Ray Duncan steps down as chairman of Walk! Bike! Brockport! Action Group

The Walk! Bike! Brockport! Action Group (WBB) chairman, Ray Duncan, always signed off emails to the group with, “Your humble servant.”  His January 26 email with the subject “Passing the Baton” was signed, “Your former humble servant.”  After serving 13 years since its inception, Ray has stepped down as WBB’s leader.

Ray has facilitated the group’s dynamic impact on Brockport’s infrastructure. Walk, bike, or (less preferred) drive around greater Brockport and observe the phenomenal enhancements of the village environment:  42 steel benches on walkways, the striking “Howdeee” sculpture at the Welcome Center, the steel house-like sculpture at Memorial Park on Park Avenue, the billboard painting of Victorian Brockport at the railroad bridge on Main Street, and walk the two-mile trail in Sweden Town Park.  These are all projects of WBB sub committees.

Additionally, the downtown distinct renovation of Main Street (pedestrian crossings, bike lanes, curb-outs), and the East-West Avenue roundabout were the result of WBB playing an active role in lobbying the NY State Department of Transportation.

Emergence of a leader – unlikely beginnings

At age 19, Ray Duncan dropped out of the University of California, Riverside, and with a friend hitchhiked to New York City, and boarded a Greek ship for Europe.  After hitchhiking around Europe, living in youth hostels, and being injured in a serious motorcycle crash, the journey focused him on a love of international affairs. He returned to complete his undergraduate degree. He was drafted out of graduate school and trained in counter-intelligence by the U.S. Army.

Ray’s vast teaching experience includes Scholar-in-Residence at the C.I.A. in Langley, Virginia and teaching at the Naval War College. His prolific publishing includes novels based on his real life experiences.  The latest novel is about his boyhood life in Florida in the 1940’s (Never Agitate an Alligator). He brought his background, committed and focused, to serve his beloved home village.

Leadership style and strategic planning

For all of his impressive credentials, Ray Duncan, Ph.D. in International Politics, Distinguished Teaching Professor Emeritus at the College at Brockport, does have a leadership style of a “humble servant.”  Asked how he would describe his leadership, “It’s relaxed, informal, bringing out the best of all involved in a project,” Ray said.  “Give people a lot of attention, leeway, kudos, plus a lot of humor.  Make it fun, not heavy-handed, and make room for people to assert their own personalities.”

From the beginning, Ray used strategic planning to guide the work of WBB.  During his teaching career he taught at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island.  “It was all about strategic planning and I got immersed,” Ray said. “I brought all of that back and put it into the organization here.” As a “big group, flexible, with no constitution,” Ray said the planning strategy included “Where do we want to go, how do we know when we get there, and how to reinforce the group to keep moving.”

Origin of WBB 

In the summer of 2002, Town of Sweden residents Richard and Joan Fenton mentioned to Ray that their son Mark was arriving for a visit.  Mark grew up here and became a recognized international authority on how to make towns and villages more conducive to walking and biking. Mark, his parents, and Ray with his wife Ute, met in front of the Post Office on Brockport’s Main Street.

Suggesting improvements for walking and biking, Mark named curb-outs, better pedestrian crossings, bike lanes and a roundabout at the East-West Avenue intersection.  Ray immediately volunteered to form a committee to pursue these projects and Ute voiced her support.

In gathering the first interested people, “The idea was not to make it formal, but to be a loose, flexible group that could adapt and do things on the spot.”  The first sub committees were formed:  Arts & Aesthetics with Alicia Fink, Kendra Gemmett, Deanna Shifton, Lori Skoog and Helen Smagorinsky.  Bill Andrews also helped.

The Trail Building committee consisted of Peter Randazzo and Dave Ball.  Dr. Jim Goetz ran the Walk to School committee. The Victorian Benches project was named “Sitting Pretty” by Deanna Shifton and Kendra Gemmett managed it.  Details of the sub-committees’ completed work and other WBB projects are found in the side bar.

Current projects and the future

Ray will follow up with a project he has already started.  It will place a Victorian Mural by Stacy Kirby on the Main Street railroad overpass.  His goal is to raise a total $15,000 with $6,000 received so far.

Also remaining is the improvement of the physical infrastructure for pedestrian and bicycle traffic laid out in the Master Plan.  The grant planning project of $50,000, led by Mayor Margay Blackman, was completed during 2014 – 2015. The next step is to seek additional grants for the individual projects in the plan.

“At 80, it’s time for me to step aside, pass the baton to someone else, and get new ideas and leadership,” Ray said.   He added that the group will be looking for a permanent chairperson.  But, if an event came along appropriate for WBB, a chairperson could step in for that specific project.  “The Walk! Bike! Brockport! Action Group stays in place with a budget, money in the treasury, and dedicated people ready to work,” he said.  “It’s not going away.”