Dear Fellow NYCC members:

I am Jerry Ross. Probably the greatest credential I bring to the club and the one that most distinguishes me from the other candidate, whose work history and advocacy I do sincerely and greatly respect, is my extensive and lengthy experience leading volunteer organizations.

I have been president of my 500 unit cooperative apartment corporation for 26 years. I served as a longstanding Trustee of the Episcopal Diocese here. I lead a corporation that manages a $17 million investment portfolio and pays pensions to clergy widows. I have served on a number of New York City Bar Association Committees, including several associated with lawyer ethics. My law clients have included sports organizations, notably the United States Olympic Committee.

In all of these positions I have been highly effective at building consensus and working as part of a group—a quality our board and club must have in its leadership to maximize the potential of the club and the experience of its members.

Because I think it may distinguish me in this election, let me say I believe that the principal purpose of our club is to organize and encourage group rides, rider training (e.g., the SIGS), create a welcoming environment for new riders and sponsor and run such special events as ENY. I have enormous respect for bike advocates and understand the imperative need for them, but we are not a bike advocacy organization. We’re better off, and will accomplish more for the cycling community, working with and through and supporting such organizations as TA, Recycle-a-Bicycle, the 5BBC, and Time’s Up! in matters of bike advocacy. We’re not about to out-do them. Why would we want to compete with them? Why would we want to dilute their efforts?

I joined NYCC in 1992, did the B-SIG in 2006, and began riding intensively in 2010. For the last three years I have lead weekday rides in the winter and Saturday or Sunday C and B rides throughout the year. I have no idea how many but it’s a long list.

If you think all my organizational volunteer work won’t leave me enough time to be a fully committed and engaged president of the NYCC, you don’t know me: you should know I love our club way too much and the well being of the club is far too important to run if I didn’t know to an absolute certainty I can be a darn good and effective club president.  Let me show you….