We
are about to enter the 150
th
season at our beloved Portland Yacht Club! On April 26, 1869 in the offices of a Portland law firm, Portland Yacht Club was founded. PYC has weathered changing times and multiple locations to become the fine club we all enjoy now. To mark this wonderful occasion, the Board created a committee three years ago, to plan ways to celebrate throughout the season. The 150
th
Committee, with the support of the Board and its Committees, has lots of fun planned for this anniversary year.
There will be several pieces of memorabilia available. The first is a beautiful anniversary book that each member will receive at no cost. The books will be available for member pick-up starting at The Commissioning & Cannonball celebration on May 10th. (If you cannot pick it up during the season, for any reason, the Club will mail it to you. Shipping costs will be billed to the member's account.)
The anniversary book has been in the works for well over two years and many people have contributed written pieces and lots of photographs. We have many members to thank for their contributions to this project, especially Pam Fridlington and Sandi & Ed Berry who are working tirelessly to complete this project and get it to the printer this month!
If members want to purchase a second copy, there will be some additional copies available for member/guest purchase.
Also being introduced in this newsletter is the 150
th
logo that heads this newsletter and our a special edition burgee!
(See below.)
Members can purchase this burgee starting at the Founder’s Day Happy Hour. Our thanks to Pam Fridlington for her design of both of these items!
- The Retail Committee is hard at work ordering anniversary logo gear. Items will be available for purchase at The Commissioning & Cannonball and throughout the season.
- The Race Committee is planning special tie-ins to the 150th with the race program. Details will be included in future newsletters.
- The Entertainment Committee is organizing a special Founder’s Day Happy Hour for Friday, April 26th It will be in the casual style of the winter Happy 2Hours. Please BYOB and some simple snacks. It is our hope that an early copy of the 150th Anniversary Book will be available for viewing at the Founder's Day Happy Hour. (NOTE: This is a second Happy Hours event for the month of April.)
- The Entertainment Committee is also busy planning the annual Cannonball & Commissioning event for May 10th which will include an official 150th program. As we anticipate a large crowd this year, we are adding a tent to provide additional covered space and we will be looking at ways to handle parking.
We want to keep the celebration of our 150
th
going all season long. We'll have an anniversary banner made to hang on the Club for special occasions. We encourage members to take their picture with the banner or their special edition burgee and email them to Club Manager, Pam Thomas. Your photos will be shared on the 150
th
page on the PYC website.
PYC is one of the oldest yacht clubs in the country and has a very interesting history. Thanks to Phil Sargent and the Heritage Committee, we have many historic documents on our website. To learn more about the Club throughout the years, please take a few minutes and read some of the material. It really is great reading.
Here is the link.
--Kristen King, PC and 150th Committee
