Min McDonald says her 18-month tenure as Tamworth Cycle Club president was marked by “dramatic” growth that arrested a membership and financial malaise and made the club more inclusive.
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McDonald, who stood down as president last week, praised her “very proactive and cohesive” board for helping turn the club around.
Four new board members were chosen at TCC’s annual general meeting last week, with McDonald replaced by Daniel Nash.
McDonald said there were 84 members, including five women and three juniors, when the club held its 2016 AGM. There are now 151 members including 51 women and 35 juniors.
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McDonald said: “It’s been dramatic [growth] and I think it’s testament, again, to just the hard work of the board.”
Prior to serving as president, McDonald spent six months as the club’s first women’s development officer. She described the past two years as “incredibly exciting”.
“The work we did, we did as a team,” she said, adding: “And there was just a committed group of people who saw the need and filled the need.”
The time was right, the stakeholder engagement specialist said, to step down as president. “And I think the best of that work is done, and the club is in a terrific position now for the future,” she added.
McDonald is especially proud of the growth in female membership at TCC. She said the ratio of female members to total members was very high for a regional club.
Among the initiatives she oversaw was the introduction of the Chicks on Bikes 100 women’s road event, and the Tamworth Cycling Festival. Both events were a success, she said.
The “changing face of cycling” was another positive shift, she said, as a “traditionally male-dominated sport” began to “come into its own”.
“We’re seeing a broader cross-section of the community out riding bikes,” she said, including “ride” members – those who are not “particularly interested” in the competitive side of the sport but love its social aspects.
“And we’ve tried to make it a more welcoming and inclusive club – one where, I guess, everyone felt like they had something to contribute and a role to play,” she added.
Nash taking over as president was “incredibly exciting”, she said, as he had shown “real ability” handling TCC’s marketing this year including for the Cycling Festival.
“And he’s a person who has great relationships within the club, and he’s known for being a really good sport,” she said.
