The Thunderhead Alliance Weather Report

		Volume 4, Issue 1 January 2008
		In This Issue: Thunderhead Announces 2008 Trainings & Retreat Complete Streets Corner: A Federal Complete Streets Bill on the Horizon Member Resources Update Thunderhead Makes Training RFP Process Ongoing Organization Tip: Effective Newsletters Member News, Jobs, Thunderhead Events St. Louis Regional Bicycle Federation Unveils New PSAs & Promotes New Executive Director Walk Bike Berks Uses Radio to Spread Word About Their New Org Walk San Francisco Collaborates to Win Improvements for Peds in SF Central Ohio Bicycle Advocacy Coalition Announces Merger with Consider Biking Thunderhead Organizations are Hiring! Upcoming Events at Thunderhead Alliance
		THUNDERHEAD ANNOUNCES 2008 TRAININGS & RETREAT In response to our RFP in November 2007, we received some creative proposals from organizations for 2008 Thunderhead Trainings. We are pleased to announce that Thunderhead will host two trainings in 2008 in addition to the Thunderhead Retreat. See the details on these exciting opportunities below: Thunderhead’s Winning Campaigns Training in San Francisco, CA This spring Thunderhead is partnering with the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition to bring our signature Winning Campaigns Training to the beautiful Bay Area. Join your fellow bicycle and pedestrian advocacy leaders to learn from expert coaches and each other through Thunderhead’s proven curriculum on choosing, directing, and winning campaigns to increase bicycling and walking. After three days of fun and inspiring work with the country’s leading experts in advocacy, you’ll come away with the tools and confidence to be a leader in your community — one who knows not just how to advocate for improvements, but win them! Dates: Friday April 11th-Sunday April 13th Online Registration: now open here Train the Trainer – Advanced Leadership Training in Chicago, IL Also this spring, Thunderhead Alliance and the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation will co-sponsor a Train the Trainer event in the Windy City. This 4-day advanced training workshop is designed to build participant's small group training skills. It is an intensive workshop for 10 individuals and focused on individuals who will provide direct training on transportation related issues or are involved in organizing large groups into small group activities. Thunderhead is excited to be partnering with Chicagoland Bicycle Federation on this advanced training for advocates who wish to take their leadership skills to the next level. Dates: Monday May 5th – Thursday May 8th Online Registration: opens soon Thunderhead Alliance Retreat in Seattle, WA This fall Thunderhead will host our biannual Thunderhead Retreat in Seattle, WA directly prior to the Pro Bike/Pro Walk conference. The Thunderhead Retreat is our signature event that many Thunderhead leaders will anticipate all year. Spend two days and two nights with leaders of bicycle and pedestrian advocacy organizations from across the country while exploring issues of organizational development. Sessions are geared towards challenges and opportunities you face as the leader of a bicycle and pedestrian advocacy organization. The retreat activities and lodging will be at a conference facility that gives you the chance to enjoy the outdoors and network with colleagues from near and far. Dates: August 31st-September 2nd (overnight on the 31st &1st) Online Registration: opens this spring. Win a FREE registration to the 2008 Thunderhead Retreat! Fill out our 2008 Membership Survey for your chance to win a free registration to the 2008 Thunderhead Retreat. The 2008 registration fee is not yet confirmed but the cost for the 2006 retreat registration was $350. COMPLETE STREETS CORNER: A FEDERAL COMPLETE STREETS BILL ON THE HORIZON by Dominic Liberatore, Interim Executive Director/Complete Streets Campaign Coordinator As the clock moves towards Super Tuesday and the fall election cycle, the National Complete Streets Coalition is on the verge of getting a Complete Streets bill introduced into Congress. With the support of a yet to be named member of the House and U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D) Iowa we expect the bill to be introduced sometime between now and the 2008 National Bike Summit. In support of the pending bill, there will be a congressional briefing on Capitol Hill on February 6th as part of the 7th Annual Smart Growth Conference. The briefing will be immediately followed by a lobby day for conference attendees. Be sure to watch the www.completestreets.org website and newsletter for up to date information. If you are able to do so, now is the time for Thunderhead member organizations to arrange district meetings with your House and Senate members. Please invite local member organizations of the National Complete Streets Coalition to participate in your local district meetings. Feel free to use the facts sheets provided on the www.completestreets.org website for talking points on why we need complete streets. If you meet with your local representatives, please contact Dominic Liberatore, Complete Streets Campaign Coordinator, to share the results of your meeting. Contact Dominic at dominic “at” thunderheadalliance.org or ( 614) 204-4628.
		MEMBER RESOURCES UPDATE New from Member Resources Thunderhead leaders may have noticed newly released features on www.thunderheadalliance.org and in the Web Resources Library including: New search function—search the resources by keyword & find what you need more quickly; RSS Technology—Subscribe to our feed (at the bottom) and get the posted resources delivered directly to your ITunes, Internet Feed Reader, or I Phone; Submit A Resource—Submit your resource directly to our Resource Library and share the knowledge with other organization leaders; and, Online Event Registration—Use our new event registration system to sign up for our trainings and pay directly online. Navigating the New Login System As we continue to develop new member resources and create opportunities for two-way interaction with our members, we must continue to migrate to the use of a unique username and password. This migration allows you to create your own username and password to access the library and post information and comments on resources. Some quick tips to keep in mind: Primary Contacts of member organizations and supporters should complete both steps of the registration process found at www.thunderheadalliance.org/join to renew your membership for 2008. (Remember to complete the entire registration form so that your profile is populated in our new release of the Thunderhead Member Organizations and Supporters list.) Primary contacts who have mailed in their payment for 2008 should still complete Step 1 of the registration process to speed up processing of your 2008 membership and populate your organization’s profile. Additional contacts from member organizations should still complete Step 1 of the registration process to gain access to the resources library, register on the listserve, participate in site discussions, and other coming resources. You can still access resources using the central password until March 1, 2008. However, we ask that you complete the registration process as soon as possible to allow you the smoothest transition to the new system and access to the Web Resources Library. New Resources in the Works Thunderhead will be continuing to release new member resources and tools over the coming months, and we are counting on you to provide us with your feedback on these new tools. Some tools to look for in the near future include: New Thunderhead Photo Gallery— bike and ped images you can use. Improved Job Posting page—post your job announcements directly and easily remove expired ones. Improved Help System—find answers to your questions and offer your feedback with greater ease. Interactive Member News Section—report your news to the Thunderhead community. Interactive Events Posting system—post your events to a Thunderhead Organization’s Events Calendar. A Discussion Forum—To compliment the great knowledge being shared on the listserve and allow for an easy search of archives What Can Thunderhead Do For You?: 2008 Membership Survey Thunderhead wants to know what resources you are most in need of and what we can do to serve you better. Please take a few minutes to respond to our short online survey for your chance to win a free registration to the 2008 Thunderhead Retreat. (Only leaders of Thunderhead Organizations qualify for this contest.) We look forward to hearing what you want from Thunderhead and shaping our programs and offerings to better address your needs. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact our Member Resources Manager, Jeremy Grandstaff, at (614) 626-4230.
		THUNDERHEAD MAKES TRAINING RFP PROCESS ONGOING Do you believe your organization’s impact would be increased by a Thunderhead Winning Campaigns Training? Or are you interested in bringing Thunderhead experts to your community for a customizable training that fits your needs? Last fall, Thunderhead put out a call for unique approaches to partnering with us to host a 2008 Thunderhead training. Thus far, we have unveiled the 2008 San Francisco and Chicago trainings, and are still considering other great proposals already submitted. However, Thunderhead also recognizes the ever-changing needs and schedules of our member organizations, and therein, we have decided to keep the RFP process ongoing. If you are interested in bringing a Thunderhead training to your community, download the RFP online and send your final proposal to kristen “at” thunderheadalliance.org. Organizations are encouraged to partner with other organizations in their region to host trainings. We look forward to expanding the opportunity to bring customizable trainings to more bicycle and pedestrian advocates in communities near you.
		ORGANIZATION TIP: EFFECTIVE NEWSLETTERS This article is recycled from the December 2005 issue of the Weather Report Stop! Think about what you're doing right at this moment. You're reading a newsletter, and not just the first few words at the beginning of the message; you're almost all the way through it. And you're continuing to read... One of the most effective and commonly overlooked communication tools for your organization can be an electronic newsletter. Here are five simple tips to help you craft and maintain an effective newsletter for your members, constituents, supporters, and decision makers: Know and target your audience - besides your members and supports, add your local media contacts, legislators, and decision makers to your mailing list. These people should be kept up-to-date with your progress and needs, too. Often, a well-written newsletter will serve as a mini press release, prompting the media to contact you. Keep your articles short and to the point - Too many articles and links in a newsletter will cause your reader's eyes to cross. Aim for 4-6 articles, no more than 3-4 paragraphs in length for each article. A good newsletter should take no more than 3-5 minutes to read from start to finish. Give your articles broad appeal - write your articles so that anyone in your target audience will understand the importance of your work. Avoid insider's jargon. Never publicly bash another organization or person; instead, look for ways your readers can get involved in a positive way. Simple is good; gaudy is bad - plain text email newsletters are just fine. If you have the capability and time to send HTML newsletters, make sure that they're not over-engineered with too many graphics, font changes, and colors. Respect your reader's privacy - be sure to BCC: (blind carbon copy) everyone on the list to keep everyone's personal contact information private. Give your readers a chance to opt out, too - especially if you add them to your mailing list without first obtaining their permission. Send your newsletter about once a month - if you have the need to reach your audience for a specific, high-priority item, send it as a separate "Action Alert," instead of using your newsletter. Visit Thunderhead’s Web Resource Library for examples of effective newsletters.
		MEMBER NEWS St. Louis Regional Bicycle Federation Unveils New PSAs & Promotes New Executive Director The St. Louis Regional Bicycle Federation held its 6th Bicycle Swap Meet & Classic Bike Show on Jan. 27 with 73 vendors from all over the midwest and about 1,500 people attending. A highlight of the event was the premier of four beautifully produced television PSAs that enthusiastically urge viewers to consider bicycling for transportation. Also, the board of directors promoted Patty Vinyard to Executive Director on January 1 of this year. WalkBikeBerks Uses Radio to Spread Word About Their New Org WalkBikeBerks, a newly formed Thunderhead member organization created a radio PSA with the help of their local NPR to get the word out about their new organization. Read the PSA script and listen to the audio component below. (Reading) -- "A new group is forming in Berks County with the goal of making walking and bicycling more practical and convenient. "WalkBikeBerks" will be a non-profit organization that reaches out to municipalities to help make walking and biking a safe transportation and recreation option for all county residents. Founder Michele Barrett of Exeter Township says she hopes the group can convince officials to create policies that support walking and biking infrastructure. She says she looks at the work as a quality of life issue." Audio Clip Barrett says "Walk Bike Berks" plans to adopt bi-laws, establish its mission and elect officers at a meeting tomorrow at Alvernia College. It is slated to run from 2:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. and is open to the public. For more information, call 610-779-9702 or email walkbikeberks@yahoo.com." Walk San Francisco Collaborates to Win Improvements for Peds in SF Walk San Francisco reported that after working last fall with 30 collaborating neighborhood residents, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority , and the San Francisco Police Department, the results are new improvemnets for San Francisco pedestrians. Improvements for the South Beach/Rincon Hill neighborhood include the installation of four all-red Clearances, five (partial) crosswalks repainted, and the installation of a center crossing island. For complete details, and to learn more about the organization's commitment to pedestrian advocacy, visit http://walksf.org/?p=16. Central Ohio Bicycle Advocacy Coalition Announces Merger with Consider Biking The Central Ohio Bicycle Advocacy Coalition (COBAC) announced this week their merger with Consider Biking, a new local commuter cycling organization. Consider Biking has gained significant grassroots momentum--with online conversation at http://considerbiking.org, offline events and the spin-off of "Bike OSU", OSU's first commuter cycling student organization--since its launch last spring. The merger brings the energy of Consider Biking participants to bear on the major education and advocacy initiatives with which COBAC has experience, expertise, and success. The new Consider Biking will be announcing its search for an executive director soon. Check the Thunderhead Jobs page below for details on this exciting opportunity as they emerge. Thunderhead Organizations Are Hiring! Our member organizations are hiring! Check out all of the fantastic job opportunities on the Thunderhead Jobs page. If your organization is hiring, be sure to let us know! We'll list your job posting. Simply send an email to: jobs "at" thunderheadalliance.org. Upcoming Events at Thunderhead Alliance February 14, 2007 (Thursday): Mutual Aid Conference Call: Staffing a Bike/Ped Advocacy Organization in a Mid-Sized City: How'd They Do It?! April 11-13th: Thunderhead Winning Campaigns Traning in San Francisco, CA - more here May 5-8th: Train the Trainer - Advanced Leadership Training in Chicago, IL August 31st - September 2: Thunderhead Alliance Retreat in Seattle, WA We want your news! Thunderhead wants to publish your good news! Our coalition is our members and your peers want to hear about your success and innovations. Have you had a recent success? A winning campaign? A creative event? Has your organization used innovative methods for attracting members or earning media attention? We want to know about it! Send your news items to kristen "at" thunderheadalliance.org.
		This monthly Thunderhead Alliance Weather Report is for the leaders of our member organizations and our supporters. The Thunderhead Alliance, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, is the only coalition of state and local bicycle and pedestrian advocacy organizations working in unison to break down the barriers to safe bicycling and walking in North American communities. Find more info at: www.thunderheadalliance.org.