I joined the Eugene Yacht Club in 2014. At that point I would have never guessed that six-and-a-half years later I would be accepting the gavel to become commodore of this great club. I joined EYC because I was following a large group of other Wavelength sailors who migrated from Richardson Marina. I thought EYC would be a place to park my boat, I did not realize that I would be joining an incredible community.
When I first joined, I was somewhat intimidated by all the various groups. I came in as a racer, so I already had a built-in community within my fleet. As a new member it can feel intimidating to break into the various groups at the club, because people have such close friendships. Over time I realized how misplaced my feelings of intimidation were. Everyone here is so welcoming. The best part of joining the board has been the opportunity to get to know so many of our members. I am looking forward to meeting more of you over this next year.
I want to thank everyone for sticking with the club through a couple of very difficult years. I also want to thank everyone who has served on the board for your insight, wisdom, and courage to face difficulties head on.
Rob, no one could have ever anticipated the challenges you would face during your time as commodore. I appreciate your willingness to look at differences of opinions as the board faced unprecedented decisions. You kept our club together through a virus and a lack of water.
Rich, the club owes you a debt of gratitude. I don’t know many people who would be willing to step into leadership knowing the pressures you would face during an ongoing pandemic.
As we move into 2022 I hope I can bring you a pandemic that has turned endemic, and a full lake. Most winter club activities will probably be quiet until it becomes safe to spend time together indoors. While we may have a slow winter, we are looking to have a large outdoor party with good food and live music where we will celebrate our past commodore and all the club achievements over the past year.
Our biggest goal of the year is to get our youth program off the ground. Generous donations over the past few years have allowed us to invest in two new youth boat fleets, a rebuilt 13 ft Whaler, and a safety/coach boat. This year we are developing a committee to create a summer long youth program. More details will be shared as we develop the program.
I am looking forward to a great year.
Matt Sprick
P.S. Last year my number got switched in the handbook with Ryan Southworth. It is fixed on the member portion of the website and will be correct in the 2022 handbook. If you need to reach me my cell phone is 541-232-3127.