Oh, you have to go to this one!

Could it be time for our 145th Annual Meeting already?  Seems like just yesterday, we were sitting around at our 45th discussing the Italian-Turkish War and our invasion of Honduras.  My, how time flies once women are given the right to vote.

Well, enough reminiscing.  Below is a very important message from Ed Ryan, club secretary and member of the Board of Governors, that you simply must read.  Before you scroll down, though, go ahead and mark your calendar for the big meeting on April 6th, at 630 PM.  We hear these things are a lot more fun than they used to be.  (Read:  More food.  More drink.  Fewer reports.  Men and women allowed!)

Besides, if you don’t go, like, for sure, we’ll talk about you.

See you there, PBC!

-The Potomac Star

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On Wednesday, April 6th, Potomac Boat Club will hold its 145th Annual Meeting.
All members are welcome and encouraged to attend.

Here is the evening’s agenda:

• 6:30 – 7:30 PM – Social Hour (a.k.a. Happy Hour with food and drinks)
• 7:30 – 9:00 PM – Elections (senior members will vote on three Board seats and all Officer positions (President, Secretary, etc.)); President’s Report; Committee Reports; Old and New Business

We are Potomac Boat Club.  If you are interested in where we are going, or how we are getting there, this is a good opportunity to get involved, as well as a great opportunity to recognize the many individual members who are called out in the Committee Reports for their accomplishments and contributions to the Club.

Hope to see a good turnout.

Ed Ryan
Secretary

RSVP for the Rising Stars Dinner and Silent Auction—only a few days left!

The Open Sculling Program fundraiser event, the Rising Stars Dinner, this Saturday, March 26th, still has seats available!

We have had amazing auction items donated, including guaranteed tickets to the 2012 Rose Bowl, stunning paintings done members of PBC, massages, coaching, and vacation time in Annapolis, North Carolina, and Montana.

If you are out of stamps and plan to be at the boathouse this week, you may also leave your RSVP in the Open Sculling box under the log book. If you are a member and didn’t receive an invitation, but would like to attend, please contact me, Reilly, directly. (Contact info below.)

Again, we invite you to share in an exciting evening of excellent food, time with friends and an introduction to your 2011 Rising Stars!

Hope to see you there,
Reilly Dampeer
Head Coach, Open Sculling Program, Potomac Boat Club

For more information regarding the Silent Auction and the Open Sculling Program, please contact Reilly at redampeer@yahoo.com.

Winter rowing rules melt away for all boats

Chuck Selden, Float Captain, says that at noon today, March 18th, 2011, the river is expected to rise above 50 F. Winter rowing rules will no longer be in effect for privately owned boats.

UPDATE (March 20, 2011):  Sylvia Frayne, chair of the Club Rowing Committee, announced this weekend that Club rowing equipment is now available free of winter rowing restrictions.  Club singles are once again fair game!

Long live warm weather!

It’s T-shirt Time! Gear up now for The Star’s Fundraiser Trifecta.

THE ORDER WAS PLACED ON SUNDAY, MARCH 20, 2011.

* * *

Yes, that’s right, PBC.  This is the one gear sale a year that strives to make you look good and do good at the same time.  Remember, in fashion, one day you’re in, and the next day, you’re out. We’ve got the “in” tees you want and three charities we’d like to help. Got it? Great!

So, check out the four beyond-cool PBC tees (and a hat) here, click, and buy.  It’s that easy.  Soon, you’ll have a t-shirt on the way with proceeds from the sale going to the following deserving groups:

1. The Open Scullers through the Potomac River Sports Foundation. Why?  Because we live vicariously through our Olympic hopefuls.  (Oh, don’t forget to mark your calendars and RSVP for their Rising Stars Dinner on March 26th!)

2. Washington-Lee High School Crew Boosters. Why?  Because we love our W-L kids, even if it seems like we’re tough on them (and um, on their boats) sometimes.

3. The Petit Family Foundation. Why?  Because we’re inspired by the short life of Hayley Petit. The daughter of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and William A. Petit, Jr., M.D., Hayley was a June 2007 graduate of Miss Porter’s School and headed to Dartmouth College, her father’s Alma Mater and where she planned to row.  As many of us learned last year when the trial made national news, the lives of Hayley, her mother and her younger sister were brutally taken during a home invasion on July 23, 2007.

Hayley was well known, admired, and loved for the integrity she brought to everything she did, and for the student, athlete, leader, and friend she was.  At school, Hayley was an  Honor Roll student, a member of Cum Laude, a journalism prize-winner, and winner of the school’s award for “exceptional community service.”  She was also a three-season varsity athlete in cross country, basketball, and crew.  Hayley was made captain of her crew and basketball team by her teammates, and elected to a senior leadership position as head of the school’s athletic association. And Hayley’s leadership extended beyond school to the larger community; she raised over $50,000 to support research for Multiple Sclerosis, the disease that afflicted her mother.

Despite her many gifts, Hayley called no attention to herself, and instead led by example and encouraged those around her to do the same. She was honored and respected by her teachers and her coaches, to whom she gave her best; and by her class and schoolmates, both older and younger, who saw Hayley as someone they always wanted to be around, as well as someone they wanted to be like. The impact Hayley made in the short time she had on this earth was truly exceptional.

Hayley was a powerhouse who gave so much energy to everything she did that her teammates used to call the final sprint at the end of their race “giving it the Hayley 10.”  And as it turned out, Hayley indeed fought the good fight up until the end of her life.  On July 23, 2007, with the house already ablaze, and despite enduring hours of torture to herself, her mother and sister, Hayley managed to loosen the ties that bound her to her bed and crawl into the hallway of their home.  Investigators say she most likely was headed to save her 11 year old sister, Michaela.  Hayley and Michaela succumbed to smoke inhalation before rescuers could get to them.

We didn’t know Hayley, but in many ways, we feel like we did.  We easily could have imagined her walking through the doors of PBC after graduating from Dartmouth, wanting to row while doing post-grad work or whatever else brings high achievers like Hayley to DC.  And when we look at our own children, especially our daughters – playing sports, working hard in school, and trying to become good citizens of this world – we think of her often and of the amazing young woman she was at only 17, and of the incredible woman we are certain she would have been.

The Petit Family Foundatiaon honors the memories of JENNIFER HAWKE-PETIT, HAYLEY ELIZABETH PETIT and MICHAELA ROSE PETIT by continuing the kindness, idealism and activism that defined their lives. The Foundation’s funds are given to foster the education of young people, especially women, in the sciences; to improve the lives of those affected by chronic illnesses; and to support efforts to protect and help those affected by violence.

Standby for a flood! Maybe.

Resident PBC flood expert Chuck Selden says he isn’t too worried about this weekend’s predicted 12-foot rise in the river.  But we should be anyway.  You know, just in case.

Chuck points us to a list of Historical Crests (click) here.  In case you want see where they would’ve ended up in the house, he has marked a few of them on the first free-standing post inside the older part of the house, between singles bay and doubles rack.

Here’s the short list:

(Rank)

(1) 28.10 ft on 03/19/1936 photo in stairway (They really knew how to throw a flood in the ’30s, man.)
(2) 26.88 ft on 10/17/1942
(3) 23.30 ft on 04/28/1937
(4) 22.03 ft on 06/24/1972 marked on the post
(5) 19.29 ft on 01/21/1996 marked on the post
(7) 17.84 ft on 09/08/1996 marked on the post
(31) 12.82 ft on 03/15/2010 marked on the post
(56) 11.17 ft on 01/27/2010 marked on the post at the base
(78) 10.28 ft on 03/30/2005 came up to the bar holding the ramp hooks

Chuck says a 12-foot rise would get the wheels wet on the roller racks of the lowest boats.  The boats will be moved as a precaution.

For the next few days, keep an eye on the National Weather Service’s Advanced Hydrolic Prediction Service, the local news, and the Star for an announcement, just in case we need to mobilize!

And don’t forget, we have Rivercams to watch the excitement once the water makes its way down.  Hopefully, in this case, it won’t get too exciting.

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Rising Stars Dinner … save the date!

Potomac Boat Club
Rising Stars Dinner and Silent Auction
A Benefit for the Open Sculling Program
Save the Date: March 26, 2011

The Potomac Boat Club Open Sculling Program is hosting the first annual “Rising Stars” dinner and silent auction on March 26, 2011, to benefit our Olympic hopefuls. Potomac Boat Club members will receive an invitation in the mail soon, so please keep an eye out for it and RSVP as quickly as possible. Seating is limited for this special event!

The Open Sculling Program attracts talented athletes from across the United States to train for elite national and international competition. The Program has produced athletes who have earned Olympic, World and National Championship medals.

As we approach the 2011 events that will qualify boats for the 2012 Olympics, our focus is sharp and our goal is to earn the honor of representing our country internationally and to bring prestige to the club and program. Like that of aspiring athletes before us, we strive in our dedication, perseverance, and hope to embody the tradition of Potomac Boat Club.

Proceeds of this event will fund travel expenses and entry fees for 2011 selection regattas, the purchase of the most current technology, and state-of the-art equipment and resources.

In rowing, not all the champions are on the water.  There are literally hundreds of sponsors, officials, and coaches who make Olympic hopes possible.  We invite you to share in this an exciting evening—and the enduring dreams of our athletes.

Thank you so much for your continued support.

Reilly Dampeer
Head Coach, Open Sculling Program, Potomac Boat Club

For more information regarding the Silent Auction and the Open Sculling Program, please contact Reilly at redampeer[at]yahoo.com.