Bike Fort Collins (BFC) continues to evolve as an organization. This past year we’ve increased our efforts supporting transportation equity; continued to educate Poudre School District students; promoted bike share use for adults of all income-levels; and encouraged local business support for their employee and customers’ bicycling efforts.
When our previous Executive Director left at the end of 2017, BFC felt we could not financially afford a replacement at that time. In January of last year, Bruce Henderson volunteered to step down as Board President and become Operations Manager, focusing on the key management tasks.
Upon evaluating this change one year later, Bruce’s role has continued to evolve. While overall BFC management is more controlled, the focus on leadership was unfortunately not given the time it needed. Less time was devoted to driving the organizational vision and direction; on strong strategic communication; cultivating strategic partnerships; and developing that strong recognizable organizational image.
Hiring a full time dedicated Executive Director, who can provide an important leadership focus, is in the best interest of BFC.
Unfortunately, BFC is still not in a position of being able to afford a full-time dedicated Executive Director. Our best estimate is having the funds available in two to three years. Recognizing a greater leadership focus is essential in the interim, and so the BFC Board has approved changing Bruce’s title from Operations Manager to Executive Director.
Bruce will focus more time on leadership, and less on management. As a result of this change, you, the community, should see more local visibility from BFC, more accessibility, and more public opinions on important local issues.
As needed, BFC may optionally decide to supplement some of our management operations with contract help.
As noted, we expect to hire a full-time Executive Director within two to three years. At that time, Bruce will switch back to a more operational role.
Questions, comments or interested in getting involved in some way? Feel free to email BFC at info@bikefortcollins.org, or contact Bruce directly at bruce.henderson@bikefortcollins.org.