2016 ABYC BOARD CANDIDATES RESUMES

STEVE MUELLERI’m excited to have been asked to run for the position of Board of Directors at Alamitos Bay Yacht Club.

Our family was first attracted to and became members of ABYC for the family atmosphere, Lido 14 fleet, and the junior program. We are a sailing family. On the water, we enjoy racing our Lido 14 with the kids and cruising our Catalina 34 to the island.

We’ve made many friends at ABYC and the club has become a second home. Our boys are active in the Jr Program, sailing Sabots, CFJ’s and Optis. We particularly enjoy travel regattas with other ABYC families.

When I have time, I enjoy racing anything from a J80 to a J120, and everything in between.

For the past year I have served as the Jr. Fleet Captain, and on the Junior Advisory Committee (JAC). I am also the person in charge of the “team ABYC” gear (backpacks/T-shirts/Polos etc). The continued tradition of racing both for adults and juniors is important to me, and my goal is to move all of our programs forward. If we haven’t had the pleasure of meeting, please say hi the next time you see me.

Thank you for your consideration.

ROB STROPKYThank you for the opportunity to run for the board at ABYC.I started sailing about 10 years ago. I enjoy sailing and racing my Laser regularly, along with occasionally crewing on a Viper, sailing my daughter’s Sabot, or kicking around a keelboat.

I joined ABYC with my family (Quena, Tommy, and Karina) three years ago. Since then, the Club has become a huge part of my life. I’m usually down at the Club 2-3 days a week – volunteering on race committee and work days, sailing, socializing, attending clinics, and even restoring an old Sabot for my daughter. My daughter sails in the Junior Program and my wife and I can be found most Friday nights upstairs at Happy Hour. I have made numerous friends at ABYC and the club has become my second home.

In the past year, I have served as ABYC Membership Chairman, assisting our Membership Director, and personally recruiting several new members. I also just wrapped working as Regatta Chairman for the recent July 4th Regatta. In this role, I was responsible for coordinating volunteers and staffing, as well as managing the financial, public relations, social, and competitive aspects of the regatta. My role as Regatta Chairman exposed me to many aspects of how the Club operates and I believe has better prepared me as a potential board member. Plus, I had fun doing it and got to work with a lot of great people!

As a Board Member, I would be honored to help guide the future of our Club.

DAN GILBOAI joined ABYC as a yachting member in 1986 at the age of 27. I raced C-15’s for many years before joining the Lido fleet. I have served as C-15 fleet captain and on the junior advisory board, and have volunteered for various club regattas and fleet functions. I am definitely addicted to boats actively racing a Lido and Cal 20 and cruising a Newport 30. I can’t say that 30 years of racing have helped my results but I can say those 30 years have been a lot of fun and have created many memories. My wedding reception and both my daughters bat mitzvah parties were celebrated at the club.

I graduated from UCSB with a BA in Marine Biology, and spent four years working in the Long Beach Water Department water quality lab before starting Age of Aquariums, an aquarium design and service company in 1988 . The business has evolved to include a retail store currently employing 12 full time employees. I am a recent graduate of the Goldman Sachs small business 10,000 program and I serve as a trustee of The Long Beach Aquarium.

I am happily married to Felicia and we have two daughters Serena and Jenay, both of whom participated in the ABYC junior sailing program. I have hosted many visiting youth sailors and have hosted two visiting sailing coaches at my house in Belmont Heights for the entire summer.

I look forward to serving on the board as a way of becoming more involved in the club and getting to know more members. Serving would be a personal growth experience and as a way to give something back to a club that has been so much a part of my life.

MIKE SHEAThank you to the ABYC Nominating Committee for their consideration.

I consider myself a proud Long Beach native despite moving here from Portland Oregon at the age of four. It is here that I immensely enjoy my life with my extraordinary wife Oriana and our 22-year-old son Evan. We truly enjoy this city and all it has to offer.

Sailing is far and away the highlight of my recreational life and has been my passion since the early 90s where I learned to sail with a friend and his father on their Catalina 27. Like many of us, I started as “rail meat.” From there I went on to dinghy sailing where I truly began to understand and love the craft of making sailboats go. The Coronado 15 was my first boat where I progressed from a healthy dose of dead last finishes in my first couple years, to three top-5 finishes at the North American Championships culminating with a second at the 2007 event here at ABYC. The Lido 14 is now my weapon of choice.

Although my time as a member here at ABYC is relatively short, I have helped chair two regattas and have volunteered at many, during which time the true sense of commitment and responsibility became apparent. I am excited and ready to continue this commitment. I’m a “hands-on” guy who feels the need to know how things work which seems a good fit for a Board of Directors position.

Now to the important part- It is through my 20+ years in construction management that I have attained the skills necessary to help hold a position on the ABYC Board of Directors. Through my senior management positions I have successfully managed over $100 million of public and private electrical construction projects for clients including Kaiser, USC, Caltech, LA Live, as well as many local industrial and aerospace customers. These projects require a deep understanding of fiscal management, contract negotiations, labor management, scheduling, Lean Processes, as well as customer relations and sales. These skills will serve me well if elected to the ABYC Board of Directors.

CHRISTINA HALLThank you asking me to stand for election to the Board of Directors of Alamitos Bay Yacht Club. It is with great honor that I submit my resume.

Born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, I grew up landlocked. Frequent childhood trips to the Pacific Ocean solidified my love for sea. During the summer of 2013, I followed my lifelong dream to live by the ocean and moved to Long Beach. I began sailing lessons at Leeway Sailing Center the following summer.

After one year of classes at Leeway, I was directed to the Tempest Fleet at ABYC. Wanting to take my sailing to the next level, I joined the Tempest Fleet in the summer of 2015. Thus, I found ABYC!

I had a blast volunteering (as a scorer) for a few ABYC regattas and getting to know the ABYC family. ABYC quickly became a “home away from home” for me, and I applied for ABYC membership. Thanks to many supportive sponsors and new friends, I became a member that same summer.

ABYC is indeed the place to be! I have since become active with the Lido Fleet and have made wonderful new friendships. I love to volunteer for other ABYC events, including the recent July 3rd Fireworks BBQ, and I co-chaired the 2016 Men’s Day Regatta with Staff Commodore Jennifer Kuritz in June. Recently, the ABYC Junior Advisory Committee (JAC) has invited me to be a part of their 501(c)(3) committee.

A little more about me: “By day” I do fund-development for the Los Angeles Philharmonic in Downtown LA (and at the Hollywood Bowl). I have been in the nonprofit/fundraising industry since 2001, working primarily in healthcare and the arts. I graduated from Arizona State University with a business degree, and the first half of my career was in banking and sales. I am also a certified yoga instructor and enjoy spending my downtime in my new home.

JOEL STONE Having loved the water since my early childhood, sailing was a sport that I was drawn to early in my life. I first learned to sail as a Boy Scout at the Sea Base in Newport Harbor.

I lived with a family in Germany during high school who introduced me to windsurfing.  Later, I bought a Wilderness 21 and raced PHRF always wondering what it would be like to sail across the Atlantic alone.  It was during this time that I was first introduced to ABYC. I was crewing on a Cal 20 in the Long Beach area.  I appreciated that ABYC was truly oriented toward sailing athletes of all ages. I appreciated the incredible sailing venue.  Most of all I enjoyed meeting the people of ABYC. It's truly great people that make a great club!  I told myself that if I were to join a yacht club in the future it would hands down be ABYC.

In the mean time I aggressively campaigned a Cal 25 in Long Beach culminating in a Western Regional Class Championship. Fast forward to four years ago, I returned to ABYC with my wife and two young children (now 7 & 9). It was an overwhelming surprise when they fell in love with the club I admired the most.  We bought a Lido 14, then a Sabot, and most recently two Optis. Recently I've been sailing my son's Sabot more than anything else.  Watching my kids and their ABYC friends absorbing all that sailing has to offer brings me great joy.

We are an ABYC family for the long haul. I have been serving on the ABYC Junior Advisory Committee for the last 2 years. In addition, I have served as a co-Port Captain for this last year as well. If elected to the board I will do my best to help carry on the ABYC traditions that have made this club known the world over! 

KEVIN BROWN

I am seeking re-election to the ABYC Board of Directors. I have enjoyed serving the club as Fleet Captain, then as Rear Commodore over the last two years. Before that I served as Co-Port Captain with Dave Myers.

My goal in continuing on the Board of Directors is help ensure that ABYC continues to grow and prosper. We are on solid financial footing thanks to our dedicated treasurers and the financial discipline exhibited by the current board. I want to continue to contribute to this effort.

Having been involved in two clubs, I understand that the officers and volunteers devote an enormous amount of time to host successful regattas and provide a great environment for sailors to enjoy. I am really proud of ABYC. When I think of ABYC several thoughts come to mind: great racing, family, friendship, welcoming atmosphere, thriving sailors and a tradition of championship. I want to help make sure that ABYC is this kind of place for years to come.

I have been racing sail boats of all types for 45 years. I was an active member of CBYC for many years. When I wasn't racing, I spent many weekends helping with / running the CBYC race committee. During college I worked for Sails by Watts, then later Sobstad Sails. I enjoy offshore as well as dinghy racing. Over the last few years Garrett (my son) and I have campaigned a Lido 14, Cal 20 and Viper 640 at ABYC. I have been actively involved at ABYC (except for a short hiatus to race cars) since 1997 and have volunteered for many club activities including our junior program, Junior Sabot Nationals, multiple facilities projects and race committee. I currently serve as your Rear Commodore. I joined ABYC when my son Garrett had the opportunity to sail in the junior program in 1996. Garrett is still an avid sailor. My wife, Christina also enjoys sailing and volunteering at the club when time permits. I have a daughter Hannah who, unfortunately, prefers horses over sailing. I guess 3 sailors out of 4 family members isn't bad.

JEFF McDERMAID

I have been a member of ABYC since 1975. I was Junior Board Commodore in 1971, and served on the Board of Directors 1994-95. I currently serve as Secretary on the Board of Directors. I am also a member of the Junior Advisory Committee. I am a very strong proponent of the ABYC Junior Sailing Program, as I believe that our juniors represent the future of ABYC. The juniors grow up and become us!

I was a junior sailor back in the 1960s, and many of my friends back then continue to be active members of ABYC to this day. I helped start the ABYC double handed (CFJ) sailing program that gave our older juniors an avenue to keep active after their Sabot days were over.

As Secretary, I have focused on communication between the club and its members. I created the electronic version of the Sou’Wester, with the help of our wonderful editor, Sharon Pearson.

I have been working for the last 9 months overseeing the development and launch of the new ABYC Website, which was announced August 1, 2016. I was co-regatta chair, with Commodore Bell, for the very successful 2015 Jr. Sabot National Championships. I look forward, with your support, to serving again on the Board of Directors.