Board
Here you can find more information on the current board of Okawa and their predecessors. The board consists of five people: Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, Vice-chair, & Commisioner of Affairs.
2024-2025
When?
This administration was inaugurated on October the 15th, during the 37th GMM in Eindhoven.
Who?
Chair – Lynn Schuurman
Lynn is one of the most enthusiastic people you can find. Whether you are talking to her, on/in the water or whilst doing board stuff, she brings the energy wherever she goes! That she has a lot of energy to go around is very apparent from the double bachelor and the second board year she is doing. Yes, our previous vice-chair enjoyed her role so much, she wanted an upgrade. After a year of closely studying what a chair has to do: being the face and main point of contact of the association, leading Board meetings and making the tough decisions. She decided to drop her vice and become a proper Chair instead! Hopefully we will see her more in the water this year, unless her knee decides to become broken again. Even if it decides to give out, she will have a whole Board to use as her crutch ;)
Secretary – Saskia Winkel
She can survive anything, literally…. Whatever you throw at her, she will solve it. But most impressive is her ability to solve problems before anyone even realizes there is one! Fixing the declaration of which the 37th board was not even aware had a problem, just because “excel is fun to work with”. Saskia’s insane organization skills make her perfect for the secretary role, and there’s no doubt we will be on top of every e-mail; besides, those e-mails will probably not be sitting around for more than an hour before Saskia has already replied. Saskia’s boredom in her long weekends fuel her creativity and will to organize, allowing for beautifully made posters, perfected declaration forms, thoroughly worked out schedules, and once in a while, a nice cocktail. Those cocktails are another one of her specialties. Saskia brings joy to the bonding activities and it is hard not to find her where the rest of Okawa is (unless we get Ardennencamp fiasco again 😬). Her regular weekend boredoms will ensure Okawa runs smoother than it ever has. Saskia will be very valuable to the 38th board, not only as secretary, but also as a wonderful friend!
Treasurer – Remko Koelwijn
Remko (or Remco, depending on who you ask) has already been a loyal Okawanian for quite some years. One might even start to call him "old". You won't just find him at Okawa - just like a lot of other Okawanians you can often find him on a bouldering wall. After successfully finishing a year as commissioner of external affairs and activities, Okawa hasn't scared him off from doing a second board year. One year of dealing with everything surrounding activities was enough; Remko is ready for the next challenge. He will deal with everything regarding Okawa's finances this year, as he is becoming our dear treasurer this year. Having had the opportunity to pick up the fine details of being a treasurer during his last board year, this year will surely be a success!
Vice-chair – Naud van Rosmalen
Naud, one might call him the busiest person on the board, not only being Vice-chair at Okawa but also doing a board year at Wervingsdagen where he is responsible for the External and Digital Affairs. Coincidentally he will also help Okawa in the same area being responsible for the "all" new Web and Socials Committee. He is currently in his masters of Biomedical Engineering and can often be found at the Zaak where, close to the Dommel and swimming pool. He has been kayaking with enthusiasm for years and loves to paddle rapids surrounded by nature!
Commisioner of Affairs – Rick Overmeer
After having been a member for half a decade, RickO has finally decided to join the dark side and do a board year (and yes, the O is an important part of the name!). In previous years he has been involved with organising many kayaking trips for the association, from German daytrips to our summer camp in the Alps, and will be disappointed if he can’t make them bigger and better this time around. As Commissioner of Affairs, he will see to all… *vague gesturing*... affairs… and is the one-stop-shop for information, questions and complaints, as well as tempering some of the wackier ideas presented by the rest of the board. This year, he will ensure everything is smooth sailing (wrong sport though 😢) - if anything unexpected pops up we can be 100% certain that he will have questions…