60 Women for 60 Girls on the Water

It was a wonderful day at the Row New York boathouse in Queens this morning. We launched "60 Women for 60 Girls" about a month ago in an effort to get more women involved with Row New York. We're not up to 60 yet, but I'm confident we'll get there. For now, we have a great group of 14. 

The group met at the boathouse this morning to learn to row with help from experienced Row New York girls. Cherylyn Ahrens and Jessica Rispoli already know their way around a boat (that's an understatement as they are both accomplished oarswomen), but for the rest, this was their first time in a boat. 

We took a few minutes for everyone to meet. This was after sending the gaggle of children and fathers off to the playground while "mom rowed." See the picture on this blog of Mandy with her four beautiful children (one more is on the way!). 

Personally, I really enjoyed hearing the women talk to the girls about their own histories and where they are now. They confirmed that, indeed, the path from point A to point B is certainly a winding one. And, as Cherylyn pointed out, we should all enjoy the trip. 

The girls talked too. We got to hear about where they go to school and what they want to become and why they row. I will never tire of hearing the answer to the last question. To get strong, to be on the water, to learn to push myself. Good lessons for us all. 

Anyway, after plenty of bagels and coffee and talking, we hit the water for an hour. The Row NY girls helped teach the new rowers how to get their blades in the water and, I have to say, I was impressed. Sheila, Meredith, Jen, and Mandy got it pretty quickly. They're clearly athletic, fit, and determined so that definitely helped. 

So, thank you all....Row New York girls and women from 60 for 60, we're off to a great start! 

The Annual Huntington Barbecue

People might think that being on the board of a non-profit organization is limited to fundraising, attending meetings, helping with oversight, etc. It's a little known fact that Row New York's board members don't stop there. The annual Huntington barbecue (hosted by David Huntington, Sarah Pfuhl, and little Scarlett and Charlie) is a perfect example. 

Poor David and Sarah, I don't think they knew that the barbecue they put together in 2005 would quickly become christened an "annual" event by the Row New York girls. I put the blame on the girls here, but the truth is, it's one of my favorite days of the year too. 

David grills about 500 cheeseburgers and Sarah makes amazing brownies and the beauty of a group of teenagers, among other things, is that they are perfectly capable of entertaining themselves (and others). It doesn't hurt that the Huntington's house is located in Millbrook, NY on rolling green hills overlooking a stream. 

Previn brought his guitar so there was singing, Wyatt brought his extra large red plastic bat and huge purple ball so "ball sport challenged rowers" were capable of successfully playing wiffle ball, and there was the usual hyper competitive game of ultimate Frisbee too. Ports Vs Starboards. Go ports! 

Thanks David and Sarah, for another beautiful day!

See you next year :) 

An NBC Internship for a Row NY Grad!

Simone D'Abreu (Row NY class of '08) just finished her freshman year at Smith College. Actually, she's still up in Massachusetts training with the women's crew. Thanks to Lee Crain at NBC and the introduction by Row NY board member, Derek Chang at DirecTV, Simone will start an internship with the marketing department this summer. Go Simone!

Welcome to the Row New York Blog

Welcome! A lot of people have been asking for more Row NY updates. Where are the girls getting into college? How did they do at States? How is Seymour doing? We (well, Mike really!) created this blog so our followers, fans, funders, families (I can't think of any more "f"s) can see what's happening at Row New York.

Here's the latest re-cap (thanks to Previn and Austin):

State Championship regatta: 


Varsity 4+: Silver medal in the club four division - second year in a row! 


Both novices 8s finished in the top 10 
...great results!

College Acceptances ($ = full scholarship): 


Charlotte - SUNY Binghamton ($)

Amber - Smith College 


Camille - University of Central Florida ($)

Jodie - NYU

Rachel - Fordham University ($)

Rose - Lehigh University 


Stephanie - Rutgers University ($) 


Another year, another 100% of the seniors off to college!

News coverage: NBC4 did a great piece a couple weeks back