Dear Crew Families:
THE NEW BOAT IS HER….I am happy to announce that we have picked up the new 8+ this Saturday in Pennsylvania. If you remember from our conversations last fall, this boat will replace the old, heavy 8+ that the rowers lovingly dubbed “The Mayflower.” This boat is a much needed addition to our fleet and will improve our competitiveness greatly. Congratulations to all of us for bringing 3 new boats into the fleet in the last 3 years.
PAYING FOR THE NEW BOAT ……. here is the ask …..
As you will recall, at our December board meeting, the Boosters decided to purchase this boat prior to having all the funding in place. The alternatives to purchase were to go put money towards renting a boat, which didn’t seem like a good long-term strategy. We did well with the wreath and poinsettia fundraiser so that helps, but we still need $8,000 in either gap financing or donations to ensure we can meet our operating expenses this year.
If you are in the position to help out one or more of the following ways ….
- Are you able to donate some money to the team for the purchase of this boat. If you have parents, grandparents, businesses you know, that could donate some money … that would be great – donations are tax deductible.
- Are you able to loan some money to the Crew Boosters (looking for denominations of at least $1,000 here to assist with bookkeeping) that would also be incredibly helpful. We are hoping to be able to pay you back within a year, after our next fundraising cycle. We would sign a promissory note with you.
Please feel free to let me know if you are able to contribute in either (or both) ways. We will talk about this at our Board Meeting scheduled for next Wednesday, March 9th at 7:30 p.m., but I’d like to have a sense of some contributions/loans prior to that meeting (prevents the awkward public ask).
Please feel free to contact me directly regarding this via email.
Thanks very much.
Linda Manning
JEB Stuart Crew Booster President
