Tag: Letter from the President

The Pacers have 2 new programs I want to highlight this month, and I’ll give you some background on how they got started.

During a discussion at the Pacer Race Director meeting in April, many of the directors said they never intended to become a RD because, from the outside, it looked too hard. But they helped another director, learned how to manage some of the details, and eventually grew into the role.

We’d like to create an opportunity for some new volunteers to assist the current race directors. There is no obligation to become the next race director and no need to be committed to one, specific race. We’re calling it a “Race Director Internship.” Our first step is just to identify some interested people. We’ll develop the details around the availability of the participants. For more details, please click HERE.

The other program came out of a conversation that I had last month with Andrea Thrush, who asked me if the Pacers do anything for beginner runners. The Wednesday Night Run tries to accommodate runners of all paces, but I wouldn’t recommend it for someone on their first couple runs. They need a separate meet-up for a few weeks where they can get individual support and attention.

Andrea quickly volunteered her time and energy to lead just such a program. She put together a plan, a schedule, and even a logo! Please check out the details by clicking HERE. 

I realize that most readers of this newsletter have already gotten over the hump of their first attempts at running, but maybe you have a friend or family member who would be interested in this program (which is open to Pacers and non-Pacers alike, free of charge). Please help us spread the word!

Steve
president@pagodapacers.com

Happy New Year! 

Many of us are formulating fitness goals for 2024. Maybe it’s a target race at a milestone distance. Maybe you want to consistently run at least once a week.  Whatever you’re reaching for, I hope the club and its members will be a part of the support network that helps you succeed.

Each month, I will use a little space in the newsletter to preview topics for the next club meeting. This can give you some warning if you want to attend the meeting and participate in any discussion. If you can’t attend, you can still contact me if you have an opinion or information that could be helpful.

The next meeting will take place at the Mohnton Fire Company Social Quarters on Thursday, January 11. Dinner will be served at 6:30 p.m., and the meeting will begin at 7 p.m. Please RSVP via the Facebook event or email (president@pagodapacers.com)

At the January meeting, we will review our list of committees. The start of a new year is probably a good time to confirm existing committee members and invite new participation. Let me know if you can’t attend the meeting, but want to get involved.  It’s important that we spread these responsibilities around.

I am still looking for a PPAC Secretary for 2023. This needs to be someone who can attend at least most of the monthly meetings. You take some notes, especially regarding any motions, votes, or decisions. Then send the notes to the newsletter editor. Not very time-intensive, but an important function. Again – contact me if you can help.

Steve Vida
president@pagodapacers.com

by Michelle Henry

Here are 2 great opportunities to represent our club and engage with the community to spread the word about who we are and what we’re about:

• We’re looking for a couple people to represent the Pacers at the upcoming Girls on the Run event on November 18^th. Plan to arrive by 7:30am to set up the tent and table. The even plans to wrap up around noon.  You will be responsible for tending to the table, providing all around good cheer and positive vibes at the event, and engaging with the event attendees to represent Pacers in the running community. 

• The Pagoda Pacers will have a table at the upcoming Fawn Hill Holiday Beer Garden & Market. The event is on Saturday, November 25^th from 11:00 am – 6:00 pm at Fawn Hill Hop Yard (141 Wilma Ave. Reading, PA 19607). Set up is between 9:00am and 10:45. We are looking for a few people to split this day spending time at the Pacers tent, engaging with event goers to get word out about our club – who we are, what we do, why they should come check us out etc. This can be done in 2hr shifts if needed; you do not have to spend the whole day at the table. 

If you are interested in working the table at any of these events, please reach out to me at mhenry.pacers@gmail.com so that I can start putting the schedule together and provide further information. 

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pacer passport

The year is winding down, but there are still some upcoming opportunities to complete this year’s Pacer Passport. The next couple months will feature plenty of organized Pacer runs to attend (WNRs and Pacer long runs), plenty of opportunities to volunteer, and 3 more opportunities to register for a Pacer Race (Oley, Shiver, Kris Kringle). 

Note: the last chance to fulfill the meeting requirement will be at November’s monthly meeting since we do not a have meeting in December.

If you are on track for completing the passport this year and haven’t done so yet, please reach out to me (mhenry.pacers@gmail.com) so that I know to include you in the headcount when ordering this year’s reward. I would like to have an idea on the headcount by the end of November.

Thanks, everyone! And don’t forget to vote!!

As the year winds down let’s take a moment to wrap up and celebrate our 2022 club wins: 

We spread awareness of the Pagoda Pacers Athletic Club to the community at local events such as:

• Guts & Glory Wellness Expo
• Berks Nature’s Tails, Trails, and Ales

We collaborated with Berks Parks & Recreation Department and Fleet Feet West Reading to promote running in our community by leading:

• Trail Running 101 – An Intro to Trail Running to celebrate National Trails Day
• Interval Clinic

We encouraged youth interest and participation in the sport of running by providing the young runners of Berks County with a first-class event: The Berks County Junior High Cross Country Fall “Run Off” Invitational

We saw many new and returning faces at our group runs this year 

• Wednesday Night Runs – Implementation of guided long and short routes was a success throughout the year. We had many weeks when WNR also meant Wednesday Night Ride, as members coordinated a bike ride to go along with the run. 
• Weekend Long Runs are back! This year we’ve hit up Wissahickon Park, Trexler Preserve, and Green Lane. 

Giving Back to our community

• Opportunity House Dinner – Members of our club came together to organize, prep, and serve a nice hot meal to those in our community who are less fortunate.  
• Trail clean-up and maintenance on Mount Penn, Horseshoe Trail, and Blue Marsh
• Scholarships to four very deserving, bright, and talented high school seniors who participated on a Berks County high school cross country team
• Through the success of our 2022 PPAC races, we were able to give back approximately $6,000 (possibly more–with a couple races yet to come this month!) to our local community by way of donations to Special Olympics, Friends of Nolde, Blue Marsh Trail improvements, Oley Ambulance Association, PPAC Scholarship Fund, and Berks County Cross Country Coaches Association.

We kept busy with a variety of social events this year including:

• Wallyball
• Yoga outdoors at Fawn Hill Hopyard
• Pool party with both a pre-ride and pre-run
• Pickleball
• Christmas party
• What, no Wine & Cheese this year?! Have no fear, it’s coming back on September 16^th, 2023!

A big THANK YOU goes out to each and every one of you who have had a hand in these successes. Without you and your dedication, none of the above-mentioned things could happen. Looking forward to 2023!

Michelle

Man, I cannot believe it is time for club elections already! Congrats to each person who felt inspired and empowered this year to nominate themselves to either take on a new leadership role in the club or to seek out re-election in their current role. Good luck to you all! 

Just a quick note to go along with this month’s meeting:

The November meeting is an exciting one as we gather for the announcement of our newly elected! Last November’s meeting was heavily attended, with at least double our normal attendance. If possible, please, please, please RSVP on the Facebook event page created for the meeting or send me a quick email (mhenry.pacers@gmail.com). This will help tremendously with planning for enough food and seating to accommodate everyone – especially those who don’t normally attend these meetings throughout the rest of the year. While we love to see double the normal attendance, food is pre-ordered, and we don’t want to run out or be scrambling last minute to have enough seating. Thanks in advance for your help in capturing a (close to) accurate headcount to send to the venue.

Gotta go read some bios, 

Michelle

by Michelle Henry

I’d like to start by saying “Congrats” to Shaun, Libby, and Charlie on a successful race day for the Charlie Horse and Dirty Pony. The weather was perfect, and it looked like everyone had a great time. It was really great to see people checking off some boxes on their passport by volunteering, running a Pacer race, or both! Hopefully that rolls into Run for the Ages!

Speaking of the Pacer Passport…

I have a minor update  – Since the intent behind “Attend a Wednesday Night Run”  is to promote the group running aspect of our club, I’ve decided that attending a holiday morning Pacer group run will count towards the Wednesday Night Run requirement. Moving forward, the requirement will be to “Attend Pacer WNR/Holiday morning group run”. 

Speaking of the holiday morning run…

What do you guys think about changing up the location of the holiday morning run? (For those who are unaware, we do a group run at 8:30 a.m. every holiday morning from the Nolde Sawmill parking lot.) Just something to think about for a few days. I’d like to hear your “yays”, your “nays”, and your suggestions for possible locations at the monthly membership meeting on June 9^th. 

Speaking of the monthly membership meeting on June 9^th….

Berks Trail Works is rescheduled to speak to us prior to the meeting start. Please be there by 6:45 if you’d like to hear more about the organization. 

Also, there has been a request to incorporate a virtual option for our monthly meetings. So, starting this month we will have Zoom set up on a laptop during our meeting so that members who are unable to physically be in attendance for one reason or another can still participate in the meeting. The meeting link and info are shared later on in the meeting section of this newsletter.

Speaking of not physically being in attendance….

To the Chobot and Boggs families – Thank you for all you’ve done to better the local running community. You will be missed, and we wish you all good things in your new journey.

by Michelle Henry, PPAC President

Spring seems like it has FINALLY made its arrival! I don’t know about you, but I am so thankful that warm weather, sunshine, and longer days are finally upon us! There’s a lot to look forward to over the next few months, such as getting back to member-hosted Wednesday Night Runs; the summer lineup of Pacer races (Charlie Horse, Run for the Ages, and Grings Mill); and some fun social events.

IT’S A GOOD TIME TO BE A PACER!

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Have you heard about Berks Trail Works yet?

B.T.W. is a local and somewhat newish member-run nonprofit organization providing necessary maintenance and improvements to several Berks County trails that benefit all trail users – runners, hikers, and mountain bikers alike! Are you a trail runner? If so, there’s a good chance you’ve run on some of the trails they’ve worked on! 

Pagoda Pacer members Sandie & Stephan Kincaid are heavily involved in Berks Trail Works and will be stopping by our membership meeting this month to catch us up on some of the projects that Berks Trail Works have been working on, what’s up next for them, and how you can help support your local trails!

To learn more, please arrive to the membership meeting early. We’ll hear from them at 6:45 p.m. 

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May’s monthly membership meeting info:

May’s Monthly Membership meeting will be held on Thursday, May 12th, at Mohnton Fire Company Social Quarters, 100 E Summit St., Mohnton, PA 19540.  The meeting is upstairs. Enter the front door and go up the stairs to your left. There is no need to ring the buzzer for entry. 

Click HERE to see the location on Google Maps.

Food and drink at 6:30 p.m. | Guest Speakers at 6:45 p.m. | Meeting starts at 7:00 p.m. All members are welcomed.

* Members are responsible for purchasing their own beverages. Please bring cash.

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Pacer Passport

Just a reminder about the Pacer Passport, which is a way to promote & reward club involvement. This initiative was created to encourage members to participate in club activities, volunteer for club events, and to be a part of club direction, decisions, and growth. Members work towards completing the pyramid by having each block signed once that requirement is fulfilled.A copy of the passport can be picked up at a Wednesday night run or at the monthly membership meetings. You can also request one by emailing president@pagodapacers.com or download a copy HERE.