New Board Members! – Northstar Running

At the Annual Meeting in June, the new board for Northstar Running was announced. Meet your new board members!

Meghan Doherty (returning)
Ellen Kendall
Cindy Ravn
Matthew Schmidt
Robbie Skantz

Here's a little about the new members to help you get to know them:

Robbie Skantz: Hi I’m Robbie Skantz, I’ve been a member of NorthStar running since its inception and enjoy the team in many ways, way more than just running. For those of you that don’t know me I can usually be found stalking and petting dogs around the cities and occasionally running. I value the group and its comradery and consider most everyone here as a friend (don’t worry, I wont ask to borrow any money). Thanks for allowing me to be part of the board, I hope that we can pick up where our awesome previous board leaves off and help to continue to build on a great Team which supports runners of all levels and goals and to promote volunteerism and philanthropy in our community.

Matt Schmidt: A lot of you know me as one of the "fast (old?) guys", but that wasn't always the case - and isn't at the moment. I didn't really start running until I was almost 40 and ran my first real race in January 2013 - Securian Half Marathon. In spring 2015 I hurt my right foot building up for Fargo Marathon, missed the race and about 2 months of running and this winter, managed to hurt my back and be shut down for just over 11 weeks. I'd like to think I know what it's like to build, rebuild and rebuild again from scratch.

I've been a member of Northstar from the very beginning and it's basically an extension of family at this point. As a former basketball player and point guard, I'm also a big team guy and I want to see even more Northstar representation (especially the ladies) at races of all kinds, USATF in particular. I don't care what the times are, I just want to see lots of "Northstar Running" whenever those team results get posted!

Cindy Ravn: Hi there. I’m Cindy Ravn. I’ve been a Northstar since moving back to Minnesota in October of 2015 but was part of the group before I moved to California in 2011 and would make guest appearances when I was in town periodically. I grateful for the friendships and camaraderie of The Northstars and am certain there are days I wouldn’t lace up if I didn't have someone waiting for me. Personally my goal is to win my age group one day but it might not be for MANY years which is good because another goal is be a centenarian runner. 🙂 My hope, as a board member, is to increase membership and attendance at both our runs and social events.

If you’ve met me you know I’m the ding-dong who often forgets her Garmin (or forgets to start it), sometimes has her dog (Sugarbell), might ask your name 80-90 times before I remember it, and stops occasionally to take a photo along the course. If you haven’t met me please know I’m the one who often forgets her Garmin (or forgets to start it), sometimes has my dog Sugarbell, I might ask your name 80-90 times before I remember it, and I occasionally stop along the course to take photos. 😉 Please stop and say hello next time. 🙂

Ellen Kendall: This will be my 2nd term on the Northstar Board. It has been so much fun to be a part of this awesome team. Because of this team, I've been able to reach goals that I never thought would be possible and I've been witness to seeing team members achieve amazing goals. Everyone on this team has inspired me in some way! This club is what keeps me running. It’s part of my every day life, and I'm looking forward to working with the new board member to help grow our team and make an impact to our local running community.