Other Years Bios and Updates

With great regret, I must inform you that I will be unable to join you for the spring GRAA meetings at the Cosmos Club. I have a rare form of very aggressive Parkinson’s, which has largely taken away both my mobility and speech … but I can still type with one finger.

So please tell your Georgetown crew-mates three things from one who followed them:

1. I enjoyed every minute of my association with the Georgetown Crew … every outing, every friendship.

2. All of us in my generation (late 1960’s) were always grateful to the early Cadle-era crews for getting the program, which we enjoyed so much in our day, off to such a strong, tradition-inspired start; and

3. Next time you or any of your crew-mates are in the Tombs, sit at table near the fireplace and linger a bit looking at the Georgetown oars still displayed there and recognize the impact that the Cadle-era crews had on all those championship crews that followed. You were our heroes. You set for us the very high standard of winning at the Dad Vail Regatta. We knew your names (sometimes still taped to the back of our oars). We heard all the inspiring stories about all of you. You set the benchmark against which we measured ourselves – gold, yes or no.

Thank you.

Never row,

John

________________

John C. Courtain, C’70, L’78, P’13

Member, 1969 Dad Vail Champion Varsity Eight

Member, Society of the Golden Oar

President, Georgetown Rowing Alumni Association, 1974-78

Varsity Coach, Georgetown Lightweight Men’s Crew, 1971-73

Husband of Sharon Courtin, N’76, founder (in 1975), Georgetown Women’s Crew

Father of Katie Courtin, F’13, varsity coxswain, Georgetown Men’s Varsity Lightweight Crew

Father of Allison (Brown), assistant coach, Georgetown Freshmen Lightweight men’s crew, 2012-13