110 Kirkhof Center1 Campus Drive

Allendale, MI 49401__________________________________________________________________________________

Hello alumni, friends, and generous supporters! Welcome back to another year of Grand Valley Rowing!

For any newcomers to the Laker Navy Alumni, welcome! I’m Faith Platz, back again for another year as your trusty Alumni Relations Coordinator, as well as serving as a Team Captain for the women and Secretary for the E-board. I’m excited to be back, and I also want to extend my gratitude to all who have expressed their satisfaction with this newsletter. I really enjoy keeping everyone in the loop of what we’re up to, and I hope to continue doing just that. I really appreciate all your support, and it makes writing these even more fun knowing my audience is so encouraging. Thank you!!

I want to begin by giving a special shout-out to one of our Assistant Coaches, Michelle Goodwin (left in picture), who was awarded with the 2016 Women’s Assistant Coach of the Year award by the American Collegiate Rowing Association (ACRA). This is a huge honor, and we look forward to Coach Michelle beginning her second year with our team. I would also like to congratulate a few of our own rowers who made the ACRA All-American teams: Ellie Peebles (pictured on right) and Austin Gentry (First Team), Christina Pavano (Second Team), Brittany Gronda (Third Team), along with Sarah Loughman and Karissa Cloud earning All-Freshman accolades. For full awards, check out this link:

http://www.americancollegiaterowing.com/Files/2016/pdf/2016%20All-American%20Press%20Release.pdf

As many of you probably know, the Laker Navy went international this summer, competing in the Women’s Henley Regatta and the Henley Royal Regatta in England. This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for everyone involved, and it was a great opportunity to represent our university at such a prestigious rowing event. Notably, our Men’s 4+ not only won at the Reading Town Regatta, but also defeated Durham University and fell only to the extraordinary crew from

Edinburgh University, one of the best there is. You can check out everything you wanted to know and more (blogs, photos, etc.) about our British adventures at our Henley page:http://www.grandvalleyrowing.com/newsite/henley2016home

After the thrill of Henley ends, most rowers head home to unwind a bit from the craziness of the season. There are, however, those that can never quite get enough of rowing. Donnie Jensen (third from right), now beginning his third year at Grand Valley, headed straight to Philadelphia after returning to the States to row for Vesper Boat Club. This summer, Donnie became a National Champion in both the Lightweight 8+ and Heavyweight 4x. Donnie’s extreme dedication to rowing is a huge asset to our team, and we are excited for him to keep contributing to our success at Grand Valley and across the nation.

This season, we would like to welcome back Spencer West to the Grand Valley Rowing Club! Spencer rowed for the Laker Navy for four years (and is probably reading this newsletter too). He will be returning to the boathouse, this time as a coach, and will be coaching the Varsity Women, along with Coach Allison Sobiech. Coach John Bancheri will continue to coach the Varsity Men, Coach Costas Ciungan will again coach the Novice Men, and Coach Michelle Goodwin will take over the Novice Women’s team this year. We are so excited for the great coaching we will receive this season, and know that with a coaching staff like this, anything is possible!

Since it is the beginning of a new school year, that means we are actively looking for new recruits to join the Grand Valley Rowing family! With one week of classes in the books, we have already begun encouraging everyone around campus to come check out the boathouse and see what we’re all about. Our Novice Call-out Meeting and presence around campus has brought interested students to us, and we are looking forward to having a great group of new faces to interact with around the boathouse. If anyone reading this is still lingering around campus, spread the word about how rewarding the rowing experience is! Be sure to check out this artice in the Grand Valley Lanthorn previewing the season:

http://www.lanthorn.com/article/2016/08/2016-rowing-preview

I also would like to give you all a heads-up about Homecoming this year. It will be on Saturday, October 15th, and we will host the annual Frosh vs. Alumni race at the Boathouse at 11am. The football game is at 4pm, and there will be a Rowing Alumni

tailgate in Parking Lot C around 1pm until game time. If you have any chance of a free weekend this fall, please try and stop by! Here’s a link with all of GVSU’s Homecoming festivities:

https://www.gvsu.edu/alumni/homecoming-130.htm

This season should be a great one, and I encourage all of you to continue pulling for the Laker Navy! Below is a link to our schedule for this season. We always appreciate the amazing alumni support we get, and I hope to see some of you at our upcoming races! We will be visiting some new territory this year, including Welland, Ontario (eh!) and Lawrence, KS. If we’re ever in your area, you are always welcome to stop by and steal some food from our food tent .

http://www.grandvalleyrowing.com/newsite/schedule

“Let those who quit striving for excellence, move over for those who will not.”

And, as always here is the link you can use in order to donate to the Grand Valley Rowing team:

https://secure.gvsu.edu/giving/give-online2.htm?fund_code=90754&fundid=90754

This will take you to a GVSU page, where there are several options. To donate to the GVSU Rowing Team:

1. Write the amount that you would like to donate under “Gift Amount”2. Fill out the gift information below, and click Continue3. Fill out the Billing Information and click Continue4. Checkout with payment information

Your gift will be donated into the general team fund, called the “Crew Fund.” This money goes towards food for the athletes on team trips, equipment like oars and cox boxes, and reduces the costs of

travel to all of the high profile events we attend. These donations help our team greatly and in many ways. The Paul Springer Scholarship Endowment is also available to donate to. It is a fund created to build a monetary base in order to award a scholarship that will be given out in a few years. If you would like to donate to this fund, click the link, then under “Search Funds” search for “Paul Springer.” Then click “Add” and you can write the amount you would like to donate.

You can also donate to the GVSU Rowing team by mailing in a check. Please see the form at the end of this letter if you would like to do so. And, whether you are able to donate at this time or not, we ask you to fill out some information about yourself on this form and send it in to us. By doing this, we are able to update the history of the program and get to know the generous alumni and friends who support us. You can include news updates on yourself or those you rowed with in your time at GVSU, and I will then share these updates in future email messages. To send your check and information to the team, you can send it to the following address:

John Bancheri1 Campus Drive1110 Kirkhof CenterAllendale, MI 49401

You can make a tax deductible gift to the rowing team, and your generosity will not go unnoticed. Any amount is welcome at any time. We do not take these donations for granted, and we will highlight those who donate, no matter how large or small the amount. If your gift is larger than $500, we will give you a gift of a genuine, previously used (maybe even by you!), GVSU oar as a gift and token of our appreciation.

A heartfelt thank you goes out to all the individuals who have already donated and helped continue to work towards our goals! We truly appreciate your generosity and consideration. We could not have gotten this far without your kindness and generosity, and can only go on with your continued support. If you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you very much!

Lastly, don’t forget to follow us on our social media front! You can find frequent updates, tons of pictures, and even GoPro videos of practice!

Twitter: “Grand Valley Rowing” https://twitter.com/gvsurowing Instagram: “Grand Valley Rowing Club” http://instagram.com/grandvalleyrowingclub Facebook: “Grand Valley Rowing Club” https://www.facebook.com/GrandValleyRowingClub YouTube: “Grand Valley Rowing”

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMWgXybPBzEBnuyJykz4q9Q Check out this team cheer with our alumni: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnsKKXgHu2M

Sincerely,

Faith Platz ‘182015-2016 Alumni Relations CoordinatorB.S. Statistics/EconomicsGrand Valley State University Rowing Club

“Grand Valley State University Rowing Club challenges its student-athletes to reach the highest level to which they aspire both academically and athletically,

while continuing to build and sustain a nationally competitive intercollegiate rowing program.”

Please print out this form and fill it out, whether you are able to donate at this time or not. We would love to hear from you and get to know our supporters. I can then share this news and information in future email updates.

Your name _________________________________

Year of graduation __________

Number of years rowed _________

Boats you have been in _________________________________

□ I would like to donate $______ to the GVSU Rowing “Crew Fund.” (and my check is included in this letter)

□ I cannot donate at this time, but keep me in mind in the future.

Recent news, updates, information, or interesting points about yourself or those I rowed with in

my time at GVSU.

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