Since arriving at Vero Beach Rowing in early February as their new Director of Rowing, I have been quite impressed with the quality of the program, including not only the kids themselves, but also their parents and the other Members and Board of Directors at Vero Beach Rowing. Playing the hand I was dealt, I was pleased when our program achieved in spring championship regattas 2 FSRA States medals (bronze, Mens Junior quad, gold Mens Junior 4+, as well as strong 4th place finishes in the Womens Lwt 1x and Mens Junior 8) and our program's first ever USRowing Southeast Regionals medal (Silver in the Mens U17 double). We have a young squad this fall, so I am confident we can build on these early successes in the months to come.

This summer saw a great turnout for our Learn To Row Camps, including 20 campers from Vero Beach Boy's & GIrls Club as part of our Community Outreach efforts. As a result we have 25 kids in our Middle School program this Fall, half of which are from Boys & Girls Club, for which our club provides scholarships to cover program fees. Together with our high school Novice and Masters Learn to Row programs, we have something to offer everyone in Indian River County.

In addition to building our squad, we are also building a boathouse! Having rowed out of boat yards in Sebastian and Vero Beach since our inception, this move will greatly expand VBR's capacity and reach as we expand all our programs to better serve more segments of the Vero Beach community. Many generous benefactors have come forward to fund this project, and completing the construction is a big focus for the club this Fall.

However, the most pressing issues we have now are growing our fleet of boats and scholarship funds to fully utilize the space in our new boathouse. We have a few new boats and oars this year, but the majority of our fleet is as old or older than the kids themselves! Much of the money we raise on November 16th at our Erg-a-thon will be targeted towards expanding our fleet and scholarships so that our varsity crews can race in appropriate boats and we have enough boats and scholarships for our community rowing programs.

I thank you in advance for your support, your donations now have a direct impact on our capacity to serve the youth of Indian River County. As I erg a marathon on November 16th, your support will really spur me on!

Regards

Brian