The Friends of Farmington Crew
Mission – The Friends of Farmington Crew (FOFC) is a charitable, educational, non-profit organization which supports and assists Farmington High School Crew under the guidance of the Farmington High School Athletic Director. It is the goal of FOFC to raise awareness of the sport of rowing and to provide financial and logistic support to the program. If successful, the FOFC will allow the coaches to focus on building a strong team by providing them with the equipment, facilities and logistic support to be competitive at the state and regional levels. To make this happen – the following Executive Board and active committees are in place:
Executive Board Officers for 2024 - 2025:
Emily Pettit & Patti Siegel - Co-Presidents
VACANT - Vice President
Hamid Adib - Treasurer
VACANT - Secretary
Tomasz Milczarek & Mark Shekhman - Facilities Liaisons
Amy Walsdorf - Common Table - SEEKING CO-CHAIR
VACANT - Fundraising Committee
Paula Ruiz - Merchandising & Spirit Wear - SEEKING CO-CHAIR
Alexis Carrier - Social Events
VACANT - Publicity and Sponsorships
VACANT - Photography
Evi Shekhman, Andrea Foley - Members at Large
Holly Hannan - Girl's Team Liaison
Liz Bennett - Boy's Team Liaison
Common Table Committee
The Common Table provides food and drink to all athletes and coaches on the day of a regatta. The Committee also provides a Family Table with light snacks for families and guests. We bring a trailer with supplies to the regatta, set up tents, tables, and grills, and serve snacks, beverages, and full meals to the athletes throughout the day. Families and guests are welcome to bring something and to contribute to the operation - either shopping for supplies, loading your car with food, grilling hamburgers and hot dogs, or restocking food items throughout the day. Working at the Common Table is a great way to meet people and make new friends!
Photos & Publicity Liaison
Our seasons are documented by a variety of amateur parent photographers and it is often heard "there is NO such thing as a BAD crew photo!" The rivers, rowers, and New England scenery provide an excellent subject matter for the photographer in all of us. (And who doesn't love photos of their kids having fun!) Many photos are forwarded to FHS for the 9:05 News and for the yearbook. We also send photos and crew news to local newspapers and other media when there is a noteworthy crew event. At the end of each season, the photos are compiled into a slide show that is shown at the banquet.
Fundraising Committee
Fundraising is the reason that the crew program has the boathouse, shells, coaches and other integral requirements required to have a rowing program. Without it, either the dues would be significantly higher or there would not be a program. Our fundraising efforts also have a community service component. We have helped the Friends of Special Needs Program at the high school purchase a handicap van, sell tickets for the Unico pasta supper (they have given it all back to us and more in donations), and we have collected food and money for the Farmington Food pantry. We are a group of parents who get together for a few nights to plan a fundraiser for each season. Fundraising can always use help. Parent involvement will ensure the continued success of the crew program. The more parents that help, the easier it is to be successful. We have done several different fundraisers over the years and have found a few that work well, and net a good profit. Since we have prior experience the logistics are already worked out, we just need to execute. The fundraisers we do are very large and need many people to make them work. If it is only an hour or two that you can contribute, we can find something for you to do.