President's Corner: February
February
By Scott Harvey
Greetings fellow club members,
My four-year term as your club’s President has gone by much quicker than expected. This will also be my last Presidents Corner write-up for the club’s newsletter with my departure from my position. Brenda Bunce has volunteered to step into the position of interim club President for one year. This became official with our last board meeting in early February.
We are again, transitioning between elected board members. I’d like to personally thank both Steve Herring (Membership Director) and Steve Kasper (Secretary) for their four years serving on the board. They both have volunteered many hours to their elected position and contributed greatly in keeping the club running smoothly and efficiently. Thanks again Steve Herring and Steve Kasper. I’d like to also welcome both Tom Riggs as the new OWA Membership Director and Justin Richard as the new OWA Secretary. Tom has served on the board roughly 10 years ago and Justin is new to serving on the board. Welcome to the board Justin and Tom! Will Brezinski was elected to his second term as Training Director. It’s great to have Will Brezinski back for another two years. He has kept the club’s safety training courses running smoothly and on track.
The OWA club activities are continually being added in the club’s Upcoming Events Calendar for 2025. The Upcoming Events Calendar can be found on the home page of the OWA website ( www.OregonWhitewater.org ). Such activities planned for this upcoming year are several day trips and overnight river trips, the safety pool session at North Clackamas Aquatic Center in March, River Safety Training at Dodge Park in April, Boating 101 on the North Santiam in May and the Wilderness First Aid Training in September. Not to mention the eight club meetings we have every year.
I was able to make some positive changes during my term as your President, but other changes weren’t as easy to incorporate into the club. As I step aside from my position, I leave with you a club that is still very vibrant, financially responsible, safety oriented and moving forward with efficiency, due to all the great folks who belong and contribute where they can through volunteering and committing their time with helping out.
There are too many individuals in the club to thank and list… Plus, I’m sure I would leave some folks out so… I’d like to thank all those board members, trip leaders and club volunteers, past and present, who have helped grow and expand this organization into one of the best boating club’s around.
Furthermore, as the world grapples with it's own set of challenges, I’d like to take a moment to emphasize the importance that each of us needs to reflect on our emotional, mental and physical well being. The need for all of us to completely separate ourselves from this sometimes chaotic behavior that’s swirling around in our society and around the globe.
That’s right, step aside and place yourself back into the natural world that is free of electronic gadgets, phones and the negative communication that comes with it. I'm talking about getting back on a river! The need to momentarily separate yourself from the dry land. Being out in nature and on the river helps with resetting your emotional well being and circadian rhythm. The gravitational forces that have been creating the same water movement and rapids for the last several million years on this planet is no different today. Except for the animal and plant species have evolved differently. Basically, Rivertime will have a tendency to magically transform you back towards a metaphorical experience of the past!