SWIMBA held it's annual membership meeting on Wednesday June 18th at Smokey Mountain Pizza on Parkcenter.

We had a truly excellent slate of candidates running for board positions this year. I was excited about knowing that no matter how it turned out we would have a truly talented board to work with. I'm pleased to announce that Gary Dinoso, Mike Edwards, Terry Floyd and Lisa Hawkes were all elected to the board. The remainder of the 9 that were elected this year include; David Beck, Tom Foote, Margie Rosenberg, Dirk Vandervoort and myself (David Thomas) who were all re-elected to the board.

Julia Grant from the City of Boise started the meeting with a great presentation that summarized the results and current status of the foothills bond levy that was passed by local tax payers in 2001. She gave a comprehensive overview of what parcels the bond moneys have been used to obtain, where those properties are located, and how much is remaining for future acquisitions.

One other big announcement of the evening was from Darren Lightfield of the Wild Rockies Mountain Bike Race Series. Darren and his wife Lorien are both avid mountain bikers and have been involved with SWIMBA for a number of years. Both are past board members. Darren asked me at the beginning of the meeting if he could make a quick announcement and I agreed. He offered thanks to the SWIMBA organization for its efforts in educating local trail users and building / maintaining the local trail system. In appreciation for this and for the good experiences he has had working with SWIMBA, Wild Rockies donated $2000 to SWIMBA and a seperate $2000 the the Velopark. A big round of thanks to Darren.

I'd like to offer my sincere thanks for outgoing board members Tom Chelstrom, Ian Fitzpatrick, Chris Hess and Harley Parson. Every one of these board members has contributed greatly to the current success of the organization. They have all expressed to me their continued dedication to the organization and there commitment to stay involved in some capacity. Again, my sincere thanks to all of you.

The night was concluded with a great drawing with numerous door prizes supplied by World Cycle, Core Concepts and REI. I'd like to personally that each of these local businesses for the support they have given to SWIMBA. Please thank these vendors when you have the opportunity.

Sincerely,

David Thomas - President