Hello everyone.
I am writing to you to day to tell you of a tragedy. Yesterday in Vancouver a tornado touched down on the eastern shore of Vancouver Lake. Despite the obvious oddity that is a tornado in Vancouver, this was a tragdy for one very specific group of people.
The tornado touched down right on top of the facility used by the Vancouver Lake Rowing Club. 50 boats worth over a million dollars, along with their facility and all of their parts (Oars, Ergs, Riggers, Stretchers, etc) were destroyed in the storm. As you can imagine there isn’t any tornado insurance in Vancouver.
Why do I care? Well lots of you probably don’t know this, but I rowed for WSU for over a year. The crew comunity in the US is very tightly knit, and it was a sport that I would take up in a heart beat if I could. It was a sport that taught me patience and attention to detail, as well as dedication (if you dont have dedication, you will never make it through a 5k pull). I loved it and still do. Not only that, but my brother and sister used to row for this club, and my brother was a coach in such standing that one of the 4 person shells was named after him.
This rowing club was used by young people through high school age and was a safe, healthy place for kids to go and be coached in a unique sport by an Olympic Gold Metal Winning Crew Coach. Now they have nothing. These kids love what they do, are fiercely dedicated to rowing and it breaks my heart to see then not be able to do it.
I will be going down there to help out in the clean up later on today. I ask only that you keep these kids and their coach in your thoughts, as they are in a pretty bad place right now.
Thanks for your time,
-Jeremy-
