Katie Kelly - About Us - US Sailing

2004 CREW AWARD CITATION - March 12, 2004
KATIE RICHARDSON KELLY
Opening Remarks by Janet Baxter:
Not long before I accepted the reins as President of US SAILING from Dave Rosekrans,
he articulated a vision of leading the organization to be the best National Governing
Body in the country. I strongly support that vision. There are, of course, many facets to
creating such an organization. At the heart of all world-class organizations, though, is a
set of well-understood and commonly accepted values which are practiced daily and
encouraged among all constituencies. This is the essence of the C.R.E.W. Member
Agreement.
As noted in its preamble, “only through clear expectations, mutual respect, and a
commitment to collaboration can US SAILING staff and volunteers achieve peak
performance in all efforts.”
As you know, since the 2002 Spring Meeting, it has been our custom to present our
CREW Award to a person whose “can do” attitude, collaborative spirit, and winning
personality best represent the tenants of the CREW Agreement. Previous winners of
this prestigious award include Dick Allsopp, Dick Roberts, Clark Chapin and Darline
Hobock.
Now I would like to ask Darline Hobock and Clark Chapin to help me present today’s
award.
Remarks by Darline Hobock
Today we are honoring a C.R.E.W. MEMBER who epitomizes the values Janet
mentioned. Above and beyond her strong interpersonal skills in dealing with her
colleagues, this individual receives today’s CREW award because of her remarkable
support of and attention not only to volunteers but also to athletes all over the world.
The award winner was selected from among 15 nominees. Deliberations were by our
Team 7 crew including Lee Parks, John Burnham, Ruth Creighton, Faye Bennet, Bill
Placke, Clark Chapin, Dick Allsopp and me-plus Nick Craw and Janet Baxter for their
unique input and guidance at the end of the process.
While this person has only been with US SAILING for a relatively short four years, her
actual sailing experience dates back almost twenty years. During her college career,
she was the head sailing instructor at the Barrington Yacht Club, in Barrington, RI for a
sailing program of 190 young sailors.
These experiences prepared her well to take responsibility as Manager of our all
important Olympic programs attending, through the U.S. Olympic Committee, to the
various funding requirements, monitoring all drug testing, overseeing and managing the
shipment of all of our gear and equipment world wide, and not least, managing the
myriad of administrative matters that allow athletes wherever they are around the globe
to focus exclusively on their task at hand-winning championships.

This person’s ability to manage multiple complex tasks simultaneously, her level headed
and cheerful approach to problem solving in the face of intense pressures (including
those created by sometimes very demanding athletes) and her extremely positive
attitudes about US SAILING stood her in good stead as manager of our Team at the
ISAF World Sailing Championships in France in the summer of 2002 and the Pan
American Games in Santo Domingo in the summer of 2003.
Given her ability to operate with extraordinary grace under pressure, together with the
fact that a part of her college career was spent in Athens, Greece, I am sure she will be
an invaluable asset and great representative of our country at the 2004 Summer
Olympic Games in Athens.
Ladies and Gentlemen, please join me in congratulating our newest CREW Award
winner, Katie Richardson.
Final Remarks by Janet Baxter
Team 7 is much more than just this award. They are working on a volunteer training
program and we need your help. If you will please fill out the survey your found on your
chair this morning and return it to the registration desk before you leave Mobile. Thank
you.