April President’s Desk

by Kitzzy Aviles, DSE President

Member Recognition

One of my goals for this year is to find more ways to recognize and thank our members for helping us put on more than 40 races a year. The new volunteer points and rewards system is one way, and social media is another. Our officers are taking a more active role at our weekly races by introducing and thanking our weekly race directors and volunteers. We’ve created a special Race Director button, so make sure you wear it the next time you race direct. Thank you to the following members who took on the challenge of Race Directing in March: Amber Wipfler, Suzana Seban, Mitchell Cvecko, Daryl Lupino, Joseph Connelly, and Christine Clark. If you are interested in serving as Race Director for an upcoming race, specially in April, please contact Kevin Lee ASAP.

Race Schedule Changes

Due to delays in permit approvals and conflicts with other local races, we’ve had to make changes to our race schedule. Our races are always subject to change throughout the year, so I want to remind you not to rely on the printed schedule; always confirm race details the week prior on our website or phone hotline.

Volunteer Points and Rewards System

The new volunteer point system has been updated on the website. We’ve tried to account for everything, but since this is a new system I’m sure we’ll still need to make adjustments, so please be patient. We’ll be awarding volunteer points retroactively to those who have already volunteered this year. In order to receive volunteer points, you must check in with the Race Director on race day and sign the volunteer waiver sheet. We must have an accurate record of what role you volunteered for so we can award the correct number of points. We are still working out the rewards system, but here is what we know so far:

• 3 points is the minimum requirement to be considered an active member. Anyone who earns 3 volunteer points by September 1st will receive an invitation to the Volunteer Appreciation Picnic on September 20th. This will also fulfill your volunteer requirement for a Small Mongo trophy, Age Division, and Top 5 awards at the Gala.
• 6 points is the minimum requirement to qualify for a Large Mongo trophy, and will earn you a free DSE race entry. Active members will receive a free DSE race entry for every 6 volunteer points earned.

Vacant Volunteer Positions

Speaking of volunteers, we are in need of members to help with the following tasks:

• race attendance tracking
• volunteer points tracking
• race directors (contact Kevin Lee)
• course marking trainee (contact Kevin Lee)
• Double Dipsea volunteers (see article from Jennifer Walker in April newsletter)

If you can help with any of these, please contact the board for more details.

Double Dipsea

DSE has once again partnered with Brazen Racing to put on the Walt Stack DSE Double Dipsea Race on June 20. Registration opened on March 10, and all spots sold out in record time, within 24 hours – must be the It’s Its at the finish line! I am working closely with Brazen Racing and we need everyone’s help to make this race a success. Jennifer Walker is this year’s Volunteer Coordinator, so if you’re not running this race, please check out her article in the April Newsletter for how you can get involved and earn 8 volunteer points.

Social Media

Our Social Media Chair, Tony Nguyen, has been hard at work coordinating our social media strategy. We now have a public Facebook Page that we’ll update weekly. Check out his article to see how you can contribute and interact with DSE on social media using our hashtag, #DSE