By Dian Lawhon,
Communications Chair
Each year, TVCC Board of Officers take a look at who is serving in what position and some stay and some move on. All Officers must be approved by the TVCC membership at the annual Membership Meeting that will be conducted as part of the 50th Celebration on September 9th and 10th.
Departing Board Members
According to the TVCC Bylaws, the President can only serve two terms, so Ashley Teel is one of the Board Officers moving on this year. Ashley has done an amazing job not only as President for the past two years, but also in many other roles for many years. We hate to see her leave this particular role, but know she will be still working hard to support TVCC. Her guidance and advice will always be welcome by all.
The Board is also sorry to see the departure of Club Secretary, Ali Reddington. Secretary is a tough job, but one that Ali performed cheerfully and with great competence and success. We hope to see her back on the Board in some future capacity when she has had time to figure out how much she will miss us. (LOL)
Kristin Evans, the Assistant Vice President, will also be moving on this year. She led the charge finding sponsors for Paddle School with donations from 19 companies resulting in $24,000 collected at the Paddle School auction. This money will be used for training members during the annual paddle school, Rescue Rodeo, Swift Water Rescue and the 50th Anniversary celebrations at Christmas and the finale in September. These funds help us in our efforts to provide safety for local events such as multiple Triathlons, the annual Girl Scout Raft Race, and Big Brother/Big Sister Raft Day. Additionally, this supports our waterway conservation and preservation events including annual river clean-ups. The funding allowed us to donate a boat to the Polk County Emergency Medical Services and Response team and will be used to for the annual TVCC Ocoee Race, which benefits First Descents and Team River Runner.
The Board will also have changes to the Conservation Officer. Pat Carver has moved over to Cruise Master where we know she will do a fabulous job of taking care of Class I-II paddlers. John Hubbard, the Co-Chair, has also moved on. In addition to conservation, he acted as the TVCC Historian for the 50th. He is the person responsible for providing us with the “Jack Wright Series” in the newsletter. If you haven’t read these, you are missing out on some great stories about early paddling in this area. All articles are in the newsletter archives. John has also held pretty much every office on the Board so has been an invaluable resource, providing important guidance to the Board on every important decision. No doubt, we will continue to rely on his knowledge and experience for all major club decisions plus his willingness to help during every event.
The Board is sorry to see Mike Shillinger leave the position of Safety Chair as he has done a phenomenal job ensuring all club activities comply with the utmost safety requirements. He did an amazing job of running Rescue Rodeo and Swift Water Rescue. Fortunately, Mike has agreed to continue supporting the club in the background as well as taking an active role coaching his replacement.
Also departing the board is Stephanie Whiting, Webmaster, who was primarily responsible for moving the Club into the 21st Century with new the website and advanced technical capabilities for managing Club membership, signing up for events, and using PayPal instead of the old fashion way of snail mail and checks.
Changes Mid-Year to the Board
The Board expanded the role of Editor to Communications Chair and it is being filled by Dian Lawhon, who has 35 years’ experience in communication, first in the U.S. Air Force, then at the Department of Defense in Washington D.C.
A new member was welcomed to the Board in the middle of the year: BG Smith, who has taken on the challenge of Treasurer. He has done an exceptional job of keeping track of all Club money and making sure we are never over-drawn or on the bad side of the IRS.
Returning Board Members
Luckily, several TVCC Board Members are continuing in their current positions and providing that critical knowledge that only the long-term members can provide. One of these is Vice President Meryl Stark, who was responsible for the 2017 Paddle School, which all agree was another fantastic success. Previously, Meryl served as Newsletter Editor, where she did a superb job as well.
Some of our most valued and valuable Board Members are the Cruise Masters—the ones that ensure we get on the water and do all the fun things the Club was created for. Our hats and helmets are off to Eric Fleming, Stacy Stone and Carolyn Rand who design and guide the paddling trips throughout the year. They are truly the unsung heroes of TVCC. Without them there would be no paddling or reason for a club.
New Board Members
New members of the Board include Heather Curry, our new president who has several years’ experience in the club, and Rachel Roman, new AVP, who jumped in to make the 50th Anniversary Hiwassee Race an amazing experience for all of us. Betsy Westerfield has volunteered to serve as Secretary and Paul Moyle as Safety. Michelle Hollingsworth has stepped up to be Conservation Chair and Timothy Jordi as Webmaster. Cat Vogel will replace Ryan Lycan as Non-paddle Cruise Master.
Below is the Board Of Officers proposed for this coming year.
| President | Heather Curry |
| Vice President | Meryl Stark |
| Asst Vice President | Rachel Roman |
| Secretary | Betsy Westerfield |
| Treasurer | BG Smith |
| Safety Chair | Paul Moyle |
| Communications Chair | Dian Lawhon |
| Conservation Chair | Michelle Hollingsworth |
| Webmaster | Timothy Jordi |
| Cruisemaster 1 – Class 1-2 | Pat Carver |
| Cruisemaster 2 – Class 3-4 | Stacy Stone |
| Cruisemaster 3 – Overnighters | Carolyn Rand |
| Cruisemaster 4 – Non-Paddling | Cat Vogel |
| Cruisemaster 5 – Flatwater | Eric Fleming |