News
Crew Team Dedicates Bench to Simmons Quad
Date Posted: Wednesday, May 06, 2009
Posting Categories: Athletics News;Crew
Simmons Crew athletes, coaches, parents and Department of Athletics staff gathered on the main campus on Tuesday afternoon to unveil and dedicate a bench for the new Simmons quad.
Using proceeds from the annual Crew Erg-A-Thon fundraiser, a one day indoor rowing marathon, the team of 37 rowers dedicated the hand-crafted bench as thanks to the Simmons community for last October’s 30 Years of Simmons Crew celebration.
Julia Burns (Port Chester, N.Y.), a sophomore member of the team, and her family built the bench by hand, and the team sanded and finished it together prior to the dedication.
Each year the team runs an Erg-A-Thon to raise funds for their annual training trip to Florida, and each year part of the proceeds are earmarked for a worthy cause. In 2008, the team donated funds to Breast Cancer research, and in 2009, the rowers decided to help jumpstart the completion of the new main campus quad.
Senior tri-captain Rachel Franchi (Athol, Mass.) spoke to the small gathering, along with Burns and Director of Athletics Ali Kantor, and Head Crew Coach Nikolay Kurmakov.
"Six months ago we gathered here to dedicate a new boat for the Crew Team," said Franchi. "The symmetry of this evening is very appropriate as we gather to say thank you again with a gift of our own, and we hope students and faculty will enjoy it for years to come."