Jerry Rampelt

Jerry Rampelt

Jerry Rampelt has a long history of participating and volunteering with COP. He was the interim GOBA Director in 2017 and served as the COP board treasurer. Jerry has also served as Director of the Ohio to Erie Trail for many years and is now a board director. His outdoor activities include cycling, back packing, hiking, non-technical mountain climbing, and down hill skiing. Jerry and his wife Toby live in Clintonville with their rescue dog Buddy.”

Maryellen O’Shaughnessy

Maryellen O’Shaughnessy

Maryellen O’Shaughnessy serves as Vice President and chairs the back-packing/hiking program activities. By day, she oversees nearly 200 Deputy Clerks in five legal divisions and the state’s largest auto title division as Franklin County Clerk of Courts. Since being elected in 2007, she has led the successful implementation of e-Filing and leveraged technology to improve services and reduce wait times. Re-elected to her third term in 2016, Clerk O’Shaughnessy continues to make timely, accurate and courteous service to Franklin County a cornerstone of her administration.

A graduate of Bishop Watterson High School and The Ohio State University, Clerk O’Shaughnessy is an active volunteer in her parish and is a past recipient of the Diocesan Service Award. She is also involved in the Ohio Clerk of Courts Association, the Columbus Historical Society, the Scandinavian Club of Columbus, the Shamrock Club of Columbus and the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission.

Clerk O’Shaughnessy is a fifth-generation Central Ohioan and comes from a family dedicated to public service. She is also a fourth-generation funeral director and owner of O’Shaughnessy Company Funeral Directors, established in 1889.

Tricia Kovacs

Tricia Kovacs is a life-long Ohio cyclist who teaches bicycle education to adults and children in the Columbus area. She is retired from a software engineering career with AT&T/Lucent Bell Laboratories, and is currently working part-time as a bike mechanic at Bikes for All People. Her cycling community ties include serving as secretary of Ohio Bicycle Federation, serving as chair of the Columbus Advisory Committee on Disability Issues and as chair of the Gahanna Bicycle and Trail Advisory Committee. “My goal is to work with others to help them overcome fear of the roads by creating a peaceful coexistence on the roadways through motorist awareness and through cyclist confidence.” Tricia has been riding with Columbus Outdoor Pursuits since the mid-70s and hopes to further the mission of COP in the future.

Scott Brown

Scott Brown is the Executive Director of one of the country’s largest Rotary Clubs. He is passionate about leading club members in service to the local and international communities. He began his tenure in 2008 and has been a Rotarian since 2003.

Columbus Rotary and its partners contribute nearly $250,000 in grants and scholarships each year to the community. Beyond these dollars the Club contributes hundreds of hours of hands-on assistance.

Scott’s specialties include: – Nonprofit management – Membership growth – Public & Community relations – Cultivating business relationships

Previously Scott worked for the State of Ohio for 16 years in various positions including, lobbyist, community relations and program management. He holds a degree in Interpersonal Communications from Bowling Green State University.

When not talking about Rotary, or attending an event or service project, Scott can be found cheering on his sons and their respective swim teams, fishing or reading on the back patio. On summer weekends the family escape’s to Lake Erie’s Pelee Island. The wind, water and sand of the island have been a part of the family through four generations.

Scott and wife Missy have two sons and reside in Hilliard. He serves on the Board of the Boy Scouts of America, is a former member of the Hilliard City Council, and formerly coached youth sports for HOSA, GOYSL and Hilliard Optimist Football.

Jon Davis

Jon Davis is an avid bicyclist, hiker and backpacker.  Forging his love for God’s great outdoors while attending high school in Colorado, he has continued to pursue outdoor activities throughout his life.  Recently he has backpacked in the Canadian Rockies and conquered the Colorado River rafting through the Grand Canyon with his family.

Jon has participated in Pelotonia, the grassroots fundraising event for the Ohio State University’s James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Center, every year since its inception in 2009.  This provides the combined benefit of riding his bike and supporting a cause he’s passionate about: cancer prevention and cures.

When he’s not on his bike, Jon is an Associate General Counsel at Verizon providing legal support to the Verizon Business Group’s managed network services global product development and marketing activities.  Jon is a deacon in Xenos Christian Fellowship and leads a home based Bible study.  Jon is also a community board member of Riverside Hospital’s Institutional Review Board.  Jon has been married to his wife Anne for over 30 years and has 3 children.

Ryan Deeter

Ryan Deeter has been in the sales industry for 10+ years and specifically in the Residential Real Estate and Real Estate Investment Industries. As a graduate of Anderson University in Indiana, Ryan earned his BA and Majored in Religion and Ethics. Ryan worked in the Health and Fitness Industry in St Louis and Columbus prior to making the transition into the Real Estate Industry. Ryan currently lives in Clintonville and loves exploring all the great things Columbus has to offer.  Ryan is an avid kayaker, biker, climber, and is up for just about anything that has to do with exercise and being outdoors!

Penny Marchal

Penny Marchal works for the Supreme Court of Ohio in Attorney Services. Penny has been a member of COP since the 1970s. She has a life-long love of all things outdoors.  She especially loves cycling and hiking and enjoys both bikepacking & backpacking. She completed self-supported tours of the Ohio-to-Erie Trail and the GAP Trail in 2020.

Gordon Pry

Paul Schopis

Paul Schopis is a long time member of Outdoor Pursuits has been one of the Hilliard ride leaders for many years. He has also been a participant in TOSRV, GOBA and numerous budget rides.

Paul served as the executive director of OARnet, from 2015 to 2019 and as the chief technology officer from 2009 through 2019. Schopis was Network Director from 2003 to 2009. OARnet is an regional network service provider operating under the auspices of the Ohio Department of Higher Education and The Ohio State University. 

Schopis served on The Quilt board and was chair of the executive committee for two and half terms. The Quilt is a non-profit regional research and education networks collaborate to develop, deploy and operate advanced cyberinfrastructure that enables innovation in research and education.

Schopis is a founding member of Ohio IX, which is a non-profit consortium of public and private Ohio based internet providers and served on the Board of Directors for 2 years.

Among his contributions to the community, Schopis founded Internet2’s Network Technical Advisory Committee (NTAC) and was a founding member of the Advanced Testing and Monitoring Team, in partnership with ITEC-Ohio, ITEC-NC, Spirent, British Columbia Institute of Technology and San Diego Supercomputing Center. He also was a founding member of the Big Ten OMNIpop’s Technical Advisory Committee. 

Schopis has also been a co-author for various technical and professional publications. 

Jeff Sherman

Jeff Sherman

Jeff Sherman is an avid jogger participating in many local running events. He also serves as a volunteer for many COP events such as TOSRV and GOBA.

A certified public accountant (inactive status) and admitted to the practice of law in New York and in Ohio, Mr. Sherman has served as a legal counsel for the Ohio Department of Taxation.

He is an instructor for all four parts of the Becker CPA Review Course in Columbus, Gainesville, Raleigh, Boca Raton, Houston, and Atlanta.  A yearly presenter at the Ohio Tax Conference, he was recently a guest speaker at the Columbus chapter of the Association of Government Accountants.

Lindsey Updike

Lindsey Updike has been cycling ever since she can remember thanks to her father Dennis. When she was eight years old she completed her first GOBA and has continued riding the weeklong tour ever since. In addition to GOBA, Lindsey has ridden TOSRV and Pelotonia to name a few. Other activities she enjoys are back packing, hiking, mountain biking, yoga and most recently downhill skiing.

Besides having a passion for the outdoors, Lindsey enjoys giving back. She serves on a community service committee at BakerHostetler Law Firm where she is the Accounting Manager. They provide fundraising, drive campaigns and volunteer opportunities that benefit local organizations within Columbus and Franklin County. Lindsey graduated from Ohio University and lives in Clintonville.

Julie Virgalitte

Julie Virgalitte received a Bachelor of Science in Applied Science and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Youngstown State University in 1997 and 2001, respectively. She was a student-athlete during her time at YSU, lettering for soccer and swimming. Since college she has taken additional classes in Biology and Chemistry to satisfy her interests about the natural world and is pursuing a Horticulture Certificate through Franklin Park Conservatory.

Julie is a Senior Technical Support Analyst with Infor, Inc. where she delivers direct support for CloudSuite Industrial as part of the Operations team. She mentors new hires and leads in maintaining her team’s testing environments. Julie believes that teamwork can solve any issue, accomplish any goal and motivate others to excel. She trusts that any group working together will improve the outcomes for all.

Julie stewards nature and regularly volunteers for the Earth Day Foundation and Green Columbus. She can be found running with She Runs This Town and Greenswell Events. She regularly bikes and kayaks for recreation and has joined Columbus Outdoor Pursuits to engage with others in these activities. She also enjoys hiking with Columbus Mountaineering Club and Girls Who Hike Ohio.

She is an advocate for trees and wildlife through membership in both the Arbor Day Foundation and the Audubon Society. She currently studies native plant identification and has a thriving home garden. She believes lifelong learning and getting outside as much as possible is essential for health and happiness.

Mike Wadkowski

Mary Spikowski

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Maureen Capehart

Maureen Capehart has served Columbus Outdoor Pursuits in several different capacities, including volunteer, XOBA director, and board director.

Lisa Daris

Lisa Daris has been the Director of Tour of the Scioto River Valley (TOSRV) since 2017 and enjoys the comaraderie and revelry of coordinating the nation’s oldest cycling event. She is also the Director of Columbus Outdoor Pursuits and the Executive Coordinator for the Ohio to Erie Trail. An avid cyclist and kayaker, she advocates for the environment by connecting people to the outdoors through teaching and leading group outings. A proud Ohioan, she grew up on the banks of the Cuyahoga River and has felt connected to nature, especially waterways, all her life.

Jeff Pierron

Jeff began his duties with Columbus Outdoor Pursuits on October 1, 2018 after a long career in newspaper journalism, including the past 20 years at The Columbus Dispatch as a copy editor and copy desk supervisor. The 61-year-old Westerville resident is an avid cyclist, and for the past five years he has volunteered as director of the Westerville Bicycle Club’s annual Dry Run Tour.

Since taking up cycling in 2010, Jeff has ridden in a number of multi-day tours, including GOBA, and plans to draw on those experiences. He looks forward to working with volunteers, host communities and COP staff to keep GOBA fun and exciting.

Jeff also assists TOSRV Director Lisa Daris and will help organize COP’s budget tours.

Next year’s 31st annual GOBA will be June 15-22. The locations of the overnight towns and an overview of the routes will be revealed Nov. 19, when registration begins, so be sure to watch for the announcement!

“We are excited about GOBA 2019, and we’re planning some new wrinkles and activities to add to the enjoyment of the tour,” Jeff said. “GOBA is an outstanding value, and we want our riders to return year after year, as many already do.”

GOBA attracts riders from across the U.S. and beyond. The tour has a positive economic impact on the places it visits as cyclists purchase food from restaurants and nonprofit groups, visit local attractions and, in some cases, stay in local lodging.

Matt Wolf

Matt Wolf’s outdoor passions include kayaking, running, and hiking — all with a hefty dose of environmental stewardship. Matt believes that future generations should be ensured of quality outdoor recreational opportunities. With a lot more people arriving in central Ohio, sustaining healthy rivers, parks, and forests will require thoughtful planning and effort. Matt’s epic experiences include backpacking through Alaska’s Brooks Range, kayaking the Scioto River in Ohio, trail running in the Siskiyou Mountains of Oregon, backpacking in Utah’s Canyonlands, and exploring ice caves in Antarctica. As a small-town Pennsylvania boy, his experiences have afforded him growth and perspective. He holds a B.S. and M.S. in Meteorology from Penn State. And yes, he is still a Nittany Lion! In his spare time he enjoys volunteering with Keep Columbus Beautiful (a litter education and resource city office) and other civic groups, as well as caring for his historic home in the Harrison West neighborhood of Columbus.