EWE SPIRIT FOUNDATION - Key Persons

Job Titles:

• Member of the Board of Directors

Jon VanderMolen lives on Gull Lake in southwestern Michigan, where he grew up immersed in boats. His hobby and passion have always been sailboat racing, and he spends the majority of his time sailing in the Star class. Jon met Geoff at a Star regatta in 2005, and the two became fast friends. Often teaming up together to race the Star, Jon and Geoff always enjoyed success on the water. These two large personalities made for amazing teammates and even better friends.

Job Titles:

• President
• President of the Board of Directors

Mary Ewenson grew up on the Severn River, just north of Annapolis, Maryland, spending much of her summers on the water. After college, she taught high school math for several years before turning her love for sailing into a new career in 1995, when she and her friend Dave Gendell started SpinSheet Magazine. Two years later, at the Severn Sailing Association's Interclub Midwinters, sailing made her life complete when Geoff Ewenson walked into the skippers' meeting. Tall, handsome, and tan having recently returned from a month sailing in Mexico, Geoff and his beautiful blue eyes captured Mary's heart, and from then on there was no Mary without Geoff. Mary's initial foray into the marine industry with SpinSheet has grown over the years to include PropTalk Magazine, PortBook, a stake in the Annapolis BoatShows, and most recently FishTalk Magazine, which she started with Chesapeake angler Lenny Rudow. She has served on the boards of Chesapeake Region Accessible Boating, the Marine Trades Association of Maryland, the Annapolis Waterfront and Sailing Center, and the Maritime Advisory Board of Anne Arundel County, and currently serves as a captain with Athletes Serving Athletes.

Job Titles:

• Secretary
• Secretary of the Board of Directors

Nick Ewenson was Geoff's youngest sibling, born and raised in Newport, Rhode Island. Although Nick was 10 years younger than Geoff, the two brothers shared many of the same childhood highlights: big, extended family gatherings, sailing out of the Ida Lewis Yacht Club, competing in other sports, attending Tabor Academy. Sailing continued to be the catalyst that brought them together in their adulthood. The two would often team up for a regatta or two, either on Geoff and Mary's Viper, in Wednesday night Shields racing, or on a boat that Geoff was managing.

Job Titles:

• Member of the Board of Directors
• Healthcare Executive

Peter McClennen is a lifelong sailor whose passion began while sailing with his family, especially his mother, who was also an avid sailor and racer. They sailed together on Cape Cod nearly every day in the summer on their wooden 1914 Wianno Senior racing sloop. Peter's current sailing pursuits are unique as he is very active in restoring and racing classic yachts as well as racing today's modern boats. His racing program, Gamecock Sailing, is named after his classic 1925 Herreshoff R Class racing yacht, Gamecock.   Peter's interest in learning about and racing modern boats is what led him to Geoff. It was in Fort Lauderdale in 2017 when their paths eventually crossed. Geoff took Peter sailing on Themis, a C&C 30 One Design, giving him his first experience on a planning sport boat. At this point Peter was hooked. Geoff proceeded to sail with, coach and advise Peter on all types of sailing endeavors. They sailed together on Peter's C&C 30, Nyabinghi, and on his IC37 and Melges 24, both named Gamecock. Although Geoff and Peter both attended the University of Rhode Island, they did not know each other then. As their friendship blossomed, they discovered a shared love of '80s movie trivia and taking fast sailboats "Plaid!"-a reference to the 1987 movie Spaceballs' idiom for "going very fast." The two men also shared a passion for developing young sailors. Peter helped found the Eos Big Boat Program at Sail Newport to develop young adult sailors' big boat and team skills. The program uses the C&C platform, which kept Geoff in the mix with his expertise and advice on these boats.   In his "other life," Peter is an accomplished healthcare executive focusing on providing new technologies and services in the complicated world of healthcare delivery. He was CEO of Best Doctors, a global second-option service, president of Teladoc, the leader in virtual care, and president of healthcare IT companies dbMotion, Allscripts and Amicas. Prior to that he was an executive for General Electric in its global medical imaging IT business.    Primarily living in Newport, Rhode Island, Peter is married and has a college-age son. He can be found racing up and down the East Coast, most frequently in Newport and Miami.

Job Titles:

• Treasurer
• Treasurer of the Board of Directors

Reid McLaughlin is a longtime friend of Geoff Ewenson first meeting him while junior sailing on Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island. Reid attended the United States Naval Academy and then transferred to the University of Rhode Island where he reconnected with Geoff as roommates and teammates on the URI Sailing team. After sailing with and against Geoff in many corners of the globe he landed in Annapolis Maryland where he expanded his friendship with Geoff to include both their growing families. Reid's career has seen him bring technology solutions to many different industries ranging from weather routing software for ships to health care analytics solutions and he plans to leverage this experience in helping the Foundation with its technology needs. Reid was an All American Sailor at the United States Naval Academy and has sailed extensively in local, regional, national, and international events oftentimes crossing paths with Geoff. Reid is excited to help the Foundation remember Geoff's legacy and to continue spreading the joy, thoughtfulness, and kindness that Geoff showed to all.