CCC WOR Wins American Canoe Association (ACA) 2019 Sanctioned Event of the Year Award

Posted on Posted in Announcement

I am excited to announce to the membership that the CCC has been selected as the 2019 winner of the American Canoe Association (ACA) Sanctioned Event of the Year Award for the 2019 Week of Rivers and 50th Anniversary Celebration! This national award is presented annually to the top ACA sanctioned event as nominated by the paddling public.

Each year, the ACA recognizes individuals and organizations who exemplify outstanding leadership, service, and dedication to paddlesports. The ACA has several different categories of awards recognizing exemplary contributions to education, stewardship, volunteerism, and more.

This past Saturday, I was honored to represent our club and attend the awards ceremony in Richmond, Virginia, which was part of the 2019 ACA Instructor Trainer Conference.

I want to give a huge shout out to the people who did the heavy lifting for this year’s WOR:

Tom Womble (WOR coordinator), his wife Cindy and son Robert: Our feet on the ground in Bryson City. This event would not have happened without them and all their hard work. The award will find a place of honor on their mantelpiece.

Joe Berry (Cruise Chair): Who would know about the WOR without Joe? His unending energy to promote the WOR, to build the clubs relationship with Bryson City with the Senior Care packages and Restoration House donations, and his passion for promoting club trips and involvement are infectious.

Doug (Membership Chair) and Mary (Secretary/Treasurer) Stager: Always with smiles on their faces and big hearts. Always ready to help sort out memberships on site and manage the money. Someone has to do the paperwork!

Bob Brueckner (Conservation Chair): No one has more love for a clean river. Thanks for leading Tuckasegee River cleanup, which yielded 153 bags of trash and other loose debris!

Donna Murphy (WOR Clinic Coordinator): We all know she is the bomb! Making the clinics happen with boundless positivity and energy

Mark Hoffman and Terry Markoff: Captains of the Pirates of the Tuck, the #1 family event at WOR. ARRGH!

Trip Coordinators (you know who you are): The WOR is nothing with trips. Thanks to all of you!

The rest of the Board, Staff, Partners, and Volunteers:

Angela Wiseman (Education Chair), Shane Taylor (Safety Chair), Rick Steeves (Webmaster), Michelle Bates (Member-At-Large), Paul Scrutton (Facebook Coordinator), Eliot Mintzer (King of Swag), Ben Fleming (Memorial Day Coordinator to come!), Rich Ruhlen (Easter Trip Coordinator), Paul Ferguson (Email List Coordinator), Johnson Rice (Joe Greiner Roast), Seth Cox (Great Not A Race coordinator), Mark Thompson and Son (River Board), Peter Van Gieson (CPR/First Aid clinic), Sarah Ruhlen/H2O Dreams (Instruction), Smoky Mountain Meadows Campground, Will Seeley/Joanie Lambert/Get:Outdoors, Endless River Adventures, Daniel Lassiter/US National Whitewater Center, Juliet Jacobson Kastorff/Nantahala Outdoor Center, Big Nick’s BBQ, American Whitewater, Bryson City Outdoors, Liquid Logic, Jackson Kayaks, Immersion Research, Great Outdoors Provisions, Mountain Layers Brewing Company, Werner Paddles, Shred Ready, Swain Clean, Soda Pops, Swain County High School, Great Smoky Mountains Realty, Mainspring Conservation Trust, Humanitie, The Charles Heath Gallery, and anyone I forgot!!!

Regards,

Rick Higgins, CCC President