Volunteer Spotlight: Keil Mueller
By Melinda Musser, Communications & Marketing Manager
In this month’s volunteer spotlight, we celebrate Keil Mueller, one of our amazing board members. All of our board members generously volunteer their time to stewarding the mission of the Community Cycling Center. In addition to being a member of our board, Keil supports the fiscal health of the organization on our Finance & Sustainability Committee.
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Why did you decide to join our board?
I had been involved with the Cycling Center for several years as a volunteer Holiday Bike Drive mechanic and as a member of the Finance and Sustainability Committee. When Mychal and Kathryn (our current Board president) asked if I would be interested in applying to join the board, I didn’t hesitate at all. It was an honor to be asked, and it has been a pleasure to serve as a Board member for just over a year now.
Which priorities are the Board of Directors focused on currently?
The Board is always thinking about the organization’s strategic plan and looking at ways that we can support staff to build on the successful programs that have been developed over the years and to identify new opportunities to further the Cycling Center’s mission. We also want to help insure that the programs are sustainable and that the Cycling Center as a whole is on solid financial ground.
What is your most memorable moment in your time volunteering with us?
It’s a close call between seeing families help their kids pick out a bike the first time I volunteered at the Holiday Bike Drive (which has become my favorite holiday tradition by far) and eating fruitcake ice cream with Earl Blumenauer (it’s surprisingly good).
Do you have a favorite Community Cycling Center program?
It’s really difficult to pick just one. But, if forced, I probably would say that I am most proud of the staff’s work with our community partners at New Columbia and Hacienda. To me, those programs are great examples of the Cycling Center’s innovative approach to community involvement and engagement. By supporting those partners and allowing the people at New Columbia and Hacienda to lead the way and show us how we can be most helpful, the Cycling Center has achieved far more than it could have by simply going in and telling folks what we were going to do.
What does “community” mean to you? How would you define it, or what does it look like?
To me, community means the group of people with whom we share a physical space. To a large extent, community is what we choose to make of it. We all have our own stories and our own interests and concerns, but none of us exist in a vacuum. Whatever brought us here or whatever caused us to stay, we are here together. We are inter-dependent and inter-reliant, whether we want to be or not. But we can choose how we engage with each other.
Describe your dream bike?
I would do unspeakable things to get my hands on an Ahearne or Ira Ryan city cruiser with moustache bars, a front rack, chrome fenders, the works.