Today is our First Year Anniversary. It was quite a year. Here are the highlights:
Incorporated Recreation Northwest as a Non-Profit
with Todd as the Executive Director and April as Executive Manager
Formed a Board of Directors
Wrote (& promptly out grew) a business plan
Built (& used) a budget
One SERIOUS Google Docs world set-up
Downtown office in Crown Plaza.
We won’t talk about the number of e-mails sent & received, mtgs held, google docs created & shared (or beers consumed)
Hosted Green Drinks with Community Boating Center
Guided three WWU interns.
Revamped our Mission and drafted our application for 501c3 status
Todd named 10 Who Cared in Whatcom County (for the 2nd time)
Advertised in 22 media outlets (far too many actual ads to count)
41 Blog posts and a TON of Facebook posts (on 5 pages)
Built a new website (then changed it a couple times to accommodate the quickly growing organization)
11 Press Releases
Videos on Comcast and underwriter spots on KUOW & Roxy Radio
Hosted the Padden Mtn Pedal
1st Annual Bellingham KIDS Traverse
4th Annual Olympia Traverse
12th Annual Bellingham Traverse (the best one yet! and the 2nd biggest)
Brought the race guides back
New Bellingham Traverse Race Director
Todd finally raced the Traverse – SOLO
Developed relationships with 43 sponsors and 22 partners
PeaceHealth as the Title Spawnsor of the Bellingham Traverse!
Built Operations manuals & systems for all our events
Company Team Trophy! and 48 Company Teams who had a blast
304 Teams and 894 Participants
Developed the Winthrop Traverse and formed a kick-ass race team
Developed the Northwest Traverse Series
Working on the North Bend Traverse
Submitted 3 Tourism Grants
Partnered on the San Juan Island Quest
Developed Kulshan Quest for next year
Pre-race Mt Bike and Trail Run training rides
Traverse Ale Red IPA, steel pint cups, water bottles & tattoos!
1st Annual Race Director’s Summit with 34 Race Directors
Regional Event Calendar
1st Annual Recreation Northwest EXPO (in the works)
Stewards of Fairhaven Park Forest
Lots of thinking, learning & doing!
And that’s just
Year ONE
“Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.” —Theodore Roosevelt
Todd Elsworth is one of the many “Mossy-haired lunatics roaming the dripping peninsulas”, described in “I’m Here for the Weather” by Tom Robbins. As executive director, he works to fulfill our mission to teach the health benefits of nature, promote outdoor recreation, and steward the places where we play.
