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2018 Annual Celebration and Meeting

NathanAs a 503(c)(3) non-profit, Pacific Masters by-laws require that an annual meeting open to all members be held.  For years, the annual meeting was just another monthly get-together of the board and committee chairs for approving the budget and a few other mandatory business items. In 2012, the decision to turn this meeting into a celebration of all things Pacific Masters gave rise to the extraordinary gathering that took place at St Mary’s College last week.

The Annual Celebration and Meeting is a full day of activities in which we enjoy our swimming community, commemorate the prior year, and recognize all the things we love about our sport. The ambitious program began with morning workouts.

This year, Saint Mary’s was able to offer us the use of their fabulous recreation center. The pool is a great 10-lane facility but is not large enough to accommodate our entire contingent, so for the first time we split the workout into a 45-minute swim and 45 minutes of dry land. The dry land was led by Chris Chorak, owner of Presidio Sport & Medicine, and was a healthy dose of aerobics, stretching, and yoga. Her handout. The sessions were especially well received and we will surely repeat dry land next year.Dry land

After the workout, fueled by fresh bagels and coffee, we were treated to a presentation of Kim Swims, an amazing film chronicling Kim Chamber’s epic 30 mile swim from the Farallon Islands to the San Francisco Bay. The film is an inspiring account of an event very few of us would ever dare consider. Kim was on hand to answer questions about how she succeeded at this superhuman accomplishment.

The annual celebration is open to all members and is one way Pacific Masters gives back to its community. Our celebration is free to all members. The day includes a gourmet lunch and a lunch break that allows everyone to connect with fellow swimmers.  It also gives attendees a chance to have photos taken with our keynote speaker, Nathan Adrian. (For those who had their picture taken with Nathan, individual photos are available at this Photo Gallery). Dry Land

Since the celebration’s inception, the highlight has been a feature presentation by one of swimming’s most prestigious personalities. Nathan follows in the footsteps of past speakers including Rowdy Gaines, Janet Evans, Matt Biondi, Anthony Ervin, Matt Grevers, Dana Volmer, and Natalie Coughlin.

Nathan’s talk was energetic and engaging. He embodied the joy of swimming in every detail. He wove together a chronology of wonderful anecdotes from his career (such as being unnerved at the start of a race when Michael Phelps started flapping his arms on the blocks). “I’m sure if anyone other than Michael did that they’d be DQed,” he explained. Tech Talk

The day closed with the business meeting portion of the agenda. Committee reports, the 2019 budget, and other administrative items were ratified in short order. The celebration closed with a ceremony to recognize our members who have made outstanding contributions to our LMSC and USMS over the course of the year. Our Annual Report has details.

Lunch

This year’s Celebration and Meeting has received rave reviews and has set the bar high for next year. The date and program for our next gathering will be announced by mid-2019.

Photos of the day can be viewed at the Celebration and Annual Meeting Photo Gallery.

Written by Rich Burns. Photo by Rich BurnsFlickr Gallery by Rich Burns.

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