Papercourt Member Wins RYA Volunteer Award

Published 18:05 on 22 Jan 2025

I'm delighted to tell you that Susan Lewis has won the RYA Impact Award in recognition of her outstanding contribution, hard work and dedication that enables our sport from the grassroots upwards to be successful, sustainable, inclusive and valued.

Susan, a member since 2020, has made a remarkable contribution and impact in three significant areas: growth in adult participation (especially women) instructing adult and youth beginners and in providing invaluable technical knowledge to ensure the long-term sustainability of our SSSI lake.
 
Shortly after joining the club Susan volunteered to set up an adult Topper class from scratch, but with the goal of integrating this with the vibrant Topper youth section.
 
When she took over the role there were only 3 adult Topper sailors. The focus was to encourage more women to sail but quickly expanded to include all ages and abilities, resulting in a significant and sustainable increase in participation.
 
Recognising that club members want to develop their sailing skills Susan Is always the first to volunteer to teach every week, has qualified as an AI, DI and SI and is always ready to help anyone ashore with rigging queries, sometimes missing her own racing.
 
Susan's contribution to the Weed working group has resulted in a greater understanding of the lake ecosystem and how it changes over the seasons, the impact that changes in nutrient levels have on weed growth and, really importantly, providing clarity on the role and timing of cutting and harvesting weed to reduce the impact on sailing.
 
Susan has provided outstanding service to our club, being inspirational in her leadership, providing boundless enthusiasm, with total commitment and has substantially affected the lives of many youth and adult sailors regardless of age or ability.
 
Our intrepid photographer caught her helping out clearing a blockage in the drain run between the large and the small lake - needless to say the problem was solved by Susan!
 
Our warmest congratulations to Susan on a well-deserved award.
 
Jerry Sumeray
Commodore

Last updated 16:08 on 7 February 2025