Sailing Science Center News

January 2020

Vol. 3, No. 5

Happy New Year! Welcome to the January issue of the Sailing Science Center News! Our theme this month is Charting a Course to Success. 2019 was a very productive year for the Sailing Science Center. We met all of our goals and are very excited to continue our momentum and growth into 2020. Our biggest news items from December were a very successful gala and, even more exciting, the delivery of our first exhibit. Our year-end appeal had a terrific summation of all that we accomplished in 2019. If you didn't see it, click here to view it now.

I have headed this issue of the newsletter with a picture of dolphins frolicking in a wave. It is there to remind us that we live on an ocean planet and to inspire us to do all that we can to ensure the existence of healthy, abundant oceans for generations to come. To understand how this links to the Sailing Science Center, please read the Founder's Comments from our recent gala.

Keep reading to learn more about what happened in December!

Teamwork makes the dream work.

– John C. Maxwell

Volunteer Spotlight - The SSC 2019 Gala Volunteers!

Back Row, L to R: Carolyn Davidson, Lee Rousey, Nick Chow, Mike Beller, Pip Ziman

Front Row, L to R: Susan Proescher, Olivia Malterre, Morgan Davidson, Jim Hancock, Meagan Strout,

Victoria Marcus

Missing from this picture of the Core Team are Charlie Deist, Jeff Owens, Kira Hammond and Tegan Anderson

As I contemplated the Volunteer Spotlight for this month, I thought: there are so many volunteers who made such a big impact at our 2019 gala that it doesn't seem right to spotlight an individual. Therefore, this newsletter is dedicated to all the volunteers who Charted a Course to Success by working tirelessly to make the SSC 2019 Gala a smooth, professional, first-rate event. The SSC 2019 Gala on December 12 represented a 6-month effort that began in June and involved countless hours of work from 25 dedicated volunteers. They organized outreach, designed databases, curated contacts, sifted through slides, managed mailings, contracted caterers, delivered donations, met for meetings, procured permits, got gifts, prepared programs, worked on wording and vetted vendors. All the while the group held together as a dedicated, productive, positive team.

Every member of the core team was essential to the effort. Removing any one of them would have been disastrous. My pride in the team and how they pulled together on a very aggressive deadline is beyond what words can express. You guys are awesome!

Volunteers (alphabetical by first name): Brandon Wan, Caitlin Gutekunst, Carson Conner-Collado, Charlie Deist, Jessica Wilbur, John Bechtol, Laila Dounas, Lee Rousey, Leonora Fleming, Morgan Davidson Nick Chow, Olivia Malterre, Paul Kamen, Pip Ziman, Rick Waltonsmith, Susan Proescher, Tegan Anderson, Victoria Marcus, Will Pryor.

Contributing board members (alphabetical by first name): Carolyn Davidson, Jeff Owens, Jim Hancock, Kira Hammond, Meagan Strout, Mike Beller.

December Volunteer Event - The SSC 2019 Gala

At 1,070 feet, Salesforce Tower is the second-tallest building west of the Mississippi

Our December volunteer event was the SSC 2019 Gala, our inaugural fundraising event, held on the Ohana Floor at the top of Salesforce Tower. The theme of the night was Charting a Course to Success! which we embodied with 214 guests, holding silent and live auctions, and raising enough money to build the next six exhibits for the Sailing Science Center. For months I have been dying to share about this in the newsletter, but have resisted making premature announcements and kept it mum. Now it's time to spill the beans, but rather than keep writing, I'd like to share the event in pictures.

L to R: Lee Rousey, Laila Dounas and Olivia Malterre ready to go at the check-in table

Our new SSC banners were the first things people saw when they got off the elevator

The Ohana Floor is the tower's 61st floor. We filled it with 214 guests.

Volunteer for the SSC!

Auctioneer Steven Godfryd

Keynote speaker, Tim Karas, president of the College of Alameda

Jim Hancock making the Founder's Comments

The SSC Board of Directors and Event Committee

Back Row, L to R: Travis Lund, Jim Hancock, Ron Young, Jeff Owens, Carolyn Davidson, Mike Beller

Front Row (Event Committee), L to R: Meagan Strout, Morgan Davidson, Victoria Marcus

Missing: Kira Hammond

A good navigator knows two things: where we are now and where we want to go. Few will disagree with me that where we want to go is a sustainable future where people live happy, healthy, productive lives.

- Jim Hancock

IN THE NEWS

Out the Gate Podcast

On October 23 I sat with Ben Shaw, producer of the Out the Gate podcast series, to record a 47-minute podcast about the Sailing Science Center. Ben uploaded his edited version of the interview on December 22. You can listen to it here. To-date, this is the best recorded summary of the history, vision, and purpose of the Sailing Science Center. If you want to get up to speed quickly on what the SSC is about, this is the way to do it. Ben did a great job of conducting the interview and editing and arranging it for smooth flow. Thanks Ben!

Danny Beesley with the Model Yacht Experiment Table

The SSC's First Exhibit

On December 12 we used our inaugural gala to unveil the SSC's first exhibit, called the Land Yacht Experiment Table, pictured above with builder, Danny Beesley. Designed by Paul Kamen, it's a simple exhibit consisting of a fan, a table, and "land yachts" with rigid fiberglass sails and ball bearing wheels. The exhibit was built at the College of Alameda's Fab Lab. Its debut proved to be engaging to sailors and intriguing to non-sailors, capturing people's attention to see how a sailboat can sail upwind!

After our gala we delivered the exhibit to the Treasure Island Sailing Center, where it is now on loan. The first group of students saw it on December 15; a class of eight- to eleven-year old sailors learning to sail Optimist dinghies. In many ways this was the most gratifying experience of my year, as I watched the kids engage and play with the exhibit in exactly the manner we had intended. To read more about the exhibit click here. To see a video of it in action click here.

What could be more important than equipping the next generation with the character and competence they need to become successful?

– Colin Powell

Social Media Corner

In this month's social media Call to Action, we ask you to share the video of our first exhibit with your Facebook friends, and invite them to like our page.

Danny Beesley and Rick Waltonsmith with Exhibit

Builder Danny Beesley and SSC volunteer Rick Waltonsmith look over the SSC's first exhibit.

Small Stuff

Friends of the SSC

In concert with the tremendous support the SSC has had from its volunteers, its board and its donors, there has been an accompanying level of support from organizations. The list of supporting organizations now includes over thirty names. To recognize and appreciate them we have created a new page on the SSC website, simply titled Friends. We encourage you to take a look, see who's there, and give them a nod with your business if you can.

Move the Needle!

These are things YOU can do to move the SSC vision forward:

Volunteer
Donate
Share the SSC Newsletter with your friends
Sign our Endorsement Letter
"Like" us on your favorite social media platform

Make a difference. Move the needle!

Leadership Corner - Charting a Course to Success

A good navigator knows two things: where we are now and where we want to go. Few will disagree with me that where we want to go is to a sustainable future where people live healthy, happy, productive lives. Seeing where we are now will require us to zoom out and look at our planet in a larger context of time and space.