As we say goodbye to the season of sunny weather, warm breezes, temperate waters, and frequent trips to the local waters, I am grateful to many of those who kept the year anything but quiet for many HCC members. We owe a great deal to those with enthusiasm and a service mindset who kept us going with workshops, trips, and service projects and hosted HCC's inaugural race, the Charlotte's Challenge. 2024, our 60th year, will celebrate all the efforts and enthusiasm invested by members like you to sustain paddle sports and provide access to South Texas's surrounding waterways.
A major player has been Bruce Bodson, who typically logs an annual paddling mileage equivalent to my vehicle's. Despite his recent injuries, he has consistently led trips on Brazos again this year and will also lead five (5) Christmas Bird Count (CBC) trips between now and Jan 4th. Sadly, Bruce will leave the board position in 2024, with very capable Christy Long transitioning from a Newsletter editor to the Fleet captain. Kent Walters, a fixture in our monthly meeting Zooming from the Ozarks, continues to be our co-trip champion even from afar, with a plethora of trips and photos he manages to share on the Buffalo River and the waterways near his home in Arkansas and most recently, a popular trip down the Current River in Missouri.
Tim Brooking has been an active club paddler and has served the role of Boatswain. Tim helped get the messages out to the masses about the club's mission and activities. We now have close to 1000 FB followers, and our club membership is strong. With Tim's recent move to Elgin, I would like to welcome Tyrone White, a frequent paddler on the Brazos trips, as our new Boatswain in 2024. I am also excited to welcome aboard our long-time club member and former board member, Harmon Everett, who will be our newsletter editor, taking over for Christy Long. The remaining board members are continuing with the same roles into 2024, and the entire roster can be seen in the separate announcement in this newsletter. I would especially like to thank Greg Fan, our continuing Vice Commodore and an avid paddler of both HCC and HASK, who has held our monthly meetings together - without him, it would not be possible, and organizing a fantastic series of speaker events throughout the year. My thanks go out to all those who, by consistent efforts, make this club work and those who were generous with their time by speaking at our monthly meetings.
The members mentioned above, and some I must undoubtedly have overlooked, are what make our effort as a club community thrive. Thanks to you all.
2024 Board
Brent Hwang
HCC Commodore