> US SAILING Media > Sailor of the Week > 2011 > Sailor of the Week - February, 2011 > Marcel Beaudin
Marcel Beaudin
Sailor of the Week: February 17-23
Marcel Beaudin, one of the original founders of the Lake Champlain Commun ity Sailing Center in South Burlington, Vt., was honored at US SAILING’s National Sailing Program Symposium (NSPS) last month with the prestigious Marty Luray Award for his significant contributions to public access sailing.
The first President of the Board of LCCSC was extremely influential in growing the center over the past 17 years. Marcel set out to create sailing opportunities for all members of the LCCSC, including youth and people with disabilities. Last year they had 40 community partnerships, including VASS (Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports), which provided opportunities for 250 individuals to sail. They also had 463 youth camp participants last year. The LCCSC hosts high school team sailing and the nationally ranked University of Vermont sailing team.
As an architect, Marcel designed everything from the adaptive equipment, to the docks, to the new 15,000 square-foot boat storage facility under construction. The storage facility will include state of the art offices and classrooms. The adaptive equipment he designed includes a seat and steering assembly that allows people to steer the Sonar facing forward. The center is on the verge of fleet expansion. They currently have a fleet of sailboats, including Sonars, Rhodes 19s, Hobie 14s, 420s and Bics.
Under Marcel’s leadership, the LCCSC has developed a broad scholarship program and have embedded environmental studies that emphasize the stewardship of the lake.
“I would like to give substantial credit for our great success to our first director Rachael Miller and our current director Kate Neubauer,” said Marcel.
“This was my fourth NSPS. I attended the first 15 years ago and we’ve had staff and board members attending ever since,” mentioned Marcel.