Letters of Commendation Awarded in 2024
It’s lovely to announce that the following members were recognised for their contribution to the Club during the AGM, over the weekend of 1-3 November. Five awards were announced during the meeting itself, and two further awards were made during the gala dinner that evening. Many congratulations to the following, whose contributions serve to enhance the quality of the Club for our members:
Sharyn Davies – European Region
Nominated by Linda Varney who wrote: Sharyn and her husband John keep their boat, a Broom 37 Crown “Valkyrie Storm” in Nieuport, Belgium although they live on the Thames. Sharyn is a good supporter of BOC and contributes to the Facebook page. But there were two things I wished to commend her for. Firstly she employed the language skills of her friends and neighbours to produce a translation of the A5 BOC leaflet text into French and Belgian so she was able to leave these on Broom boats she came across near her marina and when cruising. And secondly, inspired by “the best table in town” she launched her own Facebook competition to identify the small objects that were indispensible to members when going cruising.
Donie Herraghty – Ireland Region
Nominated by Pete Fishwick who wrote: Donie is a long-standing member of the BOC in Ireland and has always been extremely proactive and helpful when promoting both membership of the Club and the organisation of events. He was able to provide the venue for Ireland’s event this year in June which was a huge success. Members were extremely impressed with the venue which had been secured by Donie as Commodore of the Lough Ree Yacht Club. In addition to this he assisted on the day with food shopping and preparation as well as securing mooring space and assisting with docking and positioning of the boats. Donie is a consistent supporter of the Club and has been instrumental in increasing the awareness and membership of the BOC in Ireland.
Jane Neale – Eastern Region
Nominated by Thandi Bates who wrote: I think Jane Neale of the Eastern Region should be nominated for her exceptional organisation of the Beccles Rally and significant fundraising for the RNLI, an excerpt from our heads up summarises:
“A very big thank you to Jane Neale, who was ably assisted by her husband, Richard, for organizing the event.
The event kicked off on Friday morning with more than 20 boats arriving to moor up. The weather decided to add some extra excitement, with a howling gale making the process quite the adventure! Nevertheless, the Broom Owners’ determination ensured everyone was safely docked and ready for the weekend ahead.
Saturday brought continuous rain, turning the central roadway at Beccles into a mini lake and causing water levels in the mooring basin to rise due to spring tides. However, the rain didn’t stop the RNLI from making an impact. Their stall saw £250 worth of merchandise sold, alongside nearly £20 in donations. Philip, the Water Safety Officer, also provided invaluable service by examining 50 lifejackets, ensuring everyone was well-prepared for safe boating. Southwold’s award-winning brewers and wine merchants, Adnams hosted a well-attended wine tasting on Saturday afternoon. Despite the less-than-ideal conditions, the planned barbecue went ahead. Broom Owners are nothing if not resilient, and the determination to enjoy the event shone through, with everyone gathering for a cozy BBQ. Many burgers, sausages and steaks were consumed – and even a kangaroo fillet!
Thankfully, Sunday greeted participants with sunshine, setting the stage for a fun-filled day. The treasure hunt around town was a big hit. The afternoon saw a spirited guys vs. gals’ cricket match followed by a quintessentially British treat—a strawberry cream tea. The weekend concluded with a gala dinner at the Caxton Club”
Alex Daniels – South East Region
Nominated by Antonina Lagun who wrote: I am writing to commend Alex Daniels, a distinguished member of our club for the last 18 years. Alex Daniels has recently demonstrated exceptional competence and resilience in the face of substantial technical challenges, particularly in the area of our website backend upgrades.
Collaborating with Louise, Alex undertook an extensive overhaul of our digital infrastructure. His contributions were pivotal in upgrading the website, and modernising a number of the web pages, developing an efficient AGM Weekend selling page, and producing a captivating video for the AGM weekend. These efforts were not only technical upgrades but strategic enhancements that have streamlined our operations, alleviating the workload of our volunteer members and significantly improving their ability to focus on more substantive tasks.
Alex’s diligence, innovative mindset, and proactive approach have been instrumental in these successes. He has shown a remarkable ability to adapt to evolving challenges and has done so with unflagging enthusiasm. His reliability, meticulous attention to detail, and visionary thinking have collectively transformed our online presence and fostered an environment where both efficiency and creativity can flourish.
Moreover, since August, Alex has dedicated countless hours to these tasks, ensuring every detail was addressed and every challenge met. His work has greatly enhanced the experience of our members during the AGM Weekend 2024 engagement and booking and while navigating our website. The user-friendly design and seamless functionality stand as testaments to his strategic brilliance and unwavering commitment.
To recognise Alex with the Chairman’s Letter of Commendation would be to honour not only his achievements but also the values of excellence and dedication that he exemplifies. His work has greatly benefited our community, and I believe he is truly deserving of this distinguished accolade.
Graham Eames – Eastern Region
Nominated by Debbie Eames who wrote: I would like to nominate Keith Rowe and Graham Eames for a Chairman’s letter of commendation for their outstanding organisation of the 20th Anniversary BOC Pageant in Brundall in May.
Graham put an awful lot of time and effort into getting the 40 boats for the pageant – he even exceeded our monthly allowance of minutes on our home phone for the cause! To get that many boats to agree to come to Brundall and take part in the weekend was a massive achievement. During his many discussions with members, he also managed to sell tickets for the Southern Comfort Cruise on the Sunday evening – making that a resounding success. Graham also had the idea to set up the “Broom Handles”, our very own group of sea shanty singers, after failing to find a professional group to come along.
Keith put a lot of time and effort into securing the moorings in Brundall for visiting boats and helping everyone to moor up when they arrived. He organised the location and tent setup for the Friday evening barbecue and sought activities for the Sunday. He played taxi driver to our European members who visited and were staying in Norwich and had the idea of the Southern Comfort trip on the Sunday evening to round off the weekend with a party and a great cake. He also organised the coaches to get everyone from Brundall to Horning. For the whole weekend Keith helped with anything and just got on with doing anything that needed to be done, ensuring the whole weekend was a roaring success.
I would also like to mention here, that there were many other people who played a part in the weekends’ success:
- Linda Varney provided support during the organisation period and over the weekend, in particular, providing food at the barbecue for those who weren’t able to bring stuff for themselves.
- Chris Cole for organising the Saturday evening meal with the White Heron team – and taking over the serving of the food with Maggie when the pub realised they didn’t have enough staff on to do it.
- The “Broom Handles” for their entertainment on Friday evening – many thanks for all of the volunteers for their efforts, and also for their help securing the venue for the hilarious practice sessions and providing tea, biscuits and cake.
The whole weekend was enjoyed by everyone and despite the weather for the actual pageant, our Broom boats showed themselves to be worthy of the Broom badge, all clean, polished and dressed up to the nines in bunting – we looked absolutely magnificent on the river.
Antonina Lagun – South East Region
Nominated by David Haugh for her outstanding work organising the 2024 AGM weekend.
Debbie Eames – Eastern Region
Nominated by David Haugh for her outstanding work overhauling the club’s finance and membership system
