TACS News
| USSailing Awards | Cornwell Sailing Center Update

TAC Sailing Programs
REGISTER ONLINE

USSailing awards TACS for OUTSTANDING LEADERSHIP

Robert Allor Award

It's been a long journey at Hull Park for TACS, Here's our original building in 1992:

Another view of the site in 1992:

Overhead Rendering of our new boat house


TACS President Skibowski dedicates the site:

TACS Supporters & Board at the groundbreaking:

Start of construction (July 1, 2008)

Under Construction (August, 2008)

Construction Complete (October 23, 2008)

Construction of the boathouse is complete and we want to thank you!

Our long held goal of having a permanent storage facility on Boardman Lake is now a reality! Our new boathouse was dedicated as the Gordon & Jean Cornwell Sailing Center.

The Officers and Board Members, our hard working staff, and especially the area youth that enjoy this great program are excited to be in our permanent home. TACS has been serving the community since 1994 and we have just completed our 15th season of teaching kids how to sail. As TACS has grown, so has our fleet of boats and the need to house and protect them.

We are already seeing just some of the benefits of the boathouse, the 2009 season schedule has been extended and our High School Sailors will be able to use the facility into November. Without the boathouse these new or extended programs just would not have been practical. Now they are!

To you our supported and generous donors, We thank you for all that you do to support sailing in our region and for your ongoing efforts to inspire the next generation of sailors.

With all of our beautiful lakes and bays, Traverse City should be the sailing capitol of the world. Maybe it will be, yet! We can still use your help! We are still short of our fundraising goal to meet the boat house budget. Donations made to TACS are TAX Deductible. Please call for more information or to make a donation call 231-922-3000 or Click Here

If you would like to help sustain TACS over the long term, please click through to the links below and help us establish our endowment fund.

Endowment Fund

Sailing Center Fund

Download the form here

TACS AWARDS:

USSailing awards Bob Cornwell and Mike Wills the Outstanding Leadership Award for 2008.

Please join us in congratulating Bob & Mike for their award recognizing their dedication to and leadership for Traverse Area Community Sailing!! Many people have contributed to the progress illustrated in the pictures to the left, but none more so than Mike and Bob. The following is the text of the award from USSailing's Community Sailing Council:

"In March of 1993, Mike Wills, at the time a marina operator and boat dealer, organized a Sailing Summit to discuss the evident decline in local sailing, which gave birth to Traverse Area Community Sailing. Mike has been Treasurer of TACS since inception and was instrumental in securing permission from the City to operate on city park land on a small inland lake within the City limits and Mike donated a converted bus-to-motor-home as the program’s initial base of operations. In 1997, Mike requested and received permission from the City Commission to erect a permanent building on the site. Conceptual plans were drawn and TACS began raising money for the project. Bob Cornwell, a local architect and board member, volunteered his time and talents to complete the working drawings. Together, Bob and Mike managed the construction process and the Gordon and Jean Cornwell Sailing Center was completed in October of 2008, with the building named for the support provided by Bob’s parents. Since 1994, TACS has provided sailing instruction and activities for over 4,000 area youth and adults in various programs. The building now houses the TACS fleet of more than 70 boats and will facilitate the development and expansion of programs to a wider audience, including those with disabilities."

back to top

USSailing awards Ian McGurn the Excellence in Instruction Award for 2007

Traverse Area Community Sailing is proud to have had another award winning instructor on our staff. The United States Sailing Association annually awards outstanding personalities and programs that serve the sailing community in the United States. For 2007 they have awarded our Lead Instructor, Ian McGurn, the “Excellence in Instruction Award”.

Ian has not only been a member of our staff, but is a product of the TACS program, having attended some of our first camps. A veteran staff member, he has been our Lead Instructor at TACS for several years and has become a main stay of the program in every way possible. Ian exemplifies the creative mindset for developing activities and curriculum that inspire and educate our
sailors. Most importantly to our younger and first time sailors, Ian made all of our sailors feel safe and welcome at the camps. He drew out and grew confidence even in the most timid of our sailors.

Unfortunately for us, family and career opportunities have taken Ian away from Traverse City and on to Boston. However, as his legacy to the program, Ian authored the first ever TACS Instructor Manual which will provide our future staff members with continued high quality instruction techniques. Ian continuously set the standards of leadership and fair play that has become the hallmark of TACS. Please join us in congratulating Ian and wishing him
well in his future endeavors.

In the past, USSailing has honored TACS with awards for the “Outstanding Seasonal Program” for the year 2000 and by naming our Camp Director, Ben Ferris, the “Outstanding Director of a Seasonal Program” for the year 2002.

back to top

If you would like to make a donation, or become more involved as a volunteer/supporter, please contact us at:

Traverse Area
Community Sailing
PO Box 4149, Traverse City, Michigan 49684
(231) 922-5922
email: tacs@tacsailing.com

 About TACS   |  Sailing Programs   | Registration   |  Resources | Camp News | TACS Home