From Joseph Schmalz "GP Velotek held its 2nd Annual Banquet and Silent Auction Saturday night, January 28th, at the Peeper Ranch in Lenexa. Proceeds from the event will benefit the juniors trip to the 2006 USCF Nationals in Seven Springs, Pennsylvania this July. The evening began with guests mingling and talking about recent cycling news while browsing and bidding on the silent auction items donated by various local supporters. Dinner and dessert was then served, and Jim Whittaker, president of GP Velotek, gave a short presentation to thank the team’s sponsors and present the 2005 GP Velotek Junior Awards. Recipients of the awards were Jessie Rieck, Most Improved Junior Woman and Greg Payne, Most Improved Male Junior; Joseph Schmalz for Service, Austin Fick for Leadership, John Funk for Excellence, Garrick Valverde for Teamwork, John Shipman for Development, and Greg Payne was awarded the 5 Spoke award for his performance in all five areas during the 2005 cycling season. Guest speaker, Ben Jacques-Maynes, from Santa Cruz, California, a professional cyclist currently riding for Kodak Gallery/Sierra Nevada Pro Cycling Team, then captured the attention of the guests for the next 30 minutes while he talked about his experiences as a junior cyclist and how his career evolved. Ben outlined the four components that he feels are key to being a successful cyclist: Motivation, Planning, Training, and Teamwork. Ben then answered questions from the audience and the banquet concluded."GP Velotek Banquet A Success
From Joseph Schmalz "GP Velotek held its 2nd Annual Banquet and Silent Auction Saturday night, January 28th, at the Peeper Ranch in Lenexa. Proceeds from the event will benefit the juniors trip to the 2006 USCF Nationals in Seven Springs, Pennsylvania this July. The evening began with guests mingling and talking about recent cycling news while browsing and bidding on the silent auction items donated by various local supporters. Dinner and dessert was then served, and Jim Whittaker, president of GP Velotek, gave a short presentation to thank the team’s sponsors and present the 2005 GP Velotek Junior Awards. Recipients of the awards were Jessie Rieck, Most Improved Junior Woman and Greg Payne, Most Improved Male Junior; Joseph Schmalz for Service, Austin Fick for Leadership, John Funk for Excellence, Garrick Valverde for Teamwork, John Shipman for Development, and Greg Payne was awarded the 5 Spoke award for his performance in all five areas during the 2005 cycling season. Guest speaker, Ben Jacques-Maynes, from Santa Cruz, California, a professional cyclist currently riding for Kodak Gallery/Sierra Nevada Pro Cycling Team, then captured the attention of the guests for the next 30 minutes while he talked about his experiences as a junior cyclist and how his career evolved. Ben outlined the four components that he feels are key to being a successful cyclist: Motivation, Planning, Training, and Teamwork. Ben then answered questions from the audience and the banquet concluded."