At the end of the 2020 SORC, board president Don Olson passed the torch on to Clay Mohr, who took it and ran to oversee another successful race in 2021. Olson, who served as president from the very beginning of the event, was a leader in every sense of the word, encouraging the county board of supervisors to close the road from Arnold to Dunning for the race, and gaining support for an event that required an entire community – and people from surrounding communities – to pitch in and make it happen.
Mohr credits Olson as being a positive influence on the Board, saying, “The way the Board works, it’s not just one person. We are one entity working together and that was because of Don. A true leader allows people that he works with to assume responsibility and encourage everybody to focus on the goal of the road race and to do the things they do well to make the whole system work. One person cannot do everything. He just got out of the road and let them do what was in their expertise.”
At the same time, Mohr said there is no way that SORC could happen with just a handful of people on a board.
“This year’s SORC banner was a quick snapshot of people that are involved. There’s no way we could get everyone’s picture on a banner. It would be nice if we could blow a whistle and stay stop and recognize all the people who are involved. In some way, shape or form, you are a part of what makes this a success. If nothing else, just being supportive. All the board members work hard, but then again, each one has people in the community that help them, and it extends out from there. It’s the community that makes this work,” he said. “This is something I told several drivers. It’s not just the race. A large number of people will work hard and make it a success. They do it as an unselfish act to do whatever they are working on – and that’s Arnold.”
As for as taking over as president, Mohr said it’s big shoes to fill. “What Don did for believing in this and really getting people behind it and in all the things as far as leadership on the board is just amazing. I hope I can keep on with that tradition, keep things going, and hopefully move things to another level.”
