In accordance with Article XIV(B)(2) of the By-Laws of the Road Runners Club of America, The RRCA’s Board Development Committee* unanimously presents the following slate of recommended candidates for election to the RRCA Board of Directors in March 2023:
Southern Region Director – Lionel Adams (current board member, new to this role)
Lionel is an RRCA Level 1 Certified Coach with years of experience in racing distances from 10k to ultra marathons. Running has allowed him to see and experience parts of the country that he would not have seen otherwise. As a resident of Charleston, his home club is the Lowcountry’s Park Circle Pacers. He has been the RRCA South Carolina State Rep for several years and RRCA At-Large Board Member from 2021 to current. Professionally, Lionel is a Human Resources Specialist with US Department of Veterans Affairs. He takes pride in being able to serve our nation’s heroes. As an avid Veterans advocate, he takes comfort in knowing that our freedom to run is protected daily by our brave Service members.
Western Region Director – Stephen Wright (incumbent)
Steve is president of Oregon Road Runners Club (ORRC). He directs six ORRC running events and leads a weekly training group. Up until a 2020 knee replacement, he ran marathons and ultramarathons, running the Boston Marathon every fifth year. His running was put to the test when it proved to be the magic pill to successfully recover from a debilitating TBI. Steve has been a CEO, Fortune 500 Marketing Director, small business owner and consultant. He served as the RRCA Oregon State Rep from 2016 through 2020.
At-Large Director – Lisa Rippe (incumbent)
Lisa served as the RRCA State Representative for Kentucky (2005-2007) and Minnesota (2011-2018) before joining the board in 2019. She has been appointed by the Board to serve as RRCA Vice President in 2020, 2021, 2022. She is an RRCA Certified Coach and Race Director, as well as a member of the Northstar Running Club. She coaches adults training for marathons and shorter distances, and she enjoys running and pacing numerous events every year. She has completed over 145 marathons, including one in every US state, each of the seven continents, and the world majors. Lisa has over twenty years of experience in sales and marketing.
At-Large Director – Sarah Kozul (new candidate)
After running her first half marathon and moving to a new city, Sarah got involved in her local running community. She joined the Galloway run/walk/run program, and after her first training cycle, she became a pace group leader. In 2013, she was selected as the program director, organizing the weekly group runs and growing the program. She became active with the Lakeland Runners Club (LRC) middle school cross-country team in 2015 and became head coach in 2016. In 2017, she was elected to the LRC Board of Directors where she has served as: Vice-President, President, Secretary, and Treasurer. Sarah is an RRCA Certified Coach and Certified Race Director. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Engineering from the University of Missouri and worked as an engineer with Anheuser Busch for 10 years.
At-Large Director – Marcus Grunewald (new candidate)
Marcus has been associated with the Dallas White Rock Marathon for over 25 years, starting as a volunteer on the course and working his way up to his current position as the paid Executive Race Director. He’s been active with the Dallas Running Club for decades, having served on their Board of Directors from 2015 – 2020 as head of their Race Director team. He was instrumental in the local management of the 2016 RRCA National Convention in Dallas, and he’s served as the North Texas RRCA Rep from 2015 to the current date. While Marcus’s passion is running, he has a background is financial management, having been a Wall Street investment bank contractor/consultant from 1986 – 2007.
The RRCA thanks the members of the Board Development Committee for their service to the organization:
- Peter Qumsiyeh (Chair – RRCA Ohio Representative)
- Goody Tyler (Past RRCA Board Member)
- Kelly Richards (Past RRCA Board Member)
- Nikkia Young (Past President Richmond Road Runners Club)
- Tim Bentley (RRCA Arizona Representative)
We also thank everyone that submitted nominations. We value and appreciate the high-level of interest and willingness for people to serve the organization.
In accordance with the RRCA Bylaws, candidates wishing to be placed on the ballot for the Board elections, my email [email protected] requesting to be placed on the ballot. The deadline for non-slate candidate submission is February 22, 2022.
Notice of the Annual Meeting of the Membership – 2023
We are advising members of the date and location for the RRCA Annual Meeting of the Membership.
Date: March 25, 2023
Time: 10:00 AM Central
Location: Palmer House a Hilton Hotel 17 E Monroe St, Chicago, IL, 60603, US
Attendance at the RRCA Convention is not required to attend the meeting but is encouraged.