Changes in Maintenance & Repair Staff

After many years of hard work keeping our boats & equipment in the best shape possible, Lauren Marchak is retiring from the "Mr. Fix It" staff position at FCRCC.

Taking over the Maintenance & Repair job is JD Long.

JD is in his fourth season at FCRCC, paddling in OC1/6 & some flatwater.

He's certified as a commercial transport mechanic, and has been working with fibreglass and composites for over a decade (his regular job is building OC1s for Pogue Sports), so is an ideal person, with all the special knowledge & experience needed, to work on our boats & equipment.

JD's really excited to be stepping up his involvement in the Club, in such an important role:

"I have in mind for the Club to have no boats down, so each and every person - no matter what type of on-the-water activity they do - has a boat to paddle in."

If you already know JD, congratulate him with a hearty Welcome Aboard, the next time you see him.  If you don't know him, well ... go introduce yourself, and then make him Welcome!

Lauren in the Workshop	JD getting ready to paddle

As far as getting repairs done, nothing changes: if you come across something broken (or that's about to), or so worn that it's not working right, or even that's just in need of a bit of maintenance, send a note to repairs@fcrcc.com.  That'll get to JD right away, as well as being entered in the running logbook we keep.

On the other hand, if you have a suggestion or other comment to make - other than to do with maintenance or repairs - about our boats &/or equipment, send the note to equipment@fcrcc.com.

Lauren's last contribution in the way of Maintenance & Repair work is updates of the Orientation Guides for our OC1s, and for other boats & equipment.  Both of those can be found on the Orientation page.  Given that they're written from the perspective of the guy who's been fixing things for so long, it's definitely a good idea to take a moment to review the new updates (the Surfski Guide is also there).

Lauren's also resigned from the Program Coordinator position he's held for a number of years.  But, since the "coordination" work for the 2011 season is pretty well all done, there's no replacement PC as yet - and too, as the Executive is currently reviewing the Club's staffing requirements, it makes sense to hold off on a new PC person until that review is completed.

In the meantime, any requests or other messages for the PC  (for example, a TT booking, etc.) may still be sent to programs@fcrcc.com, and they will be handled ASAP by the Exec.

No, Lauren's not going to disapppear ... he'll still be coaching, instructing SBCs, involved in the Youth programs and the PaddleAll Adaptive Paddling program ... and he remains a key part of the design & development of our new Club OC1.

Yet it is time for him to be doing a bit less "Club" work ... and having more free time to just paddle ...

And yes, the Executive is planning something special to acknowledge his many (many!) years of hard work on the Club's behalf.  Stay tuned!