[The following is a transcript of Kevin's comments at the Annual Meeting of the Oklahoma Bicycling Coalition, November 8, 2009.]

Welcome to all of you and thank you for affording me the chance to participate in the Oklahoma Bicycling Coalition.

Those of you who know me through this and other organizations know that I've spent more time under the hood or under the truck (or bus) than behind the wheel, so I know I'm going to need all the help I can get. But I'm impressed with people on this board and our membership and their commitment to the goals of our organization. We've made some real progress in the past year and I'm confident that we're on the right track. 

Special thanks to Richard and to Pete for your hard work. We're going to need you guys in the future, so don't get too far away. Please! A special thanks to you too, Mary!

We have had a productive year! We've met with the OK Dept of Tourism to begin work on creating a state map of bicycling routes. We're currently working with ODOT to standardize the dimensions and placements of rumble strips on state highways. The Safe Routes to Schools have been a success in 2009 with plans continuing in the future. Thank you Don. The SuperCyclist curriculum is completed and ready for distribution to Oklahoma schools following teacher training.

Thanks to OSU and Shawn Gibson, we've contacted every law enforcement agency in OK with a bicycling message and offered bicycle training to OK law enforcement officers. We've trained more Oklahoma LAB LCI's and our OBC membership is at an all-time high.

We've heard from our membership, and I think, as I read their responses to our poll, we're doing a lot of things they think we should be doing. They want us to continue work with ODOT to improve our OK roads for cycling. The want us to work with OK law enforcement for better understanding of bicycling laws and to continue to promote Law Enforcement Bicycle Education Classes. They like the Safe Routes to Schools concept and the SuperCyclist curriculum program. They like the idea of an Oklahoma State Bicycle Summit at the Capital.

I believe we are on the right track. Short-term, I think we need to continue the work we're doing. I think we need to explore working with other state advocacy groups and find ways to increase our membership. We'll have greater impact with a larger membership base. We also need to explore ways to educate and get our message to the public. I know we're limited by funding, but surely there are ways to get public service announcements out or find other ways to promote driver awareness of the rights of cyclists. We also need to discuss and resolve OBC/OBEF status and make both organizations efficient and productive.

Long-term, we need to continue to grow our membership so that we gain political clout. We need to support attendance at the National Bike Summit. I have suggested that we find funding to at least defray the cost to send a member of our board to this each year if for no other reason than to see how other states are managing many of the same issues. We should also encourage our membership at large to attend. And we need to have our own state summit at the Capital!

I look forward to working with you in the coming year!