Awards (3)
McDaniels Appreciation Award
In Appreciation for
Outstanding Service to the
Catamaran Racing Association of Michigan
Many of you don't remember Duane. When I was just starting in the club in 1980 (and yes, I know - ancient) Duane and his wife, Judy, were an institution in the club. This is when catamaran sailing was in it's heyday, with 100-200 catamarans showing up for a regatta. Duane and Judy carried the club in many ways. When the club needed a new committee boat (our current Boston Whaler) but couldn't get financing, Duane stepped in and financed the boat himself. Yes, CRAM paid the payments, but this was a selfless act and a personal risk that not many would have taken on. Judy made stained glass trophies. Lots of them. This was back in the day, when we had separate trophies for every regatta. These were works of art, and I have a couple of them myself. Everywhere you looked, Duane & Judy were there contributing.
And so, this award is presented to the individuals that go above and beyond in supporting CRAM the way Duane & Judy did.
Past recipients are:
1990: Duane McDaniels | 1998: Rick Olt | 2006: Jan Gaffney | 2014: Christy Higgins |
1991: Roger & Ginger Cochran | 1999: Sue Kizoff | 2007: Mike Wisniewski | 2015: Ron Kramer |
1992: Carolyn Cox | 2000: Mark Biggers | 2008: Andy Kursch | 2016: Kim Krutty |
1993: Roger Cochran | 2001: Terri Burns | 2009: Jan Gaffney | 2016: Keith Schwark |
1994: Terri Burns | 2002: Eric Kennedy | 2010: Jim Egerdal | |
1995: Jim Powers | 2003: Rick Olt | 2011: Uli Gollwitzer | |
1996: Carol Enders | 2004: Terri Burns | 2012: Jim Egerdal | |
1997: Roger Cochran | 2005: Terri Burns | 2013: Jeff Rehm |
If you talk to one of these people, buy them a beer. They worked for it.
And oh by the way, Duane is somewhere in Mexico as I write this - boardsailing. Rock on Duane.
Roger
Greg Enders Sportsmanship Award
…your time has come to shine
All your dreams are on their way
See how they shine….
If you need a friend,,,
I’m sailing right behind…..
Greg Enders was the guy who was always greeting new sailors, helping them feel at home in the group. He was also a top notch sailor who won by sailing well. He was a good sport on the water and an ambassador for the club off the water. He was also one of my very best friends.
Greg died suddenly of unexplained causes in 2002. It is believed that he had a severe reaction to some cholesterol medicine. He went from fine to gone in a week. He was way too young.
Greg turned into Geg after Katie (his niece) started to talk and she couldn’t pronounce her R’s. We sometimes modified it even further to The Gegster. We figured if it was good enough for Katie, it was good enough for us. And so for his close friends, Greg became Geg. Greg had a way of always resolving a conflict. He was always fair and didn't need to resort to "rules play" to win. He was that good. And so, the phrase "Do the Geg Thing" was born. It meant "do the right thing".
Geg was an accomplished skier, sailor and mountain biker. He was 2001 CRAM Michigan State Champion in his sailing class. He also skippered a 43 foot catamaran on our last trip to the Virgin Islands. This sailboat was so big it had a door wall. It was a big boat. He loved Corvettes and old music. I can remember a party at Geg and Carol’s house where we hung out in the foyer and danced to the old stuff until the wee hours of the morning. What a great night.
Greg was heavily involved in our sailing club. He was a past-Commodore and a Newsletter Editor for several years (when no one else was willing to take the job). He was also Fleet Captain for his class of boat, Race Committee….and the list goes on. He always just stepped in to make things happen.
What will I remember most about Geg?
• His silly little trot when he would come up to get a trophy. He got trophies a lot so we saw his trot quite often.
• His outrageous beach pants. I guess this was Geg’s wild side coming out. When I saw these, I knew the regatta weekend had begun.
• His attitude. He was always positive. I can probably count on one hand the times I have seen him actually mad at someone. He was always the mediator, the level head, the guy everybody ended up listening to. God knows he pulled me back many times before I said something I would regret to someone.
• I will always remember his unconditional friendship.
And so you see, this is an extremely important award. The winners are acknowledged for "Doing the Geg Thing".
The winners are:
2002: Harold Burns | 2009: Glenn Koenigbauer | 2016: Keith Schwark |
2003: Matt Struble | 2010: Chris Tuckfield | 2017: Keith Schwark |
2004: Bill Westrick | 2011: Ed Cunningham | |
2005: Bill Gillespie | 2012: Ian Lindahl | |
2006: Matt Struble | 2013: Wayne Tetlow |
|
2007: Mike Wisniewski | 2014: Ron Kramer | |
2008: Bill Gillespie | 2015: Chris Tuckfield |
We all miss you Geg. You’ll always be in our thoughts.
Roger
Jason Cox Youth Award
Jason Cox was the young son of Jim and Carolyn Cox. If you were involved in CRAM in the 80's and 90's, you knew them. Jim and Carolyn were heavily involved in the club, working on Hospitality, Race Committee and Fleet Captain duties.
Young Jason was involved as well, crewing on anyone's boat he could snag a ride on. Jason was always the one seen smiling from ear to ear on the race course. He was an excellent sailor, and loved the sport.
Jason also had severe diabetes. He succumbed to the disease at a very young age. It was a huge loss to the CRAM family.
Jason is remembered with this youth award. It celebrates the young people in our club who exude the same kind of enthusiasm for the sport.
--Roger
Past Winners
1995: Leah Burns | 2003: Jenny Inwood | 2011: Jessica Schnable |
1996: Leah Burns | 2004: Frank Burns | 2012: Jessica Schnable |
1997: Leah Burns | 2005: Samantha Hilk | 2013: Collin Rehm |
1998: Laura Egerdal | 2006: Jessica Hilk | 2014: Jessica Schnable |
1999: Marc Kennedy | 2007: Hunter Soullier | 2015: Ian Glenn |
2000: Lindsay Hall | 2008: Austin Lee | 2016: Kaitlyn Glenn |
2001: Samantha Hilk | 2009: Not Presented | 2017: Liam Walz |
2002: Chris Batchelor | 2010: Austin Lee |