I’m sharing the letter I wrote to NY WSO President James McDermott:
President James McDermott,
I am officially notifying you that I am stepping down as the Hudson Valley Regional Representative for the NY WSO. Consider this an open letter that can be shared with the membership. It has been an honor to serve for both the NY WSO and the previous LWC. I am proud of what we accomplished in my seven combined years on both boards.
Under my tenure with NY LWC President Christopher Smith, governorships were established to represent the different regions of NY. The NYS Weightlifting Championships were instituted to celebrate NY weightlifting at a high caliber event. This initial board that I worked with helped stoke my passion for the sport as I worked with like minds to promote and elevate NY weightlifting.
Under NY WSO President James McDermott, we streamlined the administration of the WSO while expanding and improving the NYS Weightlifting Championships. This event has gotten such tremendous positive feedback that is has been said to be run even better than many national events. This only happened due to the collaborative efforts of the entire board and the dedicated leadership of James McDermott. We celebrate athletes, coaches and teams. Everything we have done has been run through our filter of what would be better for NY weightlifting, and how can we improve on that year after year.
Thank you to all of the board members that I’ve worked with over the years and to everyone who supported us and NY weightlifting. I’m proud of this community. I hope that others will step up to continue to improve upon what we have built.
Life has taken me in a different direction, and I am no longer a NY resident. For the first time in my life, I am living in another state. I am still involved in the sport as a Coach, Technical Official and as an athlete. I look forward to reconnecting with the many friends I have made so far on this journey. I’ll see you on the platform soon.
Joe Rodriguez
NYWSO Hudson Valley Regional Rep (retired)