Michael Richardson - January 2001 Volunteer of the month

At the end of the year, when most cyclists are busy with thoughts of holidays and perhaps some time off work, there is always one CfSC volunteer who has some important work that must be done as the year closes. In fact, this task represents one small part of a series of many tasks that must be done throughout the year, always promptly and reliably, or bad things will almost certainly happen. And accuracy counts! Every transaction must be done with precision or else will be found to be wrong. Unlike almost all other volunteer jobs, the work done by this volunteer is checked by an independent party once a year, and scrutinized by the Board of Directors monthly.

We are, of course, referring to the work of the CfSC Treasurer. It's a volunteer position that Michael Richardson has been doing well for 3 years. As 2000 drew to an end and other CfSC volunteers were taking a bit of a breather, Michael was busy wrapping up financial transactions for the year and preparing financial final statements for the financial reviewers: not only for one set of books, but for 3! While keeping 3 sets of books is normally something one would try to hide, it's everyday work for Michael, who has maintained separate ledgers for Advocacy and Member Services, the Cycling Safety and Promotion Program, and Bruce Timmermans Trust accounts since he started.

Paying bills and staff on time, and making bank deposits is only part of the treasurer's job. Michael also recently determined what was required for CfSC to start collecting and being reimbursed for GST (not our choice - CfSC has become too large an organization).

In addition to his responsibilities as Treasurer, Michael has been an active volunteer in many other ways. He participated in 2000 as CfSC's representative on the City of Ottawa Cycling Advisory Group, where he provided ideas on how cycling could be improved. He could be found helping out at membership booths and events and soliciting new members throughout the year. And at almost every meeting he brought ideas to the Board on how CfSC's operations and cycling could be improved. He's helped in a number of ways to help produce Chain Mail, CfSC's member newsletter and been a lead organizer of the annual (car free) Commuter Challenge.

CfSC is pleased to recognize Michael Richardson as January 2001 Volunteer of the Month for his many contributions, not only on finances especially this time of year, but throughout the years and a strong advocate of cycling and environmentally-friendly transportation in our city.