ABSF Board Candidate: Michael J. Mandli

During my tenure on the ABSF Board of Directors, I have served as the Board President, as the Trail Committee Chair, as the Telemark Committee Chair, and as a Finance Committee member. Rather than list all the changes and the accomplishments of the ABSF Board and our competent staff over the last five decades, I would ask you to think back to your first Birkie or Korte and to create your vision of how far this organization has come over the last 50 years. If your picture is anything like mine, it is simply amazing.

What is even more fantastic is the vision of the future for the events and the organization that have become such a large part of our lives and our communities. For me, after 30 Birkies and 13 Korteloppets, I know the life long experience of looking forward to a race in northern Wisconsin on one of the most beautiful and sometimes the most difficult courses in the World. Whether it is running, biking, or skiing, each one of us has felt the Birkie Fever. My goal in seeking one more term is to help to preserve and to continue to allow others to share in the outdoor experiences that have helped shape many of our lives.

By the time you vote and attend the ABSF Annual Meeting in early August, you will be able to hike a new trail to the top of Mt Telemark and to climb an observation tower that looks over the vast horizon that surrounds the future Mount Telemark Village. You, your children, and your grandchildren will be able to experience the new interpretive nature trail designed by the Cable Natural History Museum. You will be able to hike and run through approximately 500 acres of the Telemark and Landmark Nature Conservancies. You will be able to walk, roller ski, bike, or wheel chair on 5 kilometers of a newly paved all access trail. For the avid mountain biker, you will get to roll 10 miles of newly built single track, gravity, and skills trails that will connect you to the rest of the extensive CAMBA Trail system.

Many more surprises are ahead for the 50th Anniversary of the American Birkebeiner, but the one thing that is not a surprise and that will not change is what Ernie St. Germain, one of our founders, has reminded me of several times. Ernie said that when he lines up to do the race and when he looks around at everyone, he can confidently say, “”I am an American Birkebeiner.”” Yes. We are all “”American Birkebeiners,”” and I ask for your vote to preserve and to grow the spirit those words embody.

Nine years of knowledge as an active ABSF Board Member in the areas of snowmaking, the purchase of the Telemark property, the development of Mt Telemark Village, volunteering at all ABSF events, and managing the ABSF Board of Directors during the difficult time of COVID-19. I live in Hayward and am always available for questions and communications from the community.