Steve Koenemann

Harpoon Fights Hunger in Vermont

Last Saturday it was my very great pleasure to be a volunteer at the 9^th Annual Harpoon Point to Point ride to benefit the Vermont Foodbank. This bicycle riding event, a collaborative effort by the Vermont Foodbank, the Harpoon Brewery, and The Point Radio Network, was established to raise awareness and funds for the Vermont Foodbank and its efforts to end hunger in Vermont. The 2009 event raised about $98,000 and was the Foodbank’s largest single fund raising effort for that year. This year the fund raising goal for this event is $150,000.

While I have been a financial supporter in years past, this was my first opportunity to actually work at this fun charitable event. My participation and support of this event was multifaceted and interwoven into a fairly large portion of my adult life. I have written before of my long term love of Harpoon’s beers; those being some of the very first craft beers I learned to enjoy on a regular basis many years ago. For those of you that have not read my CV/”About” on this site, I also spent about 2 years working for the Vermont Foodbank as its Director of Operations, overseeing many of the day-to-day workings of this complex organization. That time of my life was one of the most rewarding that I have spent to date and someday I intend to return to the Foodbank (or an organization like it) to continue my work in support of this worthy effort. The Foodbank, at the time, was experiencing its largest growth spurt to date; growing from an annual statewide distribution of about 2.7 million pounds of food to nearly 6.5 million pounds of food to hungry Vermonters. Since then, the Foodbank has continued to both grow and change in pursuit of its mission to eradicate hunger in Vermont. They now have 3 facilities and a farm within the state to support their efforts. The Vermont Foodbank has grown to be one of the most successful of its kind, nationally, since my employment there 8 years ago. The final facet of my involvement in this day comes from the event sponsorship by my current employer, VSECU. VSECU is, by far, Vermont’s largest state-chartered credit union (47,000 members and $535M in assets) and is where I am currently its Vice President of Information Systems and Chief Information Officer.

Event participants choose one of three routes to ride during this day-long event; 25, 50 or 115 miles. The selection of their route dictates both their entry fee and fund raising commitment. Those that choose the 25-mile route, a circular route beginning at and returning to the brewery, have an entry fee of $40 and no further commitment to raise additional funds. Those that ride the 50-mile route, from Bethel (VT) to the brewery, have a $60 entry fee and an additional commitment of $150 in funds to raise. Those that ride the 115-mile route, from Williston (VT) to the brewery, have an $80 entry fee and also a $150 fund raising commitment.

This year there were about 480 riders that participated in one of the three rides. Those of you that either live here in Vermont or have visited our beautiful state at some time know that none of these rides would be “easy” because of Vermont’s mountainous terrain. The VSECU “team” manned one of several “watering” stations along the routes. We happened to be placed at the last station before the finish at the brewery and at the only station that would see riders from all three routes. I can no longer ride a bike due to serious knee problems, so I was already impressed with all of the riders, but I have to tell you that I was very surprised by the very first riders that came to our station that day. The riders were two brothers, who were clearly “racing” each other instead of just “riding” the route. These two very fit gentlemen, who were participating in the 115 mile ride, rolled into our station a mere 5 ½ hours after starting in Williston, about 103 miles away (we were stationed 12 miles from the finish line). Some quick math should tell you that they were averaging nearly 20 miles/hour (!) on their trek, in spite of the arduous “hill and dale” nature of their route. It was nearly 40 minutes before we saw the next riders from the same route enter our station.

He rode the 50-mile route

The culmination of the event, which is held at the Harpoon Brewery in Windsor, VT, is a chance for all the riders, event volunteers and their supporters to gather to celebrate the day and all of their hard work. This final celebration included a BBQ, put on by the local fire department, some live music and some great Harpoon beer. There were also hot showers available for the riders, should they wish to partake. We got to this celebration a little late, due to our commitments at the relief station, but we arrived to a crowd of a couple of thousand people all enjoying the end of both a very satisfying and very beautiful day.

Events like this one tend to collect money for several weeks after the actual day of the event, so there is not (yet) a final fund raising tally. According to the Vermont Foodbank Web site though, they have collected more than $95,000 to date… over $46,000 more than they had at this time last year… so it appears that they are well on their way to their $150,000 event goal. To give you some perspective of how important that $95,000 is for the Foodbank, just the money raised so far will support the efforts to provide more than 200,000 meals to hungry Vermonters. In a state with a population of only 625,000 people, the impact of this effort can only be described as HUGE!

I am reasonably certain that Harpoon, The Point and the Foodbank will put this event on again next year. The money that this event generates for the “cause” is just too large to be ignored. I am hopeful that my employer will again give me an opportunity to participate in this worthy effort. It’s just one of those fun, feel good events that comes along that you just can’t help wishing to do again. My hat is off to Harpoon for their primary sponsorship of this event and their commitment to provide their considerable assistance to the Vermont community. I already like their beer, but for me there will be a little bit of extra enjoyment the next time that I drink one, as I remember the wonderful day that I spent recently, helping them to support the vital cause of ending hunger in Vermont.

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