Night of Celebration for AW

By Ben Van Camp

On June 5th, in the midst of the hustle and bustle of the Teva Mountain Games in Vail, Colorado the whitewater community took a moment to sit and celebrate the first 50 years of American Whitewater. In all 250 whitewater folk put aside their river gear and put on a shirt and tie (or dress) to attend AW’s 50^th Anniversary Gala Event. The dinner was a celebration of American Whitewater’s role in the development of the whitewater community in America over the past fifty years.

Guiding us through this adventure of celebration, fundraising, and awards was emcee Willie Kern. Willie did an excellent job tying the evening’s activities together for American Whitewater.

The evening showcased the efforts of many of American Whitewater’s greatest volunteers by awarding several honors. Awards that were given out were:

The Legacy Award for outstanding AW volunteers was given to Mac Thornton, Charlie Walbridge, and Tom Christopher.

The Founders Award for pioneering contributions to conservation, access, and safety was give to founding member of AW Oz Hawksley.

The Rising Star Award for recent efforts in conservation, access, and safety was given to Tom O’Keefe for his work in Washington State and beyond.

As a way of preparing for another 50 years of American Whitewater event attendees made numerous donations to American Whitewater, purchased donated auction items, and participated in a raffle and book signing. All of these efforts helped American Whitewater to raise over $30,000 that evening.

The evening culminated with a presentation by the keynote speaker Wade Davis. Wade is a world renowned explorer and enthobotanist. Wade has traveled throughout the world experiencing unique cultures, learning traditions, and searching for medicinal plants. Much of his exploration to the remote regions of rain forests and jungles was done by boat.

Overall the 50^th Anniversary Gala was a tremendous success, we raised over 30K in one night, recognized volunteers, and had a great keynote speaker. It was awesome to see all the athletes, board members, and volunteers out of their nasty river clothes and dressed up.

Special thanks goes out to the Gala Planning committee:

Bill Bevins Phillip Bowman

Kent Ford Mandy Heaton

Holly Heiberg, Carrie Keller

Melissa Phelan Mark Robbins

Pete Skinner Risa Shimoda

Sue Taft Amy Walters

In addition I would like to thank the event sponsors especially Liz Ferrin and Adam Druckman from Teva along with the