A Message from our Club President

In 2021, I was awarded the Allan Morgan service award which is given to club members who have an exemplary influence and effect on the community at large, particularly in the area of road
racing. I first met Allan at the 2021 Hall of Fame Banquet where he confused me for a Hilton Banquet server despite receiving several emails from me leading up to the banquet.

In 2024, I knew I had to have him as our guest speaker since he was not only KTCs first Executive Director, but because he served the club for just shy of 20 years. We met up for lunch to prepare him for the event and help him with his speech. After learning more about his contributions to the club, it got me thinking about legacy leadership.

How can we learn from our club founders and previous leaders? What legacy did they leave behind? How can we continue that legacy?
When I researched legacy leadership, it was defined as a process of intentional influence that takes place in the context of a relationship. What comes to mind when you see the word intentional? In the context of leadership, the word intentional indicates the purpose behind a leader’s behaviors. What was the purpose of Allan’s encouraging behavior as our Executive Director? To train the next generation of volunteers and leave a lasting impact that would outlast decades of change. This style of leadership was a group effort, so he’d train others how to effectively spread his vision and share the load of responsibility with those around him.

During his 18 years as KTCs first paid Executive Director, Allan instilled into his volunteers the vital importance of volunteering. He encouraged everyone to run 3 and work 1. He also recruited and trained all of the race directors, making sure they were confident in their roles and self-sufficient. He grew the club from a couple hundred members to 2000+ through various marketing ploys like collaborating with the news outlets, creating high quality shirt graphics, and expanding the road races in the area while making sure they were fun and top quality. He modeled every single character trait he wanted to see in others by clearly communicating his vision, volunteering at KTC events, training the next generation, and competing in KTC and local races. He didn’t absorb everyone’s job responsibilities when they failed to accomplish the tasks he had in mind. He simply got better at training them. When it came time to justify why he should become a paid volunteer as the club’s first executive director while everyone else was also volunteering, he made sure the sponsorships he acquired for the club covered his salary and then some.

After hearing Michael deLisle share his interactions with Allan, he shared that he took on the roles of Footnotes editor and SpringFest (Dogwood predecessor) Race Director because of Allan’s encouragement. Pam Haggard served as the Townsend 15K race director for 20+ years after training under Allan. Bobby Glenn has served as the Big South Fork Race Director for 30+ years. Several of KTCs races that were created under Allan’s leadership including but not limited to Turkey Trot, CrossKnox, and Dogwood 5K are still active today. That legacy is all thanks to Allan’s intentional impact on everyone he met.

In closing, I think we can all learn a thing or two from Allan.
If you want to see change in your community, BE the change.
If you want to impact your community, volunteer.
If you want to see more road races or charity events, serve as a race director.
If you want to see the club grow, serve as a board member.
If you want to see local track meets run more efficiently with high-level competition, get certified as a USATF Official.
KTC has an incredible running community full of volunteers who will support you every step of the way in whatever role you wish to participate.