Betsy Slay – elected in 2015, one year term
Slay is an administrative assistant to the Senior Vice President of Product Business Development at Publix. She began running in her forties, was elected to LRC board of directors in 2015 and is a RRCA Level II Certified Running Coach. Betsy served as treasurer for two years and as the training programs chair for three years. She has been the lead coach for the Spring Ahead 5k training program since 2017 and the Step Up to 10k program in 2019 and 2021.
Sarah Kozul – elected in 2017, one year term
Kozul is a retired engineer at Anheuser-Busch Brewing. She started running in 2010 and moved to Florida in 2011. She was the program director for the Lakeland Galloway Run-Walk-Run program from 2013 – 2017. She coached the LRC Lightning cross country team from 2016 – 2018 and was elected to the LRC board of directors in 2017. She is a RRCA Level 1 Certified Running Coach and RRCA Certified Race Director. Sarah served in IT support for four years, vice-president for one year, and has been president for three years.
Angi Griffin – elected in 2017, one year term
Grifin is a retired legal assistant from Peterson & Myers and owns JAGriffin Properties. Angi started running in 2012, and was elected to the LRC board of directors in 2017. She is a RRCA Certified Race Director, and co-directed the Summer Sunrise Watermelon 5k Series 2016-2018, the Double Down 5k in 2019 and Mean & Green Trail Race 2019 – 2021. Angi served as treasurer for three years, chaired the race planning committee for three years and was the 2021 secretary.
Michelle Hoffert – elected in 2018, one year term
Hoffert is Senior Director of Mergers and Acquisitions Technology Integration at HUB International. Michelle has been running since high school and is a RRCA Level I Certified Running Coach. She coached the LRC Lightning cross country team from 2018 – 2020 and was elected to the LRC board of directors in 2019. Michelle served as secretary and was the 2021 vice-president.
Roxanne Youngs – elected in 2018, one year term
Youngs teaches art at Stambaugh Middle School and started running in 2016. Roxanne was elected to the LRC board of directors in 2019. She has coached middle school cross country for Stambaugh and qualified for the Ironman 70.3 world championship in 2019 and 2021. Roxanne is a RRCA Certified Race Director and directed the Mayfaire 5k 2019-2021.
Brian Heipp – elected in 2019 one year term
Heipp is a Financial Associate at Thrivent Financial. Brian started running in 2013 and is a RRCA Level I Certified Running Coach. He has led The Pack workouts since 2017 and has coached the LRC Speed Workouts 2020 – 2021. Brian was elected to the LRC board of directors in 2020 and was the 2021 treasurer.
John Lancaster – elected in 2019, one year term
Lancaster is an attorney with Clark, Campbell, Lancaster & Munson. John has also served as President of the Lakeland North Rotary, Director of the Lakeland Community Foundation (GiveWell) and Polk State College, and as General Counsel for the Lakeland Chamber of Commerce. John started running in 2016 and was elected to the LRC board of directors in 2020. John serves on the governance committee.
Sharon Nance – elected in 2019, one year term
Nance is a math coach at Highlands Grove Elementary. Sharon started running in her late forties and has been a pace leader with the Spring Ahead 5k program since 2017, and also with the Step up to 10k program in 2019 and 2021. Sharon was elected to the LRC board of directors in 2020. She is a member of the race planning committee and directed the 2021 Lake to Lake 10k.
Lynn King – elected in 2022, two year term
Lynn is a legal assistant at Peterson & Meyers, and is an outfitter and pub run host at Fleet Feet (formally FITniche). Lynn started running in 2010 and is a Run Natural Form Coach. She served on the LRC board of directors 2017-2019. Lynn is a RRCA Certified Race Director, and co-directed the Summer Sunrise Watermelon 5k Series 2016-2018, and the Lake to Lake 10k in 2019. Lynn served as secretary one year.
The following directors were elected in 2020 to a two year term.
Shannon Abitbol
Abitbol is Executive Director at Give Visuals, a local nonprofit organization. Shannon has been running since high school, is a RRCA Level 1 Certified Running Coach and recently completed her 200-hour registered yoga teacher certification. Shannon has coached the LRC Kids Run Club since 2019 and was elected to the LRC board of directors in 2021. Shannon chairs the LRC member engagement committee and directed the 2021 Aching Quad Challenge.
Chris Baker
Baker is a manager of Warehousing Systems at Publix and started running in 2018. Chris is a RRCA Certified Level 1 Running Coach and was elected to the LRC board of directors in 2021. Chris coached the LRC Speed Workouts and LRC Lightning cross country team 2020-2021.
Kim Baker
Baker is a supervisor of Facility Services Operations at Publix and started running in 2019. Kim was elected to the LRC board of directors in 2021. She is a member of the member engagement committee and race planning committee. Kim co-directed the 2021 Summer Sunrise Watermelon 5k Series.
Members desiring to run for the board of directors were required to submit their application to the LRC Nominating Committee by October 10, 2021.
Directors must be natural persons who are 18 years of age or older and who shall be and shall remain during their continuance in office a member of the corporation. At the annual meeting of the membership, each LRC member is entitled to cast one vote, in person or by proxy, for as many persons as there are directors to be elected.
Directors elected prior to 2019 serve one-year terms with no maximum service limit. The term for directors elected after 2019 is two years, with a maximum of six consecutive years of service allowed. Officers are elected annually at the annual meeting of the board of directors, held within one week of the annual meeting of the members.