The Friends of Port Rowing recently held its 3rd Annual Fall Gala and honored those individuals who have generously supported the Port Rowing boathouse and Port Rowing’s community-wide programming.
Friends of Port Rowing’s Fall Gala looks to a future of expanded and improved programming with the construction of a new boathouse; a boathouse from which to launch the many programs offered by Port Rowing has been the long-range vision of the board of trustees and board President Mitch Tamkin. He addressed the group of parents and benefactors and said, “We are so fortunate to finally have a home for Port Rowing. Having a roof over our heads not only protects our equipment, but it gives us a greater opportunity to truly have a community rowing program. We will be able to run our Masters and Adaptive Programs more easily. Our middle and high school students will have one place to train rather than three. We truly look forward to the boathouse, dock and rowing course, all of which will make the experience of rowing in our community a healthy and vibrant one.”
Town of North Hempstead Supervisor Judi Bosworth has been instrumental in facilitating the planning and construction of the boathouse for Port Rowing and supports the variety of programs that benefit so many members of the town. Supervisor Bosworth spoke to the attendees sharing her commitment to improvements to both the boathouse and dock and to improving the waterways of Hempstead Harbor. New York State Senator Jack Martins and Nassau County Legislator Delia DeRiggi-Whitton, along with Matt Dwyer representing Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano, all attended in support of Friends of Port Rowing.
The Gala committee thanked the community members and businesses that continue to support Friends of Port Rowing. The Gala was sponsored in part by the Peter & Jeri Dejana Family Foundation and Port Washington Tennis Academy with generous donations from local businesses and from board members, parents and the Port Rowing coaches.
The Friends of Port Rowing is a nonprofit organization which supports the teams, programs and facilities of Port Rowing. Port Rowing provides competitive rowing teams for middle school and high school students of all levels. Over the past five years, team members have competed and won on local, state and national levels. Programming for adults include novice and master-level training and team competitions. Since its inception, Port Rowing has offered adaptive training for rowers with autism. In 2015, Port Rowing began a partnership with Be the Best Sport to provide a rowing-readiness conditioning program specifically for the adaptive athlete. These adaptive athletes will have the chance to compete in the 5th Annual Row for Autism on April 16. To learn more or to register go to www.portrowing.org.
