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John Elder A native of Bloomington Minnesota, John took up cycling in 2006 and fell in love with the sport. In the summer John regularly rides a 22 mile bike path near his home in Bloomington, MN. This winter John has been gearing up for the 900 mile ride near his home in Arizona, where he escapes the Minnesota winter to ride as much as possible. All proceeds donated during the Big Sky 900 Charity Ride for Kids will be donated to the Kids N' Kinship Mentorship Program which John has been a mentor for four years. Professionally, John is the President of Elder-Jones, Inc., a Minneapolis based company that specializes in retail and restaurant construction throughout the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. |
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Bob Benda Bob has been a resident of Fort Worth since 1983. He is a native of Minnesota where he attended the University of Minnesota. Since coming to Fort Worth, Bob has held various executive positions with leading local companies, including President and Chief Operating Officer of Edison’s Jewelers, President of The Bombay Company, Chief Executive Officer of Fort Worth Electric and his current position as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Westwood Contractors, Inc. a position he has held since 1987. Westwood was recently honored by the Fort Worth Business Press for the fifth straight year as one of the Top 100 Privately Owned Companies in Tarrant County, ranking as high as 41st. He is also a founder and manager of Fort Worth Energy, an oil and gas development company currently active in the Barnett Shale gas play within the City of Fort Worth, and an active real estate investor. In addition, Bob has been a frequent community volunteer previously serving as a board member and Chair of the board of directors of both Southwest Christian School and Baylor All Saints hospital and a member of the board of the Fort Worth Symphony. He was a founding member of the Retail Contractors Association, a national trade association representing commercial general contractors who specialize in the development and construction of retail facilities, where he has served as a director and held every executive office of the board including 2 separate tenures as its chairman. Mr. Benda is a frequent speaker at construction industry events covering such topics as technology advances, alternative contract methods and industry trends. |
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Justin Elder Justin currently resides in Lakeville, MN with his wife Sara and two children, Nolan and Leyna. Unlike the other riders, Justin took up biking only one month ago (March 2009) when he decided to commit to riding a portion of the CEM900. His only other bike ride over 5 miles occurred 7 years ago when he biked 22 miles around Bora Bora on a 3-speed vintage Schwinn. He looks forward to continue his vigorous training routine leading up to the actual ride. Justin's other hobbies include sports car racing, hunting, BBQ-ing, spending summer days on the lake, and completing projects around the house. Professionally, Justin has enjoyed being a project manager at Elder-Jones for the past 7 years. Justin grew up in Bloomington, MN and enjoys commuting to work there every day. He looks forward to spending time with the fellow riders and will be riding to honor the memory of his brother. |
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Dennis Hill Although Dennis has enjoyed cycling on the trails in Bloomington, Minnesota for several years, he has become a much more avid biker during the past three years. Dennis currently rides various trails in the Minneapolis area, but his favorite ride is the Cannon Valley Trail about an hour from home. During the winter Dennis spent many hours on the stationary bike training for the Big Sky 900; however, he prefers outdoor riding and looks forward to the scenic ride through the Black Hills. Dennis was raised in Wahpeton, North Dakota, but has lived in the Twin Cities area for over 20 years. He is in his tenth year as Vice President of Finance at Elder-Jones, Inc. |
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Gordy Clough Gordy and wife Joni live in Prior Lake, Minnesota with the exception of February and March when they enjoy the warmth of Mesa, Arizona. He is retired from work as a fleet administrator for General Electric. In addition to spending time with his family, Gordy enjoys participating in sports car events with John Elder and his son, Justin’s racing team. |
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Jay Saterbak Jay is just starting his third year of bicycle riding after being inspired by John's enthusiasm in the sport. He joined John and Dennis for the Katy Trail section of last years ride after Dennis told him that "there was no wind in Missouri" and eagerly signed up for another tour this year with the expectation that all of the wind is now "in" Missouri and Nebraska is flat. Jay now rides frequently on the roads and trails of Scott County, Minnesota and also on the town and county roads of Sarona and Birchwood, Wisconsin. His favorite ride is a 26 mile loop around Long Lake in Wisconsin. Jay is a project manager with Elder-Jones, Inc. and has been with the company for a little more than 20 years. Jay has spent time in the past as a volunteer fire fighter/first responder, a Boy Scout leader and now currently likes the idea of volunteering his efforts to help John raise money for Kids n' Kinship. During the winter (non bicycling season), Jay can be found riding snowmobile on Wisconsin trails He also enjoys helping with the race cars in the summer and outdoor cooking for large groups. Jay will be helping John with the "Road Diary" during some of the days which will be it's first authoring without Dennis' great input. |
