Welcome to BAIR ISLAND NEWS, BIAC's electronic newsletter. The purpose of BIN is to communicate with members about the Center's activities and programs, to promote a greater sense of community within BIAC, and to spread awareness of BIAC's activities beyond the membership list.

Your comments and contributions are always welcome. Please email them to the editor, Craig Canine. Thanks!

PRE-ANNUAL MEETING ISSUE

•  Board of Directors Election  Claire Biron has agreed to help Mike Martinez run the Board election this year. Thanks Claire! We have two officially announced candidates for the two open Board seats: Dave Jensen and Victoria Szabo. If there is anyone else interested in running for the Board, they should be in touch with me immediately, as the ballots will be going out to the membership in the very near future.

•  Boathouse Update  The new boathouse moved one step closer to reality with the recent approval by the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) of the Westpoint Marina project (see last month's Bair Island News for details). To summarize briefly, the Westpoint Marina project includes space for a community paddling and rowing boathouse, and BIAC has been invited to take part in the development of the boathouse. The vote by the BCDC to approve the project was unanimous. A big thank you to all BIAC members who turned out for the BCDC meeting and/or wrote email messages to the BCDC. Your voice was heard, and is helping to move your Aquatic Center forward.

The next step is approval by the City of Redwood City and the Army Corps of Engineers. The Westpoint Marina folks are optimistic about receiving these approvals, based on previous interactions with the City of Redwood City and the Corps. (More information is available at www.westpointmarina.com.) Shortly after the Annual Meeting, we’ll be forming a boathouse committee to get started on planning and implementing. Several members have already volunteered to serve on this committee, and I will be in touch with them in late September or early October to get the process moving. There will be an enormous amount of work to do, plus there will be significant interactions with the other groups that are looking to find a home in this boathouse as well. Any additional members who would like to participate in this process should be in touch with me.

•  Equipment Purchases  BIAC has a continuing mission to improve the quality and quantity of the paddling and rowing equipment available for use by its members. As part of this mission, BIAC is proud to announce the purchase of a brand new OC-6 (six-person outrigger canoe) for use by BIAC paddlers. In fact, the new canoe was used in its first race a few weekends ago at Lake Tahoe. With a distinctive yellow and blue striped pattern, the new canoe looks fast and paddles even faster.

In addition, BIAC has purchased four “new-to-us” sweep boats: two heavyweight Vespoli eights (from Yale University), and two heavyweight Vespoli coxed fours (from Syracuse University). These boats may be here in time for the Annual Meeting, and represent a significant upgrade to our sweep rowing fleet. If you have questions regarding BIAC sweep equipment, please direct them to Carl Sziebert. Questions regarding BIAC sculling equipment can be directed to Mike Sullivan until October 1, and after that to Brian Dour.

•  New Novice Paddling Program   BIAC has a new program for adults who are just getting acquainted with the sport of outrigger-canoe paddling. The program started in mid-July and is off to an incredible start, with a first-place finish in their first race and a third-place finish in their second race.

The program meets every Tuesday and Thursday at 6:30pm. Program Leader Eric Nguyen is looking for new recruits, so feel free to send any interested wanna-be paddlers to Eric. We’ll have and update from Eric on the Novice Paddling Program in a future issue of the newsletter.

•  Sculling Program Changes  Mike Sullivan is taking a much-deserved break as of October 1, and Brian Dour is taking over from Mike as our Novice Sculling Coach. Brian has been trained by Mike and is already conducting classes for Novice Scullers. If you’d like to learn to scull, or have questions or comments regarding sculling equipment, please be in touch with Brian.

As an aside, a big thank you to member John Goodrich, who recently donated three new Maas seats (one for the flyweight and two Aero seats)!

•  Heads Up for the RedHead!  Preparations are well underway for the 2003 RedHead Regatta on Nov. 9, which BIAC is hosting in place of our traditional Fall Regatta. (Click here for the latest information.)

The Regatta Committee will need lots of volunteers to help out with all aspects of this major event, so please sign up!

Send an email to committee chair Kristin Henny, or put your name on sign-up sheet in one of the hanging mailboxes next to the office door. The RedHead needs YOU!

(Special credit goes to George Willett for designing the RedHead's catchy logo!)

•  Moving On  We’d like to send a heartfelt thank you to Barbara Probert, BIAC Controller and Bookkeeper. After many years of handling BIAC’s finances, Barbara has “retired” -- she has purchased a business in the East Bay and plans to devote herself to it full-time. Barbara has been a tremendous source of knowledge and has been a key player in keeping BIAC functioning from its inception up to now.

Losing Barbara was a blow, but fortunately Kevyn Allard, BIAC Board Member, came up with a stellar replacement, Janiece Prieur. Janiece has hit the ground full-speed. She comes to the boathouse every two weeks, usually around midday on Mondays. Welcome Janiece!

Also taking "early retirement" is Saghir Munir, our VP Finance. After a grueling year at the helm of BIAC’s finances, Saghir has decided to step down as of the new fiscal year (September 1). On behalf of everyone at BIAC, I’d like to thank Saghir for his many hours of service and dedication. We really appreciate it!

•  New Part-Time Staff Position  As part of BIAC’s drive for continued operational efficiency, the Board has decided to implement an BIAC Recruitment Manager position. This is a part-time interim position with a focus on developing a marketing plan for the Center, as well as working to improve recruitment and financial functions. Member Laura Foster has accepted this position and is already hard at work. Laura should have a draft marketing plan to present at the Annual Meeting. Members of the Board will be available to answer questions regarding this position.

Following the Annual Meeting, Laura will work with the new Board to implement the first stages of the marketing plan and to execute overall recruiting and financial operations for BIAC. We’ll have a message from Laura to the membership in a future issue of the newsletter; in the meantime, members can email Laura with any questions.

As mentioned, Laura has accepted the position on an interim basis. The Board's goal is eventually to hire someone to fill these functions on a more permanent basis. If any BIAC members are interested in such a permanent part-time (approximately 12-20 hours per week) position, please send an email to Victoria Szabo, BIAC Board Member and VP Communications, or to me, David Abraham.

GO BAIR!