Oak Hollow Lake – High Point Rowing Club celebrated the youth rowing program at the annual Spring Crew Banquet last night by honoring the rowers and in particular the high school seniors who will graduate in just weeks from now.
Following a delicious pot luck feast, the evening’s celebrations were kicked off by Grimsley HS students, Quinn Eury and Aliute Udoka, who sang an inspiring duet version of the National Anthem, which brought many students and parents to near tears by their beautiful performance.
Mary Horan, who is parent liaison to the team and a director of the non-profit board, then proceeded with introductory remarks by thanking parents of the rowers for their generous support of the team, in particular Susie Alt and Cathy Howard for hosting the food tables at all crew regattas.
The evening then took on a humorous twist with Bishop McGuinness sophomore Emma Lloyd entertaining the audience with rower awards based on fitting superlatives. These awards have now become a popular annual tradition with the crew.
Next up chief coach Gene Kininmonth presented The York Cup to the crew that recorded the fastest time from Skeet Club bridge to Johnson Street bridge during the previous twelve months. Following this Coach Kininmonth thanked the team’s captains, Sarah Catto, Katie Ognovich, and Andrew Wright for their service to the team and then announced the new Captains for 2014, Addie Millsap, Kim Pollard, Adam Alt, and Colin Howard. Coach then presented awards to rowers for ‘Most Improved’, ‘Rookie of the Year’, and ‘Rower of the Year’.
The most important part of the ceremonies then arrived as seniors Catherine Thompson, Sarah Catto, and Katie Ognovich were honored and thanked for their service to the crew. Emotions ran high as the three seniors each made stirring speeches, each reflecting on their own personal experiences of High Point Rowing Club.
