People that Make the Sport Better

In areas with successful sailing programs, it is more often not an institution but an individual that deserves the credit. No engine can work without a spark plug and our sport is no different. Candace Porter (East Troy, Wis.) is that spark plug.

Candace recently received US Sailing’s C.R.E.W. Award which recognizes an individual — a US Sailing staff member or volunteer — who consistently demonstrates the values expressed in C.R.E.W. agreement:

• Commit to exceptional service to our constituents.
• Respect the integrity and work of fellow C.R.E.W. members.
• Expect excellence as a group and personal standard of accomplishment.
• Work together in a responsible consistent fashion.

Dave Berg, Executive Director of the Inland Lake Yachting Association, had this to say about Candace and her contributions to the sport:

Candace Porter

You’ve heard of the unstoppable force vs. the immovable object paradox? Well, there are no immovable objects in the world of Candace Porter and she is an unstoppable force as an advocate, participant, parent, coach, leader, promoter and volunteer for the sport of sailing.

Her commitment to exceptional service permeates her being. The sailor, young or old, is her customer. Whether chairing a regatta, running the kitchen, promoting her home club at Lake Beulah Yacht Club (East Troy, WI), serving in leadership roles or any of the other tasks she performs, Candace does it with a laser focus on providing her constituents with excellent, timely and friendly service. Her commitment to this goal is unmatched.

She truly cares about imparting and spreading the joy that sailing brings to the participants and the families of sailors. She has overseen the Opti No-Tears Regatta and the Opti Green Fleet for decades in the ILYA. Each year she starts each skipper’s meeting with a message of respect for fellow competitors and the sport of sailing. She has an amazing way with our youth participants and they are better for it having sailed under her caring watchful eye and receiving her tutelage.

Candace has been a successful volunteer leader and organizer across the entire range of activities that the sport of sailing has to offer. She has served as the Commodore of the ILYA. She has worked on race committees, served as a cook, a registrar, an Olympic campaign advocate, the editor and publisher of the ILYA’s weekly newsletter and was the motivating force behind Sail Strong, Sail Pink. Her continuing expectation of excellence defines and demands that from herself and those around her.

Finally, she would not have achieved the longevity and success that she has without being able to work well with her peers and constituents. She is a veritable font of information and institutional knowledge. She brings this to bear in her committee work and is an asset to whatever group she is attached. She is an extremely versatile member of the race committee, can serve in any capacity and seamlessly melds with her coworkers.

Her volunteer hours are countless and we around her are all the better for it.