Melissa Merson - Melissa is a current USAT Mid Atlantic Board Member and has been drafted to run for the seat to represent our region on the national level. A triathlete you can relate to, a carrier of The Olympic Torch, and devoted cancer advocate, Melissa can do it all!
Quoting Melissa:
I completed her first triathlon on my 35th birthday in 1988 and I've been at it ever since. While I've had my moments of glory winning my age group a time or two at local races, more often than not I'm darn near the last one to finish. I've raced at sprinit through half-Ironman distance races and run a about a dozen marathons, including a 50-mile ultra. I hope to have tiime to train and complete an Ironman race when my children are older.
I have been a member of the Board of Directors for USAT- MA for about a decade, since shortly after our region was organized. In 1997, I became vice-chair of the Women's Commission of USAT and in 1999-2000 served as chair of the Women's Commission for two years.
Also in 2000, I was selected as the first ever representative from the sport of triathlon for the U.S. Olympic Committee's Project G.O.L.D, which stands for guaranteeed olympic leadership development. It is a USOC program to identify and develop women and minorities and bring them into positions within the Olympic Committee.
I was the regional representative to USAT for the failed Washington-Baltimore 2012 Olympic bid, but it was fun while it lasted. I also had the honor of carrying the Olympic torch in New York City during the 2001 Salt Lake City Olympic Torch relay.
Currently, I am working to develop www.TeamPink.org, which will be a web-based triathlon community for cancer survivors. Cancer patients moving beyond treatment need exercise programs tailored to their needs and support from the peers to heal, regain their strength, and to live stronger lives. Doctors need a resource they can point patients towards to help them achieve health. I hope TeamPink will be once such resource.
My platform for representing the Mid Atlantic Region on the national USAT level will be centered on the need to maintain the highest standards of integrity in our sport and honesty in all our transactions.
I subscribe to all of the Olympic ideals in sport. I am very interested in continuing to do our best to develop future triathletes for international competition while simultaneously supporting the age group athletes who are the backbone of our sport. I believe in the multi-sport lifestyle as more than a hobby, but also as a training program for life.
My motto is: SWIM-BIKE-RUN-LIVE!
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