We have over 5 dozen dedicated volunteers ready to give rides!
Here are our board members: (Updating in progress as we receive pics and bios from our new Board members)
Nicole Lepping, Founder, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. - I'm a Special Education Teacher. I have taught in Germany and now in the US. I moved to Sequim in 2011 and founded the Sequim Wheelers in 2018 (with the help of other volunteers and board members).
I watched a ‘Healing Rides (Illionois)’ wheelchair bike program video in 2017. I thought of loved ones that would have enjoyed an adaptive bike ride, and I thought of loved ones that still can enjoy adaptive bike rides, and I thought everyone else that would benefit from an adaptive bike program. I was instantly inspired to start a program for Sequim and the surrounding area...the rest is history. Now 6-7 years later, I still absolutely enjoy the Sequim Wheelers; it combines a lot of my passions, like: serving others, meeting wonderful people, and the pure enjoyment of nature and cycling, every ride is invigorating for everyone involved. We are thankful for all wheelers, volunteers, donors, and the Sequim Community, that is wholeheartedly supporting our program. You will see me often on our beautiful Olympic Discovery Trail, or hiking in our wonderful Olympic Mountains, I love where we live!
John Gagan, President, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. - I'm a retired CPA, and feel fortunate to have a unique nonprofit like the Sequim Wheelers to volunteer with after 33+ years in finance for State and Local government in the Seattle area. Traveling around the U.S. and Canada for the past 5+ years with my RV, kayaks, e-bikes and my dog, Woody, has shown me how lucky we are to be living in such a beautiful and culturally rich environment as Sequim. After being cooped up in an office during my working career, I've enjoyed volunteering in the outdoors with the Sequim Wheelers since 2019, helping give bike rides to people who cannot ride a bike on their own. The enthusiasm and pure joy of sharing a bicycle ride with both our fellow volunteers and the people we serve has been a rewarding experience that I would like to see extended permanently into the future here in the Sequim area community.
Tom Coonelly, Secretary - I am an active cyclist and co-founder of the Spoke Folks Cycling Club of Sequim, WA. I am retired (work without pay). The Sequim Wheelers is a unique organization which allows me to share my love of cycling and the outdoors with people who could not otherwise enjoy these things and that is my motivation for participating as pilot, safety and Board member.
Ann Flack, Treasurer, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. - I'm a retired Business Manager and Realtor. I’ve been volunteering with Rotary since retiring in Sequim in 2016 and signed up with the Sequim Wheelers in 2022. Most of my career was spent in Colorado and Northern California before moving to Wyoming in 2008 and becoming a licensed real estate broker. After more than 35 years at a desk, it is so enjoyable to be outside soaking up the sun or drinking in the rain. I enjoy riding along the Olympic Discovery Trail, playing golf on the beautiful area courses and pickleball with friends. Sequim Wheelers allows me an opportunity to pedal Sequim area retirees on the ODT, and to enjoy listening to their stories of their time spent growing up in the area.
Bob Fitton, Volunteer Coordinator, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. - I retired to Sequim in 2013, and joined the Sequim Wheelers in their first year, 2018. An avid cyclist, the idea of treating people to a fresh-air excursion by bicycle really appealed to me, as I used to take my wheelchair-bound older sister for car trips (she would have loved the Wheelers)! My career was in IT (programming, data networking and security) and included lots of work with spreadsheets and databases, so taking over the maintenance of the Sequim Wheelers data was another natural fit. I bike with the Sequim Spoke Folk, help with the Cranksgiving food drive, and enjoy walking and hiking with my wife and our dog.
Grant Rollins, Mechanic, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. - We moved from our native Southern California to Northern Nevada in the early 1970’s. My love of cycling grew and matured as I rode the Nevada and California sides of the Sierra’s enjoying the freedom and meeting people along the way. After retiring as an Electrical Contractor in Graeagle California, I became a founding member of the Plumas Sierra Bicycle Club.
After discovering my family had roots in the Sequim area since 1859, my wife and I volunteered with the US Fish and Wildlife Service as caretakers on the Protection Island Wildlife Refuge. We moved to Sequim permanently in 2016 and then I discovered the Sequim Wheelers. I get great satisfaction from giving rides to those who, for whatever reason, are unable to ride on their own. Seeing the joy on their faces when they are riding along the Discovery Trail, feeling the wind, seeing the sights, and hearing the sounds is an experience that never grows old.
Arnold Bleicher - After a career as a high school and university language educator, I began a second career as an educational consultant. While I still continue to do some of that, the traveling-for-work has ended and semi-retirement has begun.
Having lived in southern Oregon for over 40 years my wife and I began to look for a place to relocate. Towing our trailer around the PNW, we found ourselves in Sequim. After discovering the ODT, and a few days of riding it, the decision was an easy one. While playing pickleball in Carrie Blake Park, I saw another player (John Gagan, our current President) wearing a “Sequim Wheelers” pin. After inquiring about it, I was invited to take a look at what the program was all about. The first time I saw the bikes and the smiles of a few of the older passengers, my heart was moved to memories of taking care of my elderly mother and how she would have loved a ride like that. Every ride I do with the Sequim Wheelers, I imagine my mother as my passenger.