"I had the good fortune of working with Marina Bekkerman on the BikeSummer calendar. She was selected as the volunteer designer of this piece, but her role went far beyond that. She proposed a schedule, initiated a meeting, enlisted an editor, found a printer, researched photos and illustrations, made requested revisions, kept the job within budget, and hand-delivered the files on time.
In completing the calendar, she gave a cohesive, fun look to nearly 130 event listings from more than 50 groups and provided a tangible souvenir of BikeSummer. The calendar looks great and was a huge part of BikeSummer's success.
I mention all this because of the disparaging comments about Marina's work that are printed in the August Bulletin. Marina was suggested (and summarily dismissed) as an interim editor/designer of the Bulletin. It is clear that this discussion took place without her knowledge, and that she was not involved in the chain of events that resulted in the resignation of the elected editor. Moreover, the disparaging comments about her work conflict markedly with my experience.
Marina is a freelance designer who depends on word of mouth for her livelihood. Much as the current situation with the Bulletin is a shame, the fact that the reputation of an ""innocent bystander""--namely, Marina--has been publicly tarnished as a result is unconscionable. I hope that this note does a small bit to correct that injustice.
Hannah Borgeson
NYCC member"
Marina Bekkerman
Dear fellow club members,
I am proud to consider myself a friend of Marina Bekkerman. Whether handing out bananas to Century riders, organizing and leading rides to interesting destinations or contributing her graphical talents to the cause of cycling (such as the recent BikeSummer bulletin) Marina is consistent, reliable and a delight to work with. I'm glad to know her and would recommend her to you in a heartbeat.
Isaac Brumer
C Rides Coordinator, NYCC
[email protected]
Diane bears total responsibility for this mischief. It was highly unethical for her to reprint others' personal correspondence out of context and without their permission, and by doing so to subject Marina to possible ridicule. She also ripped off club members by hijacking the newsletter to broadcast her own personal issues, rather than confronting the dozen people involved.
Oh no, we don't need anyone to edit the bulletin for what's inside of it. Just hand it over to some techie who lacks editorial judgment or even common sense.
BTW, what makes your own very personal and very public attack on Tom any more acceptable than his private expression of his feelings?
this whole bulletin nonsense, and the caterwauling it seems to entail, is too farcical to be true. given that it is, perhaps a portion of the proceeds from ENY should be better used to hire a part-time editor. failing that, why not put up with the fact that this is a volunteer organization and live with the vagaries that such usually involve. who cares if the bulletin is late? what we care about are the rides and the weekly e-mails generally do the trick. and, if you are upset enough to engage in a diatribe when the bulletin is late, the fact that you are not stepping up to the plate to PERSONALLY do something about it speaks volumes, viz that it's just not that important. for those ancients who require a paper copy of the bulletin, you should 1) pay considerably more for the privilege rather than the pittance now required and 2) get a life as i see no complaints when rides are cancelled using the bulletin board/e-mail. these tempests in a teapot are really quite boring. i have never met those involved with the production of the bulletin, at least not formally, but i can only believe that they did the best they could under the constraints they faced at the time, even if i was uninterested in the goings on of radonneurs and PBP. kudos to them for stepping up. for those complainers, including our mr laskey who failed to defend well-meaning volunteers from such niggling assaults, a hearty bronx cheer. i'm moving to boston, so flame away, but you now have my tuppence worth.
I feel that I must also chime in in defense of Marina. I had the pleasure of working with her when I was the coordinator in charge of setting up four exhibit booths at the 2003 NYC Bicycle Show. We wanted to make sure that we had overhead signs with the name of the exhibiting organizations. Marina volunteered to make up these signs. Not only did she make up some very attractive signs but made sure that they were delivered in a timely manner.
So here's another positive vote for Marina.
Trudy Hutter
Marina is truly one of the nicest people I've met during my years at NYCC. I saw the graphics work she did for Bike Summer and it is truly outstanding.
I agree.
"I must chime in with more than just a ""me too"" in Marina's defense. I was shocked to see the August NYCC bulletin, not just for the public exposure of the in-fighting, but the use of a private email that harms an innocent to the argument between board members.
As Hannah said above, Marina worked very hard and did a spectacular job on the BikeSummer printed calendar. She does not deserve the disparaging remarks that appeared in the bulletin.
"
First of all, thank you everyone who has written in my defense to offset the negative statement that appeared about me in the August bulletin. I’m truly touched by your support and glad that I’ve influenced people positively with my small contributions as a cyclist and as a graphic designer.
It’s unfortunate that the negative statement was made and even more unfortunate that it appeared in print. And I have to admit I was quite upset when I first read it as I pride myself on being super-responsible and reliable. But at this point I feel quite satisfied that most people know that what was printed about me is not true and they will take time to get to know me and form their own opinions.
I think it’s pretty useless to blame anyone for what happened. My take on the whole situation is that people’s feelings got in the way of good judgement on both sides. Tom and I have since communicated privately and he not only apologized for his comments but admitted to changing his initial thoughts about me, which I appreciate very much.
Best to all. I’m off to Seattle with my folding bike.
Marina
