FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 25, 2012
Contact: Jen Vandemoer Mitchell, Toile à Voile for ICSA, [email protected], 763-234-8286 m. *THE INTER-COLLEGIATE SAILING ASSOCIATION INDUCTS CRAGIN, JOBSON, COLEMAN, JOHNSON AND JOHNS INTO COLLEGE SAILING HALL OF FAME* Minneapolis, Minn. (May 25, 2012) – The Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) recently honored five individuals for their contributions to the sport of college sailing by inducting them into the ICSA Hall of Fame. *William “Luke” Cragin* (Flower Mound, Texas) was recognized with the James Rousmaniere Award for student leadership and *Ryan Sanduleak Lee *(San Diego, Calif.) received honorable mention for the student leadership award; *Gary A. Jobson* (Annapolis, Md.) was honored with the Lifetime Service Award; *Gerard T. Coleman, Commander USN Ret., P.E.* (Galveston, Texas) and *Andrew Johnson* (Kaneohe, Hawaii) were both awarded the Graham Hall Award for Outstanding Service by a college sailing professional; and *Peter Johns* (Osterville, Mass.) was awarded Outstanding Service by a volunteer. The Hall of Fame was established in 1969 to honor individuals for either undergraduate competitive achievement in sailing or outstanding leadership and service to the establishment, development and growth of the sport. The names of the inductees will be added to the ICSA College Sailing Hall of Fame, which is on permanent display in the Robert Crown Center at the United States Naval Academy (Annapolis, Md.). *Lifetime Service – Gary Jobson* Recognizing a career of extraordinary service to College Sailing, as a volunteer or professional, Gary Jobson embodies this honor having dedicated fifty years to the sport of sailing as a competitor, coach, journalist, board member and trustee. Jobson’s name is already in the ICSA Hall of Fame as a three-time All-American sailor and two-time recipient of the Everett B. Morris Trophy—the College Sailor of the Year award. Upon graduating from the University of New York Maritime College in the seventies, Jobson turned sailing into his profession. “When I was 12 I kind of knew that it would be my life’s mission,” Jobson says of dedicating so much of his life to the sport—Jobson credits his father for getting him into sailing around the age of six. After college he spent five years coaching college sailing at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and the U.S. Naval Academy helping the young sailors improve their skills. Jobson is an accomplished international competitor racing in everything from dinghies to the America’s Cup. He is a respected journalist spanning multiple mediums, an author and a speaker. He says he looks at college sailing with wide eyes having experienced it from so many different angles. He has brought great attention to the sport through his work broadcasting highlights of College Sailing Nationals for ESPN. His commitment to the sport is also evident in his role as President of the United States Sailing Association (U.S. Sailing) where he is able to build a stronger relationship between the national governing body of the sport and College Sailing. * * *Graham Hall Award for Outstanding Service by a College Sailing Professional * This award annually honors organizers, administrators, advisors or coaches who have served the best interests of college sailing at the club, team, conference or national level. * * *Honoree One – Gerard Coleman, Commander, USN Ret., P.E.* Gerard Coleman’s name is already listed in the ICSA Hall of Fame as a three-time All-American sailor while sailing for the U.S. Naval Academy where he graduated with his bachelor of science in Ocean Engineering. Coleman was also twice an Olympic alternate in the Soling class. Before becoming the full-time sailing coach at Texas A&M University-Galveston (TAMUG), Coleman worked as a mechanical engineer for the U.S. Navy Nuclear program for 16 years. Since 1996 he has contributed his expertise in sailing and in Nuclear and Mechanical Engineering to Texas A&M University-Galveston (TAMUG). He has dedicated many years to TAMUG, the sailing team and the southeastern conference in the ICSA. Coleman’s commitment to his team is evident in how they have remained competitive despite being a small sub-campus of Texas A&M University where many of the team members sail for the first time when recruited to join the team. During his tenure the team has won a SEISA conference championship almost every year, a Sloop National Championship and a Student Leadership award. * * *Honoree Two – Andrew Johnson* Andy Johnson has been the head coach of the University of Hawaii Sailing Team since 1989 the second longest tenure a coach has had at the University. He has built the sailing team to elite status appearing at more than 40 national championships, produced 24 All-American sailors and two Olympians. Johnson contributes his time to the Hawaiian sailing community running clinics at local yacht clubs and programs and high school teams while coaching the Hawaii sailing team and managing the University of Hawaii Campus Recreation programs. He has held many positions within the Pacific Coast Collegiate Sailing Conference and is a gracious host whenever running regattas at home. He creates an atmosphere of camaraderie organizing event dinners, housing, activities and awards. He carries on the tradition of presenting leis to senior sailors in the conference who come to compete in Hawaii—a reminder of their college sailing career. * * *Outstanding Service by a Volunteer – Peter Johns* This award honors an individual who has volunteered their time, talent and resources to advance the interests of college sailing at the club, team, conference or national level. In 2006 Peter Johns volunteered to take on organizing umpires and judges for the New England collegiate conference. It was a role he says entailed a lot of work, but one he was keen to manage for the sake of the young sailors and coaches. “I do it because of the college sailors and the coaches, they are fun and don’t mess around out there,” he says. Johns came from a family of sailors growing up in Marion, Mass. He sailed at Tabor Academy alongside other great sailors and went on to sail in big boats after college—sailing the Newport to Bermuda Race 10 or 11 times. Johns says it was important for him to work hard at organizing an efficient system for judges and umpires because it raised the level of collegiate sailing in New England. Now, other collegiate conferences have asked him to come umpire at their events. Johns created a consistent and reliable group of umpires and judges in New England, which makes it a lot easier for hosting schools to call upon the help. Johns also created an environment where the pathways of communication between coaches, judges, umpires and sailors are open and honest. Without Johns’ immense effort, knowledge of the game, and organizational skills, creating such an efficient system for conference college regattas would not have been possible. *James Rousmaniere Award for Student Leadership – Luke Cragin* This award honors an undergraduate for extraordinary achievement in leadership whose efforts made a significant contribution to the development, progress and success of his or her club, team, conference or the ICSA. Luke Cragin became president of the University of Texas Sailing Team in the spring of 2011, his freshman year. He was immediately handed the task of continuing a bid to host the 2012 ICSA Spring National Championships. He worked tirelessly with his team to bring the Austin Yacht Club on board to co-host the events and also help buy a new fleet of boats. He arranged for the old fleet to be sold and the new fleet to arrive—he even designed the cradles that the new boats are stored on. “It was a group effort,” Cragin says. He wishes he could share this award with his team and the team alumni, but he says it is a great honor to be acknowledged. Thanks to Cragin’s leadership and great effort the University of Texas and Austin Yacht Club will co-host College Sailing’s biggest regattas of the year. Cragin enjoys the break that College Sailing allows him from his studies as an engineering student. “It’s great to get out on the lake,” he says. Cragin also enjoys traveling with his team and sailing against different people at regattas each weekend. *James Rousmaniere Honorable Mention – Ryan Sanduleak Lee ’12, University of California-Davis* *The Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) is the governing authority for sailing competition at colleges and universities throughout the United States and in some parts of Canada. Visit **www.collegesailing.org*<http://www.collegesailing.org> * to learn more.* -- Jennifer Vandemoer Mitchell Toile à Voile, LLC for ICSA [email protected] 763.234.8286 m. ________________________________________________ icsa mailing list [email protected] http://www.collegesailing.org/mailman/?listname=icsa Unsubscribe: Send a blank email to [email protected]
