Newsletter July 2022 – Social

The Rensselaer Crew Alumni Association (RCAA) aims to support, encourage, and advance the growth of both the current team and its alumni through fundraisers and networking events. 

It’s summertime, and we hope that you all are enjoying the warm water, sunny days, and vacations. 

George Gershwin wrote “Summertime” in his musical Porgy and Bess. Here are some alternate lines that can bring back hopefully fond memories: 

Summertime and practice starts early, 
Coach is yelling, 
and my oar feels too long. 
I’m not awake yet, 
but I’m on the water. 
If I catch a crab, 
I think I’ll cry. 
One of these mornings
You're going to wake up rowing.
Then you'll get in swing, 
And you'll take the lead. 
But till that morning
you‘ll keep on rowing
With cox and coach standing by.

 Head of the Charles Regatta 2022 

On your marks. Get ready. HOCR! The Head of the Charles returns for the October tradition in Boston on the 21-23rd. 

Interested in attending? How about pulling an oar?! RCAA is soliciting interest in entering a boat in HOCR (in prior years, we have entered a 4). Please complete this form so we have your contact info and can judge interest. This does not commit you to a seat but is purely to judge interest. Once we have enough interest, we will send out a call for a $50 refundable deposit to confirm your seat.

While we “love that muddy water” of the Charles River, RCAA plans to participate in various ways including volunteering, cheering, food, and general fun times, especially after the race at the annual post HOCR mixer (location TBD). Join us for a fun weekend to catch up with old and new friends, see teams from around the world and of all types, and enjoy Boston.

Summer Zoom Happy Hour returns

RCAA is hosting a Zoom happy hour on  2 Aug 7PM EST (moved from 27 July. Sorry for any confusion). Please join us to catch up with your friends, chat with the Board, make plans for HOCR and other events. We look forward to seeing you!

Check your email or FB for the link. Want to attend but aren’t a member yet? Sign up

RPI Crew Merch – Stickers & Pint Glasses 

Outfit your bar, water bottle, or car with RPI Crew pint glasses and stickers available on the RCAA website! 

The pint glasses have the RPI Crew “R” etched into the glass. They’re $10 each plus shipping (via USPS, rates vary depending on quantity ordered and location).

The stickers are also the RPI Crew “R” in full color. They’re screen printed on white vinyl and are durable bumper sticker material. They’re the same look as the stickers that the team sold a few years ago but on better material. These are perfect for your car, water bottle, travel mug, or laptop! Stickers are $5.00 each including first class USPS shipping. 

Annual Meeting

RCAA held its annual meeting on April 5, 2022 online. Elections were held and, following vote counts and officer selections on May 10, the results are: 

RCAA Boardmembers: 

Paul Lewandowski ‘89 – President
Andrew Rainville ‘17 – Vice President
Dan Catranis ‘16 – Treasurer
Bob Strobel ‘88 – Secretary
Nao Nozawa ‘13 – Alumni Relations Director

We look forward to meeting you at the July 27th social and at HOCR!

Newsletter – January 2019

Upcoming dates

  • [RCAA] Nominations Due – March 1
  • [Team] Mohawk Meltdown (combined effort with Niskayuna HS, replacement for ADKs) – March 2
  • [RCAA] Voting – March 3-March 16
  • [RCAA] Annual Meeting – March 24
  • [Team] States – May 4

In this newsletter

  • Elections & Annual Meeting
  • New Team Leadership
  • Head of the Charles 2018 Recap
  • Team’s Fall 2018 Results
  • RCAA Financial Report
  • Looking to Become a 501(c)(3)
  • Coaching Positions Available
  • Stickers & Pint Glasses
  • Social Media

Dear Alumni,

Happy New Year! We hope that you had a wonderful holiday and have been getting your meters in on the erg! Read on for information on the upcoming RCAA elections and annual meeting, an introduction to the new RPI Crew Officer Team, a recap of the Fall 2018 season, and an update on RCAA financials.

— RCAA Board of Directors

Continue reading “Newsletter – January 2019”

“R” with oar stickers for sale!

Rensselaer Crew "R" with oar sticker
Rensselaer Crew “R” with Oar Sticker

We now have stickers for sale! They are nice durable stickers of the “R” with the oar through it (same graphic as the back of the novice shirts) screen printed on white vinyl and cut out to the shape of the graphic!

They’re perfect for putting on your laptop, coffee mug, bike, etc.! Check it out in action below!

Sticker on battery pack

Head on over to its product page to buy one (or many)!

HOCR 2018 Athlete Profile: Paul Lewandowski

Next up is Paul, who is back for his second year to represent RCAA at the Charles! Welcome back, Paul!

Name: Paul Lewandowski 
Graduation Year: 1989
Major: Architecture
Hometown: Lewiston, Maine
Current City: Portland, Maine
Career Field/Occupation:   Principal at Scott Simons Architects 
Still Rowing?: Yes!  Portland Community Rowing Association in Portland’s Casco Bay
Fun Fact/Additional Comment: This is my second HOCR regatta with RCAA!  Looking forward to representing Rensselaer again!

 

HOCR 2018 Athlete Profile: Jay Valenta

Our next alumni athlete introduction is Jay! This year is his first time in the RCAA alumni boat and we’re very excited to have him represent us!

Name: Jay Valenta
Graduation Year: 1994
Major: Architecture
Hometown: West Milford, NJ
Current City: Weston, MA
Career Field/Occupation: Real Estate Investment
Still Rowing?: Not consistently, unaffiliated.
Fun Fact/Additional Comment: Avid mountain biker, skier.

HOCR 2018 Athlete Profile: Vanessa Ferrari

We’d like to introduce you all to our alumni who will be rowing in the RCAA boat at the 2018 Head of the Charles Regatta! We’ll start off with our coxswain, Vanessa! She was our coxswain last year for our alumni boat and had so much fun that she’s back!

Name: Vanessa (Charvet) Ferrari 
Graduation Year: 1996
Major: Electrical Engineering
Hometown: Brooklyn, NY
Current City: Shrewsbury, MA
Career Field/Occupation: Director of Program and Project Management Technology at TIAA
Still Rowing? (if so, where?): Quinsigamond Rowing Club (QRC) out of Donahue Rowing Center 
Fun Fact: I also run a MINI Cooper event called “MINIs On Top” where 300+ MINIs gather and ascend the Mount Washington Auto Road. It’s a weekend long event with live music, games, prizes, rallies and lots of car fun.

We are very excited to have her as our coxswain again!

Head of the Fish 2018 Signups!

Signups for the Head of the Fish 2018 alumni boat are open now! We will be entering a race scheduled for ~10 am on Saturday, Oct 27. Please fill out the form below to sign up!

This is open to both men and women and is a free event! The team will be covering the entry free for our boat. We are looking for 8 rowers and a coxswain!

    We will only use this information if we need to contact you on the day of the race.

    Newsletter – October 2018

    Upcoming dates

    • October 20-21: HOCR & Social
    • October 27: Head of the Fish Alumni Row
    • Early 2019: RCAA board elections

    In this newsletter

    • Team’s Fall 2018 Schedule
    • Head of the Charles Regatta 2018
    • Head of the Charles Social
    • New Team Coach – Scott Meade ’92
    • Team Looking to Hire Two Additional Coaches
    • Viking Rigger Crowdfunding
    • Head of the Fish Alumni Boat
    • Social Media
    • Looking to become a 501(c)(3)

    Dear Alumni, 

    We (both RCAA and the team) are in the midst of our busiest season! Read below for some updates and for the sign up link for Head of the Fish!

    Thanks,
    — RCAA Board of Directors

    Continue reading “Newsletter – October 2018”

    Newsletter – August 2018

    Upcoming dates

    • September 1: HOCR lottery results
    • September: Breakfast at the Boathouse – late September, exact date and time TBD
    • October 20-21: HOCR & social
    • October 27: Head of the Fish Alumni Row
    • Early 2019: RCAA board elections

    In this newsletter

    • RPI Rower Michael Landuyt Selected to US National Team for World Championships
    • Head of the Charles Regatta 2018 Boat Entry
    • Head of the Charles Social
    • Treasurer’s Report 
    • Looking to Become a 501(c)(3)
    • Viking Rigger Crowdfunding
    • Head of the Fish Alumni Boat 

    Dear Alumni,

    As usual, the fall is a busy time for both the RPI Crew Team and RCAA! Please read on for some information on upcoming fall events.

    Thanks,
    — RCAA Board of Directors Continue reading “Newsletter – August 2018”