Volunteer Of The Month - Presented By Kokatat

American Whitewater is pleased to announce the recipient of our August Volunteer of the Month award: Katrina O'Brien!

Katrina is a rockstar volunteer for AW's Deerfield Fest in Massachussetts, the biggest paddling festival in the Northeast. American Whitewater board member Evie Locke, who runs Deerfield Fest, had this to say about her:

"Events like Deerfield Fest require a large corps of volunteers to be successful. And you can see those people working at the Fest itself. But they also take a lot of preparation throughout the year as well, especially in the weeks right before them. In the ? years that I have been the local organizer of the event, Katrina has been my right-hand person. She is passionate about making it a great event for AW as well as for the paddlers who join us here every year. She reminds me during the year to have meetings for planning and she always has lots of good ideas for improvement. She works incredibly hard during the event itself, organizing the volunteers for the beer tent and the silent auction and bringing the nails stump and other games.

I have known Katrina since she was a teenager just learning to paddle and have enjoyed watching her grow into a great paddler and kayak instructor over the years. She is a great ambassador for the sport and for AW, dedicated to excellence and safety and respect for the river."

Thanks Katrina! In recognition of her efforts Katrina will be receiving a custom Destination Shirt from Kokatat.