Distinguished Volunteers
Jacque Knight
With great pleasure, we recognize Jacque Knight as a Mount Vernon Yacht Club Distinguished Volunteer.
Jacque has for many years been the organizing force and coordinator of MVYC's annual Commissioning Day festivities that provide us with the ceremonial start of our boating season. Her tireless efforts not only get us all dressed in our best nautical blues and whites for one special day, but also bring to the Club an array of local dignitaries, official color guards and other special guests who make the occasion a complete delight. Perhaps more importantly, Jacque has an apparent direct connection with the weather gods who, with the exception of one year in recent memory, have blessed the event with fair skies and sunshine. As one of the dignitaries noted at a recent Commissioning, "No one would dare rain on Jacque's day."
In addition to her service as the guru of Commission Day, for several years, Jacque (along with her husband Ed as delegate) has also devoted countless hours and many miles of travel representing the Club in connection with the Chesapeake Bay Yacht Club Association (CBYCA). The CBYCA is an organization composed of more than 100 yacht clubs located in the five states that border the Chesapeake whose mission is to represent the interests of recreational boaters in Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey and matters affecting the well being of the Chesapeake watershed. Jacque has served on the Board of CBYCA for several years as Legislative
Director for the state of Virginia in which capacity she works closely with local officials and the Virginia Legislature on many matters of interest to Virginia boaters and CBYCA. She has also served on two Committees of great importance to the boating community: the Boating Infrastructure Grants Committee–an agency of the State of Virginia; and the Virginia Recreational Vessel Subcommittee which works with U. S. Coast Guard, the Coast Guard Auxiliary, maritime police interests and representatives of the Virginia boating community on homeland security and boating safety concerns.
Jacque and Ed moved to the Mount Vernon area in the in early 1990's and have been members of MVYC since 1994. In addition to her efforts on our annual Commissioning Days and her work with CBYCA, Jacque was elected to the MVYC Board and served as its Secretary during the mid-1990s. When the Club was renovated, Jacque was asked to chair the Committee to select the interior decorations for the new clubhouse. The results were the great success that we enjoy today.
Jacque's background is in journalism and the political world. After completing her studies in journalism at the University of Nebraska in the early 1960's, Jacque moved east to accept a position as a reporter for the Miami Herald. She had many interesting assignments, culminating in being given the role as Bureau Chief for the Herald in Key West, Florida. She covered many interesting events and personalities, including in particular the Cuban Missile Crisis during which Jacque was directed by the newspaper to go to the local naval air station and to fly on
a naval observation plane to cover the crisis in real time and to take videos, from the belly of the aircraft, of the Soviet vessels transporting these missiles near the coast of Cuba. Her film, immediately sent to CBS News and shown that night, proved to be one of the principal archival records of the event.
Following her stint with the Herald, Jacque also worked for newspapers in Charleston, South Carolina and Norfolk, Virginia and as a reporter for Public Television in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. When she moved to Northern Virginia, Jacque worked for the Alexandria Gazette (then a daily newspaper) for ten years, covering civic affairs in both Alexandria and Fairfax County. She also did investigative reporting. After that, she served as press secretary for Congresswoman Virginia Smith of Nebraska, the ranking minority member of the House Committee on Appropriations. Later, Jacque also served as the Director of Public Affairs for the Food Safety and Inspection
Service (FSIS) where she acted as that agency's principal spokesperson. This job became particularly challenging during the Ecoli scare that affected meat products, and the mad cow disease problem in Great Britain. Over the years, Jacque and Ed have taken many shortand longterm trips on their sailboat, "Knight Passage", and they look forward to many more years of exploring the Potomac and the Bay.
Please join us in expressing our great thanks and appreciation to Jacque for all of her wonderful contributions to MVYC.
Jim Hamrick
The Mount Vernon Yacht Club Board of Trustees has recognized Past Commodore Jim Hamrick with its Distinguished Volunteer award. In addition to his years on the MVYC Board Jim was involved in a many activities that predate much of the current Club's membership. Recalling Jim's contributions, several long-time members offered specifics that I would like to share with you. The following was provided by Past Commodores Bonnie Breneman and Jerry Skelly, whose recollection of club events and activities reaches back farther than my own:
When Jim was serving as Jerry Skelly's Rear Commodore, they worked together vigorously to plan and build the clubhouse we now have. Jim headed the planning committee for the re-building of the house and supervised the reconstruction—very substantial efforts, for which Jerry expresses special gratitude. Jim acted as our general contractor (even though we paid a lot of money for one) during the design, demolition and rebuild of the house that was completed in 2001. Jim lived and breathed the house project for two years and was the driving force behind the wonderful facility we now enjoy. He sweet-talked the membership into more spending than we ever thought we could afford—just by explaining to us how it was possible! His banking skills were an enormous help, and he worked with the bank to turn our plans into reality. He was the inspiration for the Marina of the Future after Hurricane Isabel, which got the membership behind the major upgrades and repairs the club was able to complete while Bonnie was commodore. Jim's chairmanship of the Long Term Planning Committee has been quite successful in gaining membership support because of his positive attitude and down-to-earth presentations. He is able to translate information or proposals that seem convoluted, complex, or too expensive into straightforward plans that make sense. Jim is a thoughtful mentor for leadership in a volunteer organization. He backs up his critiques and suggestions with positive actions that help us as a club to move forward. Jim's parliamentary expertise arises from his own intellectual curiosity; he studied Robert's Rules of Order and condensed the really usable and relevant parts into a document that applies to organizations like ours. He made the Rules a relevant tool to use for sticky meeting situations, which helps keep the momentum going and the discourse positive. Jim and his crew have always been the providers of Yellow Birds (a delicious punch with a potent kick) at our annual down-river event—a unifying activity first suggested and organized by Red Brown. Jim even provided the traditional punch and sent it along with Bonnie one year when he couldn't be there! In addition to helping to secure financing for the construction of the new clubhouse, Jim was instrumental in structuring the long-term mortgage and the line of credit that we now use to flatten out the spikes in MVYC's revenue and expenses throughout the year. As Commodore for the past two years, I have relied on Jim for practical financial, political, social, and boating advice during my stewardship of the Club. His counsel has been invaluable. Jim also serves on the neighborhood advisory board for the Mount Vernon Estates and Gardens. In addition, he is a published author (“Dr. Asberry Wiggins: A Secret Long Kept, Stories Once Told”) as well as an accomplished musician who lends his talents to weekly musical sessions with other club members and neighbors.
Please join me in thanking Jim Hamrick for his service to MVYC and the community.
And Jim, thanks for the Yellow Birds!
Bill Gard
Don Basham
The Mount Vernon Yacht Club Board of Trustees has recognized Don Basham with the Distinguished Volunteer award. The Mount Vernon Yacht Club Board of Trustees has recognized Don Basham with its Distinguished Volunteer award. Don started his volunteer efforts several years ago by repairing a number of pieces of furniture around the clubhouse. For the last two summers Don has single-handedly repaired many of the picnic benches on the grounds and has refinished most of them. He has fixed the ice machine in the bar room and he even resurrected an old, discarded ice maker and got it working again. Don took over hosting TGIFs when Joan Jones was disabled and continues to consistently contribute to the TGIF experience. He’s served on security committees, presenting a risk assessment report to the Board last March and the Security Committee’s report to the MVYC Membership last May. Don has donated security equipment and he provides security services to the club whenever asked. In addition, Don has been active in the Wounded Warrior picnics for the last few years and took the lead in organizing boat rides for the soldiers and their families. Don is also an Oktoberfest party volunteer. Don recently volunteered to serve on the MVYC Board of Trustees and was nominated as a Director by the search committee. You have to be careful around Don, though. If you start musing out loud about something that needs doing around the club, Don will have it done before you can finish your thought. Please join me and the Board in thanking Don for his many contributions to the Club and the community.
John Leary
The Mount Vernon Yacht Club Board of Trustees has recognized John Leary with the Distinguished Volunteer award for years of significant contributions to the club. According to Bonnie Breneman, John was one of the first “next generation” members, who after growing up in and around Mount Vernon Yacht Club, then being away from the neighborhood for a few years, came back as an adult to join us again. Because of his strength and agility, he can often be seen in a bosun's chair at the top of someone else's mast doing something or other! He is also our resident lock & key specialist—his advice and counsel being particularly valuable during our recent security upgrades. As a security professional, John frequently contributes his expertise to keeping the club and its contents protected and secure. He never charges the club for his services and just recently installed the magnetic locks on the pedestrian gate that leads into the club’s parking lot. John is now working on procuring and installing magnetic locks on the vehicle entrance and exit gates.John participates in Commissioning Day activities as artillery officer, firing the canon at the specified moments, and he has been observed single-handedly lowering and raising the flagpole at the Point to help effect repairs to lines and pulleys. John also helps organize the annual 4th of July softball game and is noted for playing the whole game barefoot.John leads MVYC’s efforts in participating in the annual Leukemia Cup Regatta and charity event in remembrance of his friend Tony Wassell (the late son of MVYC members Ann and Des Wassell) who died of leukemia in 1994 at the age of 34. John raises money every year by sailing in the regatta with Tony’s brother Steve and some of Tony’s boyhood friends.Please join me and the Board in thanking John for his many contributions to the Club and the community.
Ernie Dauray
The MVYC Board of Trustees has voted to award the Mount Vernon Yacht Club's Distinguished Volunteer Award to Ernie Dauray. The following write up of Ernies contributions was provided by Past Commodore Bonnie Breneman:
Ernie joined MVYC in 1977 and he is now at #16 among the most senior Members. But you'd never guess he's a "senior" because he brings the energy of the best & brightest new member to many projects around the Club. Deck replacement, painting, plumbing repair, grounds cleanup, fuel dock duty, TGIF host, you name it and Ernie's probably in the thick of it, quietly getting it done. During the rebuild, reconfiguration and re-decking of the floating docks in 2005-2006, Ernie's uncountable hours of hard work and expertise were of inestimable value. He recently took the lead in repairing water pipes damaged by our harsh winter and in a flash, it was done! Ernie spent a Sunday afternoon recently installing and adjusting the new full-length lift gates into the parking lot. And when he's not at MVYC, he's probably doing the same kind of chores at the "Boat Club" as he refers to his other beloved hang out, Old Dominion Boat Club. Even though Ernie is on the Board at the Boat Club serving as House Chair, he still manages to get things done at MVYC.
When it comes to volunteers, Ernie is the quintessential member of the team he just shows up and does what needs to be done, no fuss, no muss (unless, of course, you count the tools and parts he manages to drop into the creek). Although tools may be lost, MVYC is a winner with Ernie working on site. Committee Chairs take note if you have an upcoming project, make sure Ernie Dauray knows about it, it'll be finished before you know it.
Next time you see Ernie, please say thanks for his contributions to the club.
Gene Diotalevi
The MVYC Board of Trustees has voted to award the Mount Vernon Yacht Club's Distinguished Volunteer Award to Gene Diotalevi. Gene is a former board member who has continued to serve as Communications Director for the past several years.
Gene is the guy who cranks out all the emails about upcoming events, sends informational communiqués (including the Commodore's Communiqués) to the membership, fields members' replies and forwards them to the appropriate director or officer. Gene helps ensure that club-wide emails are appropriate for club-wide dissemination.
Gene is a U. S. Coast Guard Branch Chief and a nautical professional who keeps the club current on any U. S. Government developments on boating initiatives. When MVYC members plan an extended cruise, Gene often spends time with them to help plan the trip, ensuring the best navigational approach for the journey.
Gene was the inspiration behind the low cost Lobster Fest cookouts held the last several years at the Point. Gene uses his briny connections to make sure we get the best price for the coveted crustaceans and keep the price of admission to the event reasonable.
Gene is a Potomac River Yacht Club Association Member at Large and is one of several MVYC members active in that organization.
Gene helps the Commissioning Day team schedule the Coast Guard Drill Team for their performance at that annual event. Finally, Gene has been instrumental in coordinating the Wounded Warrior cookouts that MVYC has held in the last few years. Gene makes sure he contacts the right folks in the military so that the soldiers get all the information they need to participate.
Please join me in thanking Gene for his service to the club.
Bonnie Breneman
The MVYC Board of Trustees has voted to award the Mount Vernon Yacht Club's Distinguished Volunteer Award to Bonnie Breneman. Bonnie is a long-time club member and a recent Past Commodore who also held several board positions leading up to her election as Commodore. During Bonnie's tenure in that position, her significant accomplishments included implementing the Marina of the Future project in the wake of Hurricane Isabel, and the planning and implementation of MVYC's 50th Reunion gala. The Marina of the Future project included relocating C and D docks, converting A and B docks to floating docks, and rebuilding Outer W. Bonnie continues to contribute, serving on the MVYC Membership Committee where she keeps the membership records and finances in order and drives the annual membership renewal effort. Bonnie also is MVYC's liaison to the Potomac River Yacht Club Association (PRYCA), participates actively in Power Fleet event planning, and acts as treasurer for the periodic Club-wide cookouts on the point. Bonnie's diligence has contributed greatly to keeping these events in the black. (So consider yourself warned-- don't try to get in without paying!)
Please join me in thanking Bonnie for her service to the club.
Claudia Reinsel
The MVYC Board of Trustees has awarded the Mount Vernon Yacht Clubs Distinguished Volunteer Award to Claudia Reinsel. Claudia has spent several years on the Social Committee and has served during the past year as chair of that committee. As a key contributor to many of the clubs most popular social occasions, Claudia was instrumental in helping organize two relatively new eventsthe MVYC Sock Burning party and the Wounded Warriors picnic. Our sock burning party, now several years old, roughly coincides with the vernal equinox and signifies the start of the boating season. Ergo, no more socks are necessary, and we may as well burn em up. Claudia has remained instrumental in planning and implementing that popular annual event. In 2008, MVYC held its first Wounded Warriors picnic on the point for injured service men and women (and their families) from Walter Reed Army Medical Center as well as Fort Belvoirs Warrior in Transition organization. We provide food, refreshments, boat rides, fishing and use of our pool to all those who attend. Claudia has been central to the planning of this wonderful event and keeps things running smoothly during the picnic.
Claudia can always be counted on to provide a reasoned rationale in planning the years upcoming social calendar and in setting dates for specific events, and she has been a great resource in arriving at the most logical compromises when conflicts occur. Through it all, she maintains her sweet and sunny disposition.
A special tribute is due Claudia who stayed on as Social Chair during the last year while helping her husband Ron recover from the effects of a mild stroke. It wasnt easy, but Claudia juggled both responsibilities so well that Ron is pretty much back to being his handsome, healthy self, and we at the club have enjoyed a great social year.
Please join me in thanking Claudia for her service to the club as well as keeping Ron in fighting trim.
Jim Borches
The MVYC Board of Trustees has awarded the Mount Vernon Yacht Club's Distinguished Volunteer Award to Jim Borches. Jim is a former board member who continuously lends his craftsman's talents to projects of all kinds around the club. Among other things, he's repaired plumbing leaks on docks, leveled toilets, installed drinking fountains, beefed up partitions in rest rooms, replaced cap boards on sea walls and lots more things folks may not be aware of. In addition to hands-on carpentry and plumbing work, Jim fashions and repairs MVYC marine canvas and upholstery items (pool umbrellas, dinghy covers, etc.). Jim recently rebuilt and repainted the MVYC Boston Whaler dinghy and rebuilt and painted its trailer. (That's the dinghy we use as a cooler to hold beverages at parties and on Commissioning Day.). Jim ran a big project a few years ago that "leveled" the swimming pool, and by acting as general contractor, he saved the club thousands of dollars in construction costs. Jim also made sure the security fence around the pool met Fairfax County's inspection requirements by installing reinforcing pipes along the bottom of the fence.
Every winter Jim takes the lead in assembling, organizing and even repairing the bubblers that keep the marina from freezing over and prevent ice damage to hulls.
Recently Jim managed a security study for the club that resulted in a comprehensive report that provided recommendations for ensuring the integrity of the grounds and house and how to limit liability. Jim finished off his work on the security study by putting up new "No Trespassing" signs around the club grounds.
Jim also lends his talents to the wider community - he has been volunteering several days a week at the Alexandria Seaport Foundation, using his considerable teaching experience and craftsman's expertise to impart skills in carpentry and the use of tools to troubled inner-city youths.
Please join me in thanking Jim for his outstanding service to the club and to the community.
Jim Nelson
The MVYC Board of Trustees voted to award the Mount Vernon Yacht Club's Distinguished Volunteer Award to Jim Nelson. Jim is a long-time club member and former board member who volunteers not only his own personal services, but who also donates equipment and labor from his company, Woodlawn Tree Service, to help out on grounds cleanup days as well as other efforts. Jim sends equipment and skilled workers to do special jobs like removing deadhead logs from the launch ramp, clearing brush from the out lot, thinning and shaping trees on the grounds, and working on the flagpole at the point.
Recently Jim and one of his employees came to the club in Woodlawns bucket truck and worked on securing the Clubs burgee to the top of the flagpole. Jim went up with the employee, and worked on the pulleys, shackles and thimbles until the burgee was able to be raised and lowered easily and was hanging just right. I've seen Jim wielding a chain saw the way surgeons handle a scalpel, adjusting heights of pilings around the docks and providing a good aesthetic appearance to the marina. Jim also donates firewood for approved bonfires at the point and recently donated a substantial metal box to secure firewood for members use.
Jim has never refused a request for help and will not accept any payment for his company services. His generosity is indeed appreciated. Jim and his wife Virginia recently became the proud grandparents of a baby boy, Caden, born to their daughter Rachelle and her husband T.J. Terra.
Please join me in thanking Jim for his service to the club and congratulating him on the new arrival.
Al Grande
The MVYC Board has awarded the Distinguished Volunteer award to Al Grande for his continuous and dedicated service to the Club.
For eight years Al managed the Club's gas dock, setting up the schedules for the volunteer pumping brigade, distributing tabulation and recording kits for accurate accounting, and manning the gas dock himself on the first and last weekends of the season, just to make sure things started up and finished properly. Al also kept close watch on the fluctuations in gasoline prices and set the price at the pump with his best projection as to where the market was going.
He negotiated prices with Fannon and always tried to get the best price possible for MVYC boaters, while making sure the club made enough profit to ensure proper maintenance of the pumping equipment and tank. When the total at the pump fell between two pennies, Al's guidance to the volunteers was always "Round UP!"
Al's meticulous record keeping was evidenced every year at the Commodore's Ball when he presented a detailed re-cap of gasoline sales by volume and gave special recognition to those members who led the Club in gas purchases. Al's report was considered one of the highlights of the Ball.
Al also monitored and recorded the sign-in roster at the monthly membership meetings and made sure that if a vote were to be taken that a quorum was present. Al and wife Claire live on Dolphin Lane and their house fronts on the lagoon adjacent to the MVYC Marina.
The next time you see him around, thank Al for his service and assure him that you will always "Round Up!"
Mary Gallaway
The Board has named Mary Galloway as the recipient of MVYC's Distinguished Volunteer award. Mary is a long-time MVYC member who has contributed her time, effort and materials in a number of ways. For the last several years Mary has contributed design expertise as well as her physical labor to the beautification of the grounds. The design of the flower beds at the boat docks and the gas dock are Mary's creation. Mary also conceived of and implemented the attractive presentation of plantings at the front of the clubhouse and along the driveway entrance. Mary chairs the yearly adult Christmas party, organizing the volunteers and refreshments, and designing and providing the arrangements for the table decorations. Mary also provides the wonderful table arrangements for the Commodore's Ball every year. Please join me in thanking Mary for her efforts when you see her.
Jim Gordon
Every year Jim Gordon volunteers a great deal of his personal time as well as the time of his work crew and they do things for the club that otherwise would cost us thousands of dollars. Here's a partial list of the things Jim does: He pressure washes the house and decks every spring; he pressure washes and seals docks; he paints rooms in the clubhouse including the pool locker rooms, he repairs holes in ceilings caused by plumbing leaks and finishes the work off perfectly; he repairs and paints anything he sees that needs to be done; and he paints flagpoles and safety barriers.
Jim also cleans the fire pit. Jim won't take any compensation and doesn't ever want any recognition for his contributions, but we can't let him keep working without acknowledging his work. So if you see Jim, tell him thanks!
Catalina and Mike Holland
Even before joining MVYC,and while still on the waiting list, Catalina and Mike Holland took on the task of designing and developing a new MVYC web site. During their first weeks of official membership, the Hollands implemented their plans and today continue to manage a web site that offers new, user friendly capabilities to the membership, and effectively promotes MVYC to a global audience.
As MVYCs Director of Communications Gene Diotalevi put it: Due to Catalina's and Mike's efforts, MVYC now has an eye-catching and professional web site continually visited and used by our membership, as well as sought out by clubs around the country. Since Catalina and Mike took over the MVYC web site, the site now averages around 10,000 page views a month. This is a testament to the continuous effort, pride and attention to detail that Catalina and Mike put into their work for MVYC!
The club values the efforts of the Hollands who constantly work to improve the web site and provide timely informational postings concerning MVYC activities. These dedicated members also handle Board communiqus to the membership, and postings of the Membership and the Board of Directors meeting minutes.
In addition to working on the Web site, Mike can always be counted on to contribute physically and intellectually to projects around the club. He helped install the cables and equipment that provide the wireless networking capabilities we enjoy in the house and around the grounds. He's always found in the middle of work crewsinstalling gates, fixing fencing, stopping plumbing leaks, setting up for parties and events, and cleaning up after them. If you see Mike around, congratulate him, offer him a beer and say, This Buds for you!
Rick Mullins
Let's start off with this month's MVYC Distinguished Volunteer--Ricky Mullins. If you've had water at your dock for the last several boating seasons, Ricky is the guy who made it happen. If you've barbequed at The Point anytime in the last few years, Ricky's the guy who rebuilt the grills – even before he was a member. If the land behind Inner W dock has stopped eroding into the basin, Ricky is the guy who's defeated the tides.
It's hard to decide if Ricky deserves the award for his non-stop, individual contributions or for his continuous attention to the seasonal needs of the Club and the Marina.
Ricky was the design inspiration behind the water systems servicing the rebuilt A and B docks, and he has configured the C and D dock water supply plumbing to the point where it's rational and easy to maintain. Ricky has guided us to the point where we can winterize and de-winterize the Marina ourselves. (Well, we still need Ricky.)
And just when you begin to think that Ricky may be mostly about plumbing, you realize that he was a major contributor to the grounds beautification efforts for the last several years, supplying plantings, top soil, sod, mulch and labor for the upgrades to the dock beds as well as the front of the clubhouse. Oh, and Ricky has helped a number of us get our boat engines running.
If you can catch up with him, thank Ricky for his great work.
Chris and Bart
Chris and Bart have been MVYC's Joy Boys publishing The BEACON for the last three years. Bart cracks the whip to ensure all contributors meet the strict deadline- "The fifteenth of the Month. No Exceptions!"-and he makes sure all articles are readable, in good taste, and consistent with MVYC standards for fairness and accuracy. Bart passes the copy to Chris who does the layout, copy fitting, and graphic work. One of Chris's special talents is to find the perfect piece of art to accompany an article and illustrate the author's point. The Beacon looks great and reads well because of these two hardworking members. Next time you see Chris or Bart, please congratulate them and thank them for their contributions.
Karan Cerutti
Karan Cerutti has been named this month's Distinguished Volunteer for her outstanding service in the social arena. Karan not only plans and sets up parties, she ensures things go well during the party, makes sure adequate refreshments are provided, and makes sure the clean-up afterwards is done properly. Many positive adjectives were used to describe Karan's service and they can be summed up with the words effusively enthusiastic. Thank you Karan!
Russell Poe
This month's Distinguished Volunteer is Russell Poe, ala "Pokey".
For many years Russell has served the club in many important roles: Santa's helper, Beer Fairy, and MVYC event photographer. Next time you see Russell, please thank him for his good work and generous spirit.
Mary Ann Holthaus and Joan Jones
The first two winners of Volunteer of the Month are Mary Ann Holthaus and Joan Jones. Mary Ann keeps the house running. Stocking supplies, cleaning the cupboards shelves and refrigerators, and keeping the place looking great. She also weeds the landscape and cleans up the yard around the house all summer.
Joan Jones is in charge of clubhouse rentals and scheduling TGIFs. Joan gets approval for rentals, collects paperwork, security deposits and the rental money. For TGIFs she organizes the appetizers and the set up of the pot luck dishes, then makes sure the place is cleaned up and as good as new when the event is over.
