Boathouse Fundraising Class Challenge Sponsored by the Class of 1986
From: The Class of '86 Boathouse Captains
Greg Annick
Nancy (McAniff) Annick
Kendra Follett
Drew Schreiber
To: All Rowing Alumni Classes
Dear Friends,
We are about to experience a truly momentous day in the history of Georgetown crew! The completion of the Georgetown Boathouse will be an important catalyst in raising the crew program to national prominence.
However, before we put spade to ground there is still a bit more work to do. As many of you are now aware, we need to raise another $2.9 million to hit the target for the boathouse construction. Many of us have already committed ourselves financially toward this goal. We hope that everyone will join this effort.
The process of fundraising has had the additional, unintended effect of re-connecting old boatmates. I had lunch in San Francisco recently with my old classmate Ulrik Grape, whom I had not seen since graduation. It was great to catch up with him. I was struck that Ulrik's love of the crew and the university is as strong today as when we donned the blue and gray in competition.
Moreover, Ulrik suggested a brilliant idea to help both the fundraising and the process of re-connecting old friends: A CLASS CHALLENGE.
After considerable conversation and thought, a points system was developed that rewards both the amount of money raised and, importantly, the level of participation. Our goal is for every class to have a fair chance to win the class challenge.
Thus, the challenge will award points for both the amount of money raised (noting the clear advantage of the older classes and their accumulated financial resources) and for the number of people participating per class (presumably giving the advantage to the younger alums who are still in contact with many more of their classmates). Commitments already made to the boathouse effort will be recognized for their respective classes. Of course, if you want to increase your pledge, that would count as well. Finally, we thought that a prize (on top of the obvious bragging rights) would serve as added incentive to get the competitive juices flowing.
We hope that this challenge will provide some extra incentive to re-connect with classmates and former boatmates. And we hope that it will serve as a catalyst in our efforts to raise the last $2.9 million we need to break ground next winter. See you at the finish line!
Never Row,
Drew
PS - Ulrik seems very confident about our class’ chance to win because he asked me to mention that when you bring your betting shirts to him (in what will undoubtedly become known as The Class of ‘86 Picnic Area) at the boathouse dedication, don't try to slide him a L t-shirt. He’s a big guy. Pony up for the XLs.
