. Just because you raise your hand doesn’t mean you are committed (really it doesn’t, all kidding aside). You can be as involved or not as you want to be and as your time allows. A lot of this kind of stuff can be done from home at any time of the day or night. Heck if you raise your hand, I might even give you a Hello Kitty sticker. 


Thanks for reading....and thank you to everyone for everything you do!

Emily 
President

Wow, the 'Fisher Farm green loop' thread had a page of responses by 8:30am the following day; the thread with the sole purpose of making your MTB life better is getting no love...

Unfortunately, I'm not in a position to commit a whole lot of time to the club, but I'm happy to contribute where I can.  As someone who has regularly enjoyed the trails for the last 8-9 months, the least I can do is to help fund some of projects undertaken by the club.  Perhaps others will follow my lead:

(You need to Login or Register to view media files and links) -> If you would like to make a direct financial contribution to the Trailblazers, click on the Donation button. 100% of your contribution will go to the Trailblazers.

The Tarheel Trailblazers (THTB) are a non-profit organization, recognized as tax exempt in October 1997.

If you've made a tax deductible donation to THTB, quote the link above, and reply -  it will encourage others!

Steve

If you buy stuff using amazon smile they kick 0.5% of the purchase to the club.  Not a ton of money but it helps.

(You need to Login or Register to view media files and links)

If we had some moderately priced t-shirts, $10-15, I'd pick up several.

Quote:


I should also point out a 2 discrepancies with the 'Store' link above ( (You need to Login or Register to view media files and links)), which I found when searching for the 'donation' button:

• Slight disparity on the prices in the store vs. the prices on PayPal (on both jersey & mens tee)
• spelling - Mens Tech Tees, not Tess

I figured I could also make a contribution in the Marketing area, by getting the THTB logo on more stuff (specifically me).

In the spirit of recruiting, has there ever been any thought in to setting up a tent for a couple of hours at one of the local trails on a Saturday to try and promote the club?  Kinda like is done at a trade show?  The percentage of people who ride the trails and have absolutely no clue the THTB exists is probably pretty high.  Also, do we have any flyers or literature to hand out?  If so, would any of the local shops be willing to have them on the counter and/or give them out when they sell a bike?  I'm just brainstorming, but maybe those ideas could help spread the word.

Also, if anyone is interesting in helping sell jerseys, tech tees and hoodies I have most of that here at the shop.  I also have a box of the brochures if someone wants to grab them and distribute to other local shops.  I know REI has them, I have them and NC Velo has them.  Not sure about Cool Breeze/Trek Stores, Spirited Cyclist, First Flight, Live It Xtreme or Blood, Sweat and Gears.

Also one of the tents is at Fisher Farm Park.

I'd be willing to spend a couple hours at a tent some day.  Would be a good opportunity to help spread the word and I could also try and sell some of the gear if that seems like a good idea.

Thanks guys!

Great idea. Once that's all in place let's talk about that.

Why don't we use (You need to Login or Register to view media files and links) to create Tarheel TrailBlazer Jersey to be sold online and in local shops? IMBA Italy uses them for their jersey, could be the same style ( (You need to Login or Register to view media files and links)) with the TTB logo on it. People likes gadgets if cool. Also why not do an easy race open to anybody, not in a tough trail but in a simple environment like Mc Apline Creek. They have a very easy loop but it could be a way to have many people interested also not usual MTB aficionado. As a marketer i am sure you have quite a good mailing list, mailchimp could be used to create 4-5 newsletters a year.