Not that anyone can tell yet from the weather, but the 2013 rowing season is almost upon us. To kick off the season, the Military/Veteran Rowing Team of Community Rowing is hosting a silent auction gala on March 23rd, from 7-11pm at the Harry Parker Boathouse.
If you aren't aware of the Mil/Vet Rowing Team, then here is a brief history. The program was started as part of CRI's principal that rowing is for all and not just for the Ivy Colleges. Three years ago, CRI opened its doors to active duty and veterans of the military, an outreach program managed by heroic efforts from Chris Obusek and most recently coached by KariAnne Kulig. The Military/Veteran group has grown from a handful of rowers in its first season to some 50 or 60 rowers in 2012, whose members come from every branch of service including Veterans of campaigns going back to Vietnam, the Gulf Wars and even Bosnia. Recently, the program has included spouses and family of military personnel. The Mil/Vet Team has even had both a men's and women's team compete in the Head of Charles, and other races as well. Your coxswain may eventually see this logo getting smaller in the near future!
As this kickoff Gala gets closer, you will see additional newsletter articles with updates on the big gala, our sponsors and ways you might contribute.
The gala is sponsored by Harpoon Brewery, who will be donating 20 cases of their finest brew.
Also, the terrific Berkeley Jazz band English Tom in the Bookstore will be providing the sound score. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTWGRtFvzo4 Check out some of their performances on YouTube!!
Secretary of Veteran Affairs Coleman Nee will be our keynote speaker. Once you hear him speak in person, you will understand why Massachusetts is ranked number one in veterans support.
I also wanted to take a second and tell you about some of our major contributors thus far. Many of you already know Gary Piantedosi, but if you don't he is someone you should definitely meet. He is CEO of Alden Rowing, http://rowalden.com/live/ and a huge supporter of our military and adaptive programs.
I recently asked him if he could donate something to our silent auction, maybe a t-shirt or an oar. Instead, he has donated a new rowing rig for all of you paddle board enthusiast out there. This rig retails for $1,200. You can check out a video of it in action here. I definitely want one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlEf0bYDhU4&feature=youtu.be On a lark, I asked Gary where he got the terrific paddle board seen in the video. He said; give my good friend Bill Blair a call. He is the owner of one of the premier paddle board makers in the country.
Bill is the owner of Speedboard USA, a start up SUP business located in Newburyport, MA. He started the business because he believed a few basic things about this exploding sport: 1. -Performance athletes and fitness minded paddlers would want better designed board products that were built in the USA instead of China. 2. - A brand that was focused on high quality and winning designs would gain traction as an east coast business. 3. - There is plenty of capacity in the composites manufacturing areas of boat building and aerospace to build great products at a reasonable cost.
Speaking about the company, Bill says, "Speedboard USA started up in Sept, 2011, and in our first year (2012) became one of top winning board brands in the industry. Our race team program is now poised to make even bigger waves in 2013.
The 18' board we are placing up for auction, which has a retail value of $3,000, is that same design which won the 20+ mile Blackburn Challenge in Gloucester and also won the 31.5 mile Chattajack Challenge in Chattanooga, TN. This board is designed to offer minimal resistance yet sufficient buoyancy to handle larger paddlers. The rowing performance is a natural extension of the board's tendency to produce minimal entry resistance and a low wake signature. The board is now going into production in a hollow carbon version and will be available at retail in 2013. The newest board design will be at the event as well."
Bill loves the Piantedosi rowing rig and believes that it is a great match up for their board designs. He is looking forward to much more feedback from the rowing community.
There are a lot of other contributors, but these are just some of our first ones. As always, if you just happen to have something laying around that you think would be terrific to auction off, you are more than welcome to donate it to the event. Because we are a 401c3, your item will entitle you to a tax savings and will help sustain our program and CRI for years to come. Items of particular interest are unique memorabilia, tickets to shows, timeshares, or your professional time if you have some uniquely marketable skill like tax preparer or lion tamer. Contributions can be sent directly to the boat house care of Tracy Smith, who has rented a small storage container for everything. Our goal is to raise enough funds to purchase a new Ford F-350 from our new friends at Watertown Ford (more about that in our next newsletter!). As you know, it isn't easy to haul a trailer full of boats across country.
The cover at the door will be $25 and doors will open at 7 PM. Feel free to RSPV to crifundraiser@gmail.com or on our facebook event page at
https://www.facebook.com/events/calendar#!/events/189915097799679/
Much more to come soon,
Bryan Fuller, Veteran and Rower
