Sailing Science Center News February 2020 Vol. 3, No. 6

Donate!

Welcome to the February issue of the Sailing Science Center News! Our theme this month is Responsibility. 2020 has been off to a great start for the SSC. As we continue to grow as individuals and an organization, we acknowledge our increasing responsibility to our team members and the community. Keep reading to learn more about how we are acting on this responsibility with new volunteer events, new exhibits, and new social engagement!

We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility for our future. – George Bernard Shaw

Volunteer Spotlight - Leonora Fleming

Our volunteer spotlight this month is on Leonora Fleming, although she usually goes by Lee. Born and raised in Braintree, just outside of Boston, Lee spent her early school years in her hometown, summering with her grandparents on Cape Cod. It was here that she and her younger brother bonded as they played on the beaches near Hyannis Port. She was his protector and she now refers to him fondly as her best friend. In college, Lee attended Hofstra University on Long Island, where she started as a Journalism major because of her love for writing but made a small shift to the Sociology and Communications Department to study public relations. She graduated in 2012 with a BA in Sociology and joined a PR firm doing work for Hewlett Packard. Lee moved to California in 2016 as HP was splitting their company into two entities. It was originally supposed to be a 2-week stay, but 2 weeks became 2 months, and, well, you know how it goes. Lee became a California transplant, like so many of our other volunteers.

Today Lee is still working in PR, but now for the cyber security firm, Avast*, where she does all she can to get them out in the news. Her 88-year-old grandmother was scammed on the internet, which motivates Lee to do what she can to make a difference in this area. Lee is passionate about helping people and has worked for other nonprofits, including running the campus program for a group called She’s the First.

Lee’s introduction to sailing came through her long-time friend, Jessica Wilbur, who was a repeat-attender in the Social Sailing program at the Treasure Island Sailing Center. This is where we met Lee in 2019. Lee has now outlined a highly professional PR plan for the Sailing Science Center to help us get the word out about what we are doing. The result of this is that you can expect to see a steady drumbeat of news about SSC appearing in the media, thanks to Lee. Lee, you came to us as though conjured from our dreams. I look forward to us doing great things together! *Avast – An English word used mostly by pirates in the phrase Avast Matey! meaning Halt! or Stop!

January Volunteer Event - Potluck & Strategic Planning Meeting

The Treasure Island Yacht Club dates back to the Navy's days on the island.

When we were in our very early formation process at the Sailing Science Center we determined that there should be regular interaction between the Leadership Team and the Volunteers. To that end we established that, even while most of our board meetings could be accomplished through video conferencing, once every three months we would meet in person and combine our meeting with a volunteer event so that the volunteers and the leadership could get together. That happened on January 26, as we held a volunteer potluck following our board meeting. We had the good fortune to be able to schedule our gathering at the Treasure Island Yacht Club, which proved to be a perfect venue for the event. We were also fortunate to have Ros de Vries at the event, one of our newest volunteers and a naturally gifted photographer. Ros took all the photos that appear here. Ros has just joined our Social Media Team and has already launched a new SSC Instagram account (see our Social Media Corner below).

24 volunteers attended our potluck at the Treasure Island Yacht Club.

Plenty of good food and a lively brainstorming session created good value from the event.

In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility. – Eleanor Roosevelt

IN THE NEWS

Friends

Screen shot of logos on the new SSC Friends web page.

In the "pages" of this newsletter we have repeated many times the importance of not working alone. That applies across organizations as much as it does within them. To recognize and acknowledge the organizations that have supported the Sailing Science Center we created a new page on our website, simply named, Friends . We encourage you to take a look, check out their websites and support these good businesses and organizations. In future issues of this newsletter we will be spotlighting our friend organizations in much the way we have been spotlighting our volunteers.

More Exhibits Coming

Paul Kamen and Danny Beesley discussing exhibit designs at the College of Alameda.

On January 16 we held an Exhibit Planning "Deep Dive" at the College of Alameda to flesh out the plans for our next SIX exhibits. Together with our first exhibit, which we debuted at our gala in December, this will give us a complement of seven exhibits, corresponding to one exhibit for each of the museum's seven galleries .

More Volunteer Events Coming

Victoria Marcus and Morgan Davidson planning events for SSC volunteers.

On January 18 we held a planning session to create a Volunteer Event Calendar through the end of 2020. It's a very exciting calendar with an average of two events per month. Volunteer Event Coordinator, Morgan Davidson , led the effort, with help from Victoria Marcus . Events are designed to fall into the categories of Service , Cultivation , Education , Social , and Sailing . A sampling of the calendar includes a beach clean up day in September, a visit to the Lawrence Hall of Science in June, enjoying SailGP in May, and attending the Ocean Film Festival in March. Events are free to all active SSC volunteers. SSC is making it interesting, fun, educational and fulfilling to volunteer! Come join us!

Volunteer for the SSC!

Responsibility is a grace you give yourself not an obligation. – Dan Millman

Social Media Corner

Help Us Jumpstart Our Instagram!

We are finally on Instagram! In order to attain “influencer status” en route to Hangar 3, we need followers – followers who will supply a steady stream of superb sailing science content. That shouldn’t be hard for our large and growing community of sailors and doers, but we need your help . Call to Action:   1)  Follow us - We will be posting all major announcements, so this is another great way to stay up to date. We’re also asking all volunteers and supporters to tag at least 3 people in the comments of this post so they can learn what we’re up to, and follow if they like what they see.   2)  Send us your sailing pics/video - Share pictures and short videos (under 1 minute) of yourself sailing out on the Bay (or wherever you happen to be) to  social.media@sailingscience.org . Bonus points if you can convey something related to the science or mechanics or sailing.

Follow Us!

Small Stuff

On the Horizon March 5 - Latitude 38 Crew Party at the Golden Gate Yacht Club. SSC will have a table - come say Hi! March 25 - Wednesday Yachting Luncheon at the St. Francis Yacht Club. We will be the presenter. April 4 - Golden Gate Park 150th Anniversary. SSC will be there with the San Francisco Model Yacht Club. April 16-19 - Pacific Sail & Power Boat Show. SSC will be there. Move the Needle! These are things YOU can do to move the SSC vision forward:  Volunteer Donate Share the SSC Newsletter with your friends Sign our Endorsement Letter "Like" us on your favorite social media platform Make a difference. Move the needle!

Leadership Corner - Responsibility

The word responsibility can mean different things to different people. For some, taking responsibility is akin to taking the blame, a decidedly negative interpretation of the word. For others, taking responsibility is the ultimate form of empowerment. How can this one word have such vastly different interpretations? Read more.

New Volunteers We want to give a shout out to everyone who raised their hands in January to say they could help. This included Ros de Vries, Steven Flisler, Michael Law, Joe Mooring and Carol Klammer. We are very excited to have each and every one of you on the Sailing Science Center team! Welcome!

That's all for this month. Cheers! Jim Hancock President and Founder

Donate!

The San Francisco Sailing Science Center is a Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation recognized under IRS Section 501(c)(3), Tax ID 82-3631165. Your donation to the Sailing Science Center is tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.

OUR MISSION TO INSPIRE A PASSION FOR SAILING AND SCIENCE BY DELIGHTING PEOPLE THROUGH DISCOVERY AND PLAY OUR VISION AN INTERACTIVE HANDS-ON LEARNING CENTER: DELIGHTING “KIDS” FROM 5 TO 95 PROVIDING STEAM* LEARNING EXPERIENCES FOCUSING ON THE PHYSICAL SCIENCES AND MATH AND KEEPING IT FUN!!! *STEAM – Science, Technology, Engineering, Art & Math OUR BOARD Ron Young * James Hancock * Meagan Strout * Travis Lund * Jeff Owens Carolyn Davidson * Kira Hammond * Mike Beller VOLUNTEER EVENT COORDINATOR Morgan Davidson NEWSLETTER CONTENT MANAGER Christine Cid

The Sailing Science Center News is published on the first business day of each month. It is sent to team members, partners, volunteers, sponsors and supporters of the San Francisco Sailing Science Center. You are receiving this because you are considered to be in one of these groups. If you wish to be removed from the mailing list, please click the Unsubscribe link below. We do not sell, share or otherwise give out our mailing list beyond our organization.

San Francisco Sailing Science Center One Avenue of the Palms, Suite 16A San Francisco, CA 94130 510.390.5727 www.sailingscience.org