This story is part of my ongoing coverage of the 2008 National Bike Summit. See the rest of my coverage here.
and President of Trek Bicycles, John Burke.
(Photo © J. Maus)
Trek Bicycles President John Burke — the man I called the Al Gore of the bicycle industry after a presentation he gave at the Summit last year — got a standing ovation when he approached the podium to receive his “Advocate of the Year” award tonight.
The award was presented by League of American Bicyclists President Andy Clarke. In his introduction, Clarke recounted Burke’s early commitment to spurring the bike industry to focus more on advocacy.
Since his stirring presentation last year, Burke has established the One World, Two Wheels program. That program, based on the premise that “the bicycle is a simple solution to some of the world’s most complicated problems,” has committed a combined $1.6 million over the next three years to support various advocacy programs.
In his short acceptance speech, Burke said the industry “needs to do more” to support the work of advocates. He said, “The single way to grow this business is through advocacy.”