Simply My Best: The ballot is counted

SIMPLY MY BEST

UPDATE: This was the website where we figured out what SMB would be. Then we created a new site for SMB 2014. Then, in March, 2014, we launched a REAL website for the event and our nonprofit called Pilot Butte Summit Seekers. Check it out...

WWW.PILOTBUTTESUMMITSEEKERS.ORG

Kind of cool to watch it change from something we literally made up as we went along to something that was built on the efforts of so many and actually planned to some degree. It will be fun to watch the new website take shape over the coming months.

Btw, if you haven't heard, SMB 2014 is May 10th!

Note: Many functions on this old site have been removed or disabled, but the blog remains as a record of the SMB journey.

Monday, May 13, 2013

The ballot is counted

I was thinking there was a problem because we only got about 110 ballots from 372 participants. Clearly that number should have been higher and I'm guessing some people didn't get a ballot. If that happened, it is yet another first year mistake. Still, I know that we pulled well over 100 people into SMB who were just out for a hike. Their numbers helped us to raise all the money that was donated (btw, we just barely raised it all). But I don't think they were people who were especially in tune with the issues on the Butte, so I can see a lot of them not voting. Plus some people just don't vote for whatever reason.

So I would be happier if we had about 180 ballots but then, after tabulating the ballots by hand, I really don't think it would have changed much. I knew the end results by the time I got through the first 50 ballots. Kind of like in an election where TV stations project the winners and are rarely wrong. The trends just held up as I kept counting and so I don't think 70 more ballots would have made much of a difference in the final results.

Now, remember, the bigger projects were voted on just to give us an idea of what we might be wanting to do with next year's money. The smaller projects are the things we will try to get done this year. Not just one, but several of them. Also, we will be presenting the park with a ranked list of projects and the final decision of what gets done will be theirs. We have a process in place for that and we will let you know the results and timeline for the projects as soon as we know.

Here are the results:

BIGGER PROJECTS (cast one vote):

ÿ WATER ON TOP ALL YEAR 36

ÿ BEAUTIFY THE BUTTE 24

ÿ GET RID OF THE MUD ON THE NATURE TRAIL 23

ÿ NEW TRAIL STRAIGHT UP TO THE TOP. 08

SMALLER PROJECTS (cast three votes):

ÿ MAKE THE TRAILS SAFER IN WINTER 32

ÿ OVERALL TRAIL MAINTENANCE ON ALL TRAILS IN THE PARK 32

ÿ TRASH CAN HALF WAY UP ON ROAD TRAL. 31

ÿ MAJOR MAINTENANCE ON THE ROAD TRAIL 27

ÿ SANITIZER IN TOP RESTROOM. 26

ÿ FIX THE DETERIORATING PORTIONS OF THE ADA ROAD ACCESS TRAIL 21

ÿ MORE DOGGIE BAG STATIONS. 17

ÿ NEW RESTROOM LOCK ON TOP BATHROOM DOOR. 16

ÿ MILEAGE MARKERS ON THE TRAILS. 16

ÿ FIX THE ROCK PROBLEM AT THE START OF THE NATURE TRAIL. 09

ÿ PUT MIRRORS IN THE BOTTOM RESTROOM. 07

ÿ SIGNS TO LET PEOPLE KNOW WHEN DRINKING FOUNTAINS AREN’T WORKING. 07

ÿ SIGN FROM PARK USERS ENCOURAGING FOLKS TO FOLLOW RULES. 06

ÿ MORE PICNIC TABLES IN THE GRASSY AREA OF THE PARK 06

ÿ PAVE THE ACCESS TRAIL TO THE PARK OFF OF DEREK AVE. 01

THE INSIDE SCOOP

This is not your typical event. It is informal and casual by nature. We hope to never be out there aggressively spreading the word because we think the event will always have a certain magic if we let it grow at a natural pace. Plus, as we have already found, Pilot Butte itself is the perfect place to spread the word. Not only are there a lot of hikers who already know each other, we have really been surprised by how many regular hikers there are that we don't know. It is no accident that the parking area gets over 15,000 cars per month. People love Pilot Butte.

If you haven't yet noticed, this event is really set up to take what you already do and then make that an outstanding experience one day out of the year. It is almost more a celebration than anything else. So you just show up and hike, something you'd probably do anyway. There is no entry fee, no official start time, or anything like that. There have to be a few formalities, but we are doing our best to make them as painless and fun as possible. We are also focusing a lot on the social aspect of the event. We want the normal encouragement that people always experience on the Butte to become infectious and reach new heights. In other words, while this is a day in which it could be easier than most to hike a personal best on the Butte, the overall focus is still on having fun. Then, as a side benefit, we end up solving one of the problems that people are most concerned about on the Butte. So there is actually a kind of reward in place if you decide to go for a personal best that day. But you don't even need to do that. Hiking your normal distance, or even less, still helps us raise the funds we need. Your being there is what is most important.

As much as possible, SMB is what you need it to be. We purposely left the term "personal best" a little vague and we are glad we did. Some people have already indicated that they go by a different standard than what we had in mind. That's great and we are trying very hard to work them into the event.

In designing this event, we are kind of taking our lead from Pilot Butte's Century Club, now a 13 year old tradition on the Butte. It demonstrates the power that a simple idea can have. This event will be a big success if we can keep it simple for both the hikers and the organizers. So we invite you to come out and "hike your butt off on the Butte." You can RSVP by clicking here.