There's some exciting news on the Velo front -
Last week the Velo Board voted to step up to the challenge of becoming a National Team for the American Diabetes Association (ADA) Tour de Cure fundraising program. This requires us to -
- Participate as a team in multiple Tour de Cure events
- Obtain executive sponsorship
- Raise at least $100,000 across all the events we participate in
To date, we have 7 teams signed up in 5 different events, so we have this covered. (Click here to see a list of events and the Captains who are organizing teams for these events). In terms of sponsorship, CEO Bill Klesse has agreed to make a statement supporting our efforts as a National Team - you can't get much more executive than that! (There's a rumor I'm officially starting that he may actually ride in a Tour event this spring...) Finally, we feel we can raise the money. Last year we had 4 teams participate and raised $77,000, so we are in the ball park. I know we can do this.
What does this mean to you as a member of Velo Valero? It means we are now in the big leagues as a team. Our company logo will be displayed along with the logos of AT&T, Johnson & Johnson, and Gold's Gym (the other National teams) on event t-shirts, signage, publications, and so on. There will be a special awards ceremony for us at the end of the season recognizing our efforts in this cause. It also means we are spreading the good things about our team - the friendship, the fitness, the focus on safety, and the community service - throughout the country. These things represent the best of Valero corporate culture.
I'll be sending more details out on this in the next few months.
In other news -
We have decided to update our team logo for 2007. Our old logo was not bad - it just didn't have our team name anywhere on it, or a picture of a bicycle (oops!). We asked one of the talented artists from the Corporate Graphics Department to design a series of new logos for us. We're going to allow the team to vote on the new design in a little contest I call "American Logo". Click here to see the new logos and vote on your favorite. We'll be accepting votes until 5:00 pm CST on Wednesday, 02/14 (aka, Valentine's Day).
The Team Store is open until 5:00 pm CST on Thursday, 03/08, for Spring Apparel orders. As noted last time, we are not changing jersey designs in 2007, so if you have a jersey from last year, you don't have to order a new one (unless you want a spare). If you are new to Velo Valero, we ask all team members to wear an up to date team jersey in any of the organized team events you participate in. Click here to access the Store. Please contact Stan.Lear@valero.com or Gwendolyn.King@valero.com if you have any questions regarding the order process.
We are tentatively planning on having a new rider kick off at Corporate Headquarters in San Antonio during lunch on Tuesday, 02/27. Click here for details.
Finally, we are still planning on beginning our formal training program for our spring rides in early March. John Tenison and Chuck Divelbiss continue to lead a series of informal training rides during the winter. Send an e-mail to john.tenison@valero.com if you want to participate.
See ya' on the road!
- Peter "El Hefty" Ray