2020 Laudeman Award Winner
The Laudeman award was established in 1989 in honor of long time member and former Commodore, Jim Laudeman. The intent of the award is to recognize a member who has a distinguished record of service over many years. In 1991, Jim's wife Sue donated her watercolor painting of Jim's J/24 "Bad News" sailing on the Severn River. It hangs over the mantle in SSA's great room. The recipient receives a limited edition print of the original watercolor.
This year's winner, Lisa Pline, exemplifies long term service and dedication to SSA but her contributions this year deserve special recognition as well. Lisa is an extraordinary volunteer and leader. She exudes positive energy and has that can do attitude, so important in a volunteer organization. Quite simply, everything she touches, she makes better. In recent years, she has served on the Junior Committee and played a major role in several Junior spring fundraisers. She is now on the Membership Committee and acts as its secretary. As the Snipe Fleet Captain extraordinaire, she also serves on the Sailing Committee. In 2018 and 2019, Lisa was a member of the food service working group that selected Botanas Fajardo. She also served on the Nominating Committee in 2019.
Early on in the pandemic, Lisa recognized that COVID- 19 travel limitations actually provided an opportunity for folks to stay local and sail more. The Snipe fleet hosted numerous informal races and training sessions--and focused on fleet growth and attracting new members to the fleet and club. Under her leadership, the Snipe fleet also led the way in finding ways to host regattas safely in this time of COVID 19. This year, she organized the inaugural SSA fleet challenge. The regatta received rave reviews by the competitors. She also served as regatta chair for the 2020 Snipe Nationals. Because it was postponed due to the pandemic, she has the honor of being the regatta chair for the 2021 Snipe Nationals!
Sailboat racing is a family affair for the Pline's. Lisa and her husband Alex, a very active volunteer in his own right, make up the dynamic duo known as Team Pline. Both are outstanding sailors, as is their daughter Lexi.
Congrats to Lisa!