Texas Retailers Sweep National
Awards
(left to right): Rhonda
Hoyt, Jim Hoyt, & Hill Abell with Trek president, John
Burke. |
AUSTIN - Two Texas bicycle
shop retailers, one from Austin and the other from
Richardson, are the recipients of top national honors
bestowed annually by the publishers of Bicycle Retailer
and Industry News (BRAIN).
Hill Abell, owner of
the two Bicycle Sport Shop locations in Austin, was
presented with BRAIN's 2001 Retailer Advocacy Award.
Jim Hoyt, who along with wife Rhonda, owns the two
Dallas-area Richardson Bike Marts, was named BRAIN's
Bicycle Retailer of the Year.
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"We're pleased and proud
that two Texas retailers, and long-time supporters of
the Texas Bicycle Coalition were named as the winners
of these coveted awards," Texas Bicycle Coalition Executive
Director Gayle Cummins commented.
Cummins was present at the Interbike International Bicycle
Exposition in Las Vegas when both awards were presented
to the Texas bike dealers last week.
According to Cummins, Abell received BRAIN's 2001 Advocacy
Award for his efforts in rallying fellow retailers to
support cycling causes during the recent 77th Texas
Legislature.
The inscription on the award cited Abell for "intelligence,
initiative and leadership in bicycle advocacy". |
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Abell led the state's
bicycle retail community by example, raising the funds
necessary to successfully kill an anti-bike bill that
would have kept cyclists off of many state farm-to-market
roads, and to help passage of a pro-bike bill (The
Matthew Brown Act) that paves the way for the creation
of safe bicycle and pedestrian routes to schools.
"Getting this award was an enormous honor for me,"
Abell said. "It is a great incentive for me to get
out and do more in the area of bicycle advocacy."
Abell is currently vice
president of the International Mountain Bike Association
board of directors, and is active on several IMBA
boards. He is also a member of the Texas Parks and
Wildlife Department Trails Advisory Board.
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TBC Executive Director,
Gayle Cummins, congratulates Bicycle Sport Shop's Hill
Abell. |
Jim & Rhonda Hoyt of Richardson
Bike Mart celebrate their award with Gayle Cummins.
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Hoyt's award was the
result of a vote of more than 6,000 of his peers in
the bicycle retail industry and was in recognition
of his 43 years of accomplishment in the business.
"I was shocked, and,
of course surprised, when I learned we had received
the award," Hoyt said.
Hoyt said he's been in the bicycle business since
1958 when, as a boy, he worked as "a box rat" for
a bicycle shop in Indiana. That position evolved into
sales jobs with Schwinn, and eventually into the acquisition
of the first Richardson Bike Mart. He and wife, Rhonda,
purchased the business in 1980.
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Since then, Hoyt's hands-on
management style has seen the business expand to two
retail locations.
The Hoyts not only continue
to successfully operate their stores, but they also
support on and off-road racers.
"We try to help talented
people grow in the sport," Hoyt said.
Both of the Bicycle Sport Shops and the Richardson
Bike Marts are supporting members of the Texas Bicycle
Coalition. The Texas Bicycle Coalition serves as the
voice for bicycle advocacy and education throughout
the state.
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All contents © 2003
Texas Bicycle Coalition
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