Anne Clark – President
I have been riding mountain bikes since 2007. I was wrangled into the whole deal by Graydon Betts (above, right). He mentioned to me that I might want to give “this mountain biking thing a try”. So, I went out and bought a Specialized Myka Base right off the rack and we tackled the Mammoth trail one evening mid-summer and I’ve been hooked ever since. Graydon is also responsible for my role as MORC President (a position held since 2016). I’ve been involved with the Board since late 2014. The reason I volunteer is that I LOVE TO RIDE! I’m passionate about mountain biking and trails, and I love the great outdoors. I’ve enjoyed biking in several states over the years, and the only MORC trail that I haven’t been to is Cottage Grove (sorry guys!).
Graydon Betts – Treasurer
Graydon grew up on bikes in a rural area riding fatter tire junky bikes on farmland, deer paths in the woods, etc. He began riding singletrack in the mid-90s after purchasing his first nice MTB, a 1994 Giant ATX.Graydon began getting involved with trail advocacy when Wright County was taking over management of the former YMCA Day Camp Manitou in Monticello to become the Wright County Bertram Chain of Lakes Park in 2012, and has been involved with the trail development there since. He served as interim treasurer in the 4th quarter of 2014, and has been the MORC treasurer since 2015. Graydon has also been involved with Hillside City Park since becoming a MORC trail in 2016. Graydon also serves on the Trails & Parks Committee.Graydon works for a small public accounting firm that specializes in audit & accounting for 501(c) non-profit organizations, as well as corporate and small business support. He keeps himself very busy with business, individual, and non-profit tax for the first part of the year.
Gunnar Carlson – Vice President
Gunnar Carlson is a Minnesota native who grew up in Hopkins. After attending St. John’s Prep School and University in Collegeville he returned to the Minneapolis area to attend the University of MN Twin Cities to finish his degree in Psychology. After college Gunnar worked with at-risk youth for several years before returning to the pharmacy he worked in during his time at the U of M. While still working as the GM for Center Drug in Hopkins, Gunnar is currently enrolled in the Humphrey School of Public Affairs and is hoping to complete his MPA in 2020.Gunnar began his relationship with MORC in the late 90’s with volunteer trail maintenance hours and group rides down at the river bottoms. After many years away from biking he returned to the trails a few years ago. This lead to a desire to serve the MORC community through the board. Gunnar has previously served on several boards for both civic and professional groups including the Hopkins Rotary (2 time president), HBCA, as well as helping to form the Southwest Metro Chamber of Commerce (past president).Gunnar’s home trail is the Theodore Wirth system as he lives nearby in North Minneapolis and is a great spot for a quick ride after work. While he may put the most miles on at Theo, Gunnar does enjoy heading out to ride the entire MORC trail system and tries to get to every trail at least once a season.When he’s not working, studying or riding Gunnar enjoys relaxing with a good cigar, traveling or just relaxing at home with his wife and dog.
Ross Luhmann – Secretary
Ross started mountain biking after a friend brought him to Carver in 2013. Since he hadn’t owned a bike since he was 15, he borrowed his friend’s extra – a cheap 26″ Schwinn. He had so much fun he bought that bike for $20 plus lunch and started riding at his local trail, Elm Creek. Brandon Gallagher Watson -Marketing Chair
Sheila Roering – East Regional Trail Coordinator
Sheila started mountain biking in 2006 when she got her first mountain bike, a Trek hand me down from her much taller brother. Her first trail was the River Bottoms, which still hold a special place in her heart. She finally bought a bike her size, a 2008 Trek 4500, which is still her favorite to ride and believes she will always love 26” tires!To help fund bike parts and upgrades, Sheila works as the IT Retail Logistics Coordinator at Caribou Coffee responsible for process mapping and coordinating projects at the store level including opening new locations.In 2016, she joined the trail crew at Salem Hills and worked to earn her Dirt Boss qualification in 2017. She joined the MORC board in 2018 as the East Region Trails Coordinator and is a member of the Trails and Parks Committee. Her goals are to help implement a trail training program and local trails she rides the most are Salem Hills and Elm Creek but takes any opportunity to check out all of our other local trails and occasionally a couple in UT.
Aron M Braggans – Director of Technology
I have been hooked on bikes since I jumped my first garbage
can in the 6th grade on my Huffy Racing Stu Thomsen BMX
bike. I moved to Eagan in early 2000’s for work, less than a
mile from Lebanon Hills. A coworker at the time loaned me a
bike and took me around Leb, the next day I was bike shop
buying my first Stump Jumper.
I started digging in the dirt with the leb & caver crews in 2014 ,
until a few years later when Porter asked me to help with the
MORCmtb website. I attended some of the board meetings and
helped out until I joined the board in 2016.
Home trail is Theo, Favorite Trails are Leb & Carver
John Kelley – Director
John is an ETL Data Warehousing Developer on
most days, which has also provided him the
opportunity to traverse the landscape by providing
thought leadership along the way.
John bought his first mountain bike (a fat bike) in
the spring of 2015, where he was quick to get
towed through Leb by some friends, managing to
only hit three trees along the way. Despite the
scratches, it was the most fun he’d had on a bike
in years, and a welcome break from thousands of
commuting miles between St Louis Park and
Eagan. The following year, John bought a fully
rigid SS 29’r that he hauled with him on many
adventures, including Kissing Booth in Duluth, and
eventually purchased a full suspension bike just
before experiencing Copper Harbor for the first
time in the fall of 2017.Since discovering the joy of those dirty ribbons we’ve all grown to love, John has found
himself riding mostly at Theo, but Leb and Elm have been regular haunts, as well as the
occasional trip down to Murphy. He completed the Ride ‘em All challenge in 2017,
though admittedly the Battle Creek edition was very short lived due to wayfinding. John
actually moved to the east side of St Paul in the spring of 2018, and Battle Creek has
become one of his favorite trails due to the challenging elevation, old school trails, and
the excitement of what is in store for this trail (hoping we can do some of the same
types of features Monticello/Bertram has to offer!).
John became so enamored by the trails in our metro that he wanted to contribute to the
trails’ and organization’s success. He decided to volunteer his time to the Board
beginning in 2018, where he became the membership committee chair, and has worked
to help the organization, including helping to organize membership drives, and creating
the MORC Ridership Survey that was distributed last spring. Also beginning in early
2018, John, along with his (now) wife, joined an adventure team whose mission is to
create a welcoming and inclusive environment for people to get rad in any number of
disciplines.
Ryan Lieske – South Regional Trail Coordinator
