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And five days later, she was headed to the
Eastport Yacht Club in Annapolis,
Maryland, for immersion
training with one of the
nation’s premiere sailing programs.
“It was a lot in a short period of time,” she laughs.
Anna Marie grew up two minutes down the street from the
Yacht Club. “I went to sailing camp there when I was fourteen years
old,” she recalls. “Everyone has fun at sailing camp, but only a small
percentage really get into it. I was in that small percentage. I loved
everything about it.” She attended camp again at age fifteen, and by
the time she was sixteen, she was an instructor at the camp. “I also
went to work at the Yacht Club. I think I had every job you could
think of there while I was a teenager.” From server to lifeguard to
sailing instructor, Anna Marie has learned all aspects of the club.
After graduating from Madison Ridgeland Academy, Anna Marie
attended Ole Miss. “I finished in three years with a degree in general
business and a minor in English.” She then returned to the place she
knows best, the Jackson Yacht Club.
While in Annapolis, Anna Marie had to piece together the various
programs the club there offered. “They had adult sailing classes, but
they had to look beyond that and provide something after the classes
were done. They also had classes and programs that considered a
person’s age, type of boat, and their skill level. They also did family
sailing classes. I was most impressed with the Tuesday night sail,
where hundreds of boats were out on the Chesapeake Bay.
We could easily do that at the Reservoir.”
When she returned from Annapolis, Anna Marie hosted Nan
Walker, a national sailing program consultant, at the Jackson Yacht
Club. “Nan came in and evaluated our existing programs. We are
now creating a framework for programs that we can implement
here for future generations of the club to support and sustain a
community of sailors and a culture around water-based activities.
We are looking at what our club can be in the future, starting with
our current assets. We have six Catalinas that no one knows about.
We need to start by utilizing those.”
Anna Marie will also be implementing additional water activities
such as stand-up paddle boards, rowing shells, and kayaks. “During
sailing camp, if there is no wind, the kids usually end up in the
swimming pool. That’s fine, but since we are lake-based, I wanted
other activities. If sailing doesn’t resonate with a kid, they may end
up loving kayaking.”
A US Sailing Level 1 instructor, Anna Marie has spent several years
as a summer sailing camp leader at JYC, as well as teaching Scouts
at Camp Hood in Hazlehurst. She is also CPR and SafeSport trained
with US Sailing.
On the go since she was named as the club’s first ever full-time
sailing director, Anna Marie attended the Junior Lipton’s regatta at
Fairhope Yacht Club in Alabama, followed by an adult regatta in Pass
Christian. “It was time for the Jackson Yacht Club to have a full-time
director,” she says. “Until I came on board in July, it was a volunteer
position.” As the club has grown, and the emphasis on sailing has
become more intense, Anna Marie is poised to grow the program
and carry it into the future. “I feel blessed to be here. We already
have so many wonderful amenities here and so many wonderful
things we can offer.”
Hometown MADISON • 17