FLRC Lifetime Members

The Finger Lakes Runners Club’s Lifetime Membership status is to acknowledge individuals who have committed extensive time and energy to the club on a voluntary basis, over a period of many years. It is considered the club’s highest honor.

Historically, Lifetime Membership has been loosely defined as a major time commitment in areas including, but not limited to creating new races, bringing existing races to new levels, promoting and developing youth running programs, creating opportunities for folks to run together, working on trails, volunteering at a significant number of races each year, serving on the Board of Directors, and holding a coordinator position.

These are just a few of the reasons folks have been nominated in the past. Lifetime Membership means a member has volunteered at a considerable level (higher than the norm). Current Lifetime Members feel it recognizes the value of their work to not just FLRC, but the running community as a whole.

The induction process includes an annual review. Near the end of each calendar year, members have a chance to nominate potential Lifetime Members. The Board of Directors will have a final vote on each nominee to determine who is awarded Lifetime Membership.

  1. Members shall submit potential candidates, along with a recommendation detailing activities, to the President.
  2. Recommendations must be submitted by November 1, for discussion as needed during the November and/or December board meetings.
  3. The President will compile and submit recommendations to current board members, with board members contacting the President directly with any concerns.
  4. The board shall vote via secret ballots during the December board meeting, with announcements made at the following year’s Annual Meeting.
  5. Recommendations should include: years of service; volunteer positions held; races volunteered at; and what you consider their above-and-beyond achievements and their dedication to FLRC and running in general.
  6. Members may nominate themselves. Nominations will be confidential.

Guidelines

  1. Extensive service comprising either:
    • 10-plus years of service as a Board Member, Officer, Race Director, and/or Coordinator in the club, or
    • 15-plus years of service as a significant volunteer for four or more club events each calendar year.
  2. Encourages others to participate in running and in the club by promoting new ideas, running groups, new events, or by increasing participation in our races.
  3. Supports the running community in other ways, including but not limited to involvement with other community-based running events, or maintaining a section of trail.

2023 Lifetime Members

  • Charlie Fay has served on the FLRC board twice, from 2013 to 2014 and from 2018 to the present. In his current board tenure, Charlie is FLRC’s Treasurer, chair of the Finance Committee, and a vital member of the Governance Committee in its efforts to formalize FLRC policies and procedures. He has also served as the Assistant Race Director for the Hartshorne Memorial Masters Mile since 2011, as the FLRC liaison to the Pete Glavin Cross Country Series since 2010, and as an essential food and course setup volunteer for the Skunk Cabbage Classic.
  • Chris Irving served on the FLRC board from 2010 through 2017, including some early years as treasurer, before resigning in 2017 to take on the job of FLRC bookkeeper until her retirement in 2022. Throughout that time, she contributed her extensive tax and accounting knowledge to FLRC’s Finance Committee and served on the Philanthropy Committee. She has also long participated in choosing scholarship winners as part of the Scholarship Committee, has helped direct the Fillmore 5K since 2018, and helped direct the Women’s Distance Festival 5K from 2005 to 2012 and again starting in 2021.
  • Mickie Sanders-Jauquet served on the FLRC board from 2014 through 2022, including two stints as VP of Roads and three years as President. She also directed the Tortoise & Hare trail race from 2015 to 2022 and the Twilight 5K from 2018 to 2022. Other key FLRC tasks included organizing the Annual Picnic for years, serving as the FLRC Merchandise Manager, chairing FLRC’s Philanthropy Committee, and helping out on the club’s Timing Team. In the broader running world, Mickie organized a local RRCA coaching clinic and currently serves as the New York State RRCA rep (for which she was named State Rep of the Year in 2021) and the Eastern Region Director on the RRCA board.

2020 Lifetime Members

  • Gary McCheyne served on the FLRC board from 2008 through 2021, serving as the VP of Trails for a number of those years. He has also been a race director since 2010, including stints managing the Twilight 5K, the Ithaca 5&10, and the Thom B. Trail Runs. Even more important, in 2013, Gary took over one of the most important positions in the club—equipment manager—and his tireless efforts have played a huge role in the success of FLRC’s races ever since.
  • Dave Jones has been a member of FLRC since the early 1990s, and in that time, he has run all the club’s trail races. Some of them, including Forest Frolic, Thom B., and Finger Lakes 50s, he ran for up to 20 years in a row without missing one. After running a trail race, he was often one of the last people to leave because he stuck around to help the race director clean up and pack the equipment. Dave often volunteered to help time indoor track meets and also worked registration at Skunk, Ithaca 5 & 10, and many of the trail races before he raced them. He has been a model club member.

2017 Lifetime Members

  • Steve Shaum served on the club’s Board of Directors from 2005 through 2022. During his tenure, he served as Membership Coordinator from 2005–2010, Co-President in 2006, and Member at Large from 2011 to 2012 and 2017 to 2022. As a board member, Steve has volunteered on various committees, including the marketing, finance, web development, and governance committees. Steve has also given his time and energy to race organization. He was the Finger Lakes 50s’ Race Director from 2012–2016 and has volunteered with the FL50s organizational committee thereafter.
  • Bruce Roebal brought the FLRC Turkey Trot to new heights since taking its reins in 2007. Since then, this low-key prediction run has become a much larger event with over 400 runners. Bruce has kept extensive records of the run, all by hand and memory, and used the Turkey Trot to help FLRC partner with Loaves & Fishes of Tompkins County to provide meals for those in need. Additionally, Bruce directed the club’s indoor and outdoor track meets from 2010–2015 and was the official starter at all the meets for several years when was not the RD. He has put in a considerable number of hours marshaling at FLRC road races and helping at the Hartshorne Memorial Masters Mile.
  • Nancy Kleinrock has served on the club’s Board of Directors in various capacities from 2004 through 2022. She was Assistant Newsletter Editor from 2004–2007 before becoming the Newsletter Editor—a position she continued through 2012. In 2006 she was the club’s Co-President. Additionally, Nancy served as Secretary from 2009–2012, Executive Vice President from 2012–2013, and returned to the Secretary position in 2014—a position she held through 2021. She regularly pitches in at races, either throughout the entire duration of an event or before or after she runs it.
  • Tom Hartshorne held the informal title “Copy Jockey” during FLRC’s early years. As a teenager, he took on the tasks of copying announcements and invitations, stuffing envelopes, and licking stamps for event mailings. In 2002, Tom became Assistant Director of the Hartshorne Memorial Masters Mile—a competitive track event named in honor of his father. His role involved helping the Race Director bring in talented athletes to flesh out the elite masters fields. Hartshorne was racing against international competition at the time and was able to convince many of the world’s best masters track athletes to come to Ithaca and race at Cornell’s Barton Hall. In 2007 Tom took over the Hartshorne Memorial Masters Mile as Race Director and held that position for the decade to follow, dropping down to Assistant Director again. Tom has also contributed his time to many other volunteer tasks, such as the lead cyclist for the Skunk Cabbage Classic, and as a course marshal for the Ithaca 5&10 and FLRC Turkey Trot.
  • Sue Aigen was a board member in various capacities from 2001 through 2020. Some of her roles include a six-year stint as Race Director for the Danby Down & Dirty, Co-Race Director for the Women’s Distance Festival 5K from 2008 to 2019, and a dedicated member of the club’s Finance Committee. Sue regularly volunteers at FLRC races and other local running events.

Full Bios from the Class of 2017

2010 Lifetime Members

  • Karen Ingall served as Co-Race Director of the Monster Marathon and the Ithaca 5 & 10, and she has organized countless informal runs. She was a dedicated volunteer and was one of the strongest ambassadors the Finger Lakes Runners Club has known. Karen also brought the youth-focused Marathon Mile program to the Ithaca area. She kept the Stonehead and Pebblehead statistics for many years and published the results at the end of the trail running season.
  • Tim Ingall was Co-Race Director of the Monster Marathon and the Ithaca 5 & 10, and Race Director of the Winter Track Meets. Additionally, Tim is the creator and former RD of the Summer Track Series and the Forge the Gorgeous trail runs, and he was a long-serving member on the club’s Board of Directors.
  • Christine Reynolds was big on the local trail scene as Race Director of the Finger Lakes Fifties and Co-Race Director of Newfield Mountain Madness. Under Chris’s guidance, the Finger Lakes 50s grew into a nationally recognized trail ultramarathon. Chris also served as the club’s Equipment Manager, which required many volunteer hours to update, maintain, and keep track of all the inventory needed to put on a successful running event.

2004 Lifetime Members

  • Alan Lockett is the creator and former Race Director of the Fillmore 5K. He served on the FLRC Board of Directors for many years, took over as Race Director of Forge the Gorge in 2022, and is often seen volunteering at club events.
  • Phyllis Radke is a former FLRC board member. She designed race shirts for multiple races over a number of years—the Ithaca 5 & 10, Skunk Cabbage Classic, Finger Lakes 50s, the Monster Marathon, and the Hartshorne Masters Mile Women’s Anniversary edition. Phyllis could often be found working the registration desk at our road races.
  • Don Tily put in loads of volunteer hours at our road races. Don handled course setup and take-down duties at ten Ithaca 5 & 10s, five Fillmore 5Ks, and eight Skunk Cabbage Classics. He manned “The Beach” aid station at the Finger Lakes 50s for at least eight years. Don also spent several years on the Board of Directors as a Member at Large.
  • John Whitman is a former Race Director of the Skunk Cabbage Classic. He served on the Board of Directors and could often be seen volunteering at club-sponsored races.

2001 Lifetime Members

  • John Beach is the creator and former Race Director of the Twilight 5K and a former Race Director of the Ithaca 5 & 10. He also served as Membership Coordinator for a few years.
  • Jim Bisogni served as Secretary for a long time, and he is a former Race Director of the Skunk Cabbage Classic. Jim provided computer results at the Hartshorne Masters Mile, Skunk Cabbage, and the Ithaca 5 & 10 for at least 12 years.
  • Rick Hoebeke directed the Hartshorne Memorial Masters Mile for 20 years, during which he turned the race into a national-level event by adding the Elite Mile heats. He helped the race attract top master milers from around the country, as well as international competition. Rick also volunteered as Vice President of Track and led timing crews at several editions of the Skunk Cabbage Classic and Ithaca 5 & 10.
  • John McMurry served as Vice President of Track for five years. He directed the Virgil Mountain Madness and the Monster Marathon for three years.
  • Jim Miner volunteered on the Board as Vice President of Road and directed the Tortoise & Hare Trail Race for many years. He has spent countless hours volunteering at club events, often being the first to arrive and the last to leave.
  • Joe Reynolds* was a longtime Race Director for the Finger Lakes 50s and held the position of Vice President of Trails. He later assisted his wife Chris, who took over directorship of the FL50s after Joe stepped down from the position. Additionally, Joe helped Chris in the role of Equipment Manager and offered support and assistance to all trail race directors. For many years, he could be found marking and clearing trails on most of our race courses. He volunteered countless hours at other locally sponsored community races and often volunteered as a member of various FLRC committees. Joe was the mastermind behind the Finger Lakes Runners Club Scholarship Program, which offers a scholarship to graduating high school seniors who plan to attend college and continue their running career.
  • David “Truck” Rossiter created and organized the Triennial Trail Relay for 30 years and was FLRC’s Vice President of Trails for several years.
  • Steve Ryan was the Race Director for the Forest Frolic and Thom B trail races for a total of about 20 years.
  • Lorrie Tily was the longest-serving President in FLRC history. Aside from presidential duties, Lorrie directed the Ithaca 5&10 for 11 years and later directed the Skunk Cabbage Classic. She also acted as club historian and overseer of the club archives.

Original Lifetime Members

  • Howard Aderhold – Past President
  • Barbara Booker* – Past President
  • Chuck Collins* – Founding member
  • Bob Congdon – Founding member
  • Joe Dabes – Past President and director of many races
  • Herb Engman – Past President
  • George Gavras* – Founding member
  • Ed Hart* – Past President
  • Jim Hartshorne* – Founding member and first President
  • Steve Ingham – Past President
  • Sharon Petrillose* – Founding member and registration at old “monthly meets”
  • Tom Rishel – Past President
  • Verne Rockcastle* – Founding member
  • Diane Sherrer* – Newsletter
  • Dorothy Sholeen – Director of the Ithaca 5 & 10 three times
  • John Sholeen – Treasurer
  • Eric Smith – Course certification
  • Bob Stalnaker – Secretary, newsletter editor, and membership coordinator for many years
  • Michael Turback – Donated thousands of dollars to the Ithaca 5 & 10.

*deceased