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HJN local mobileRowing center has oars of optimism in the Great Miami
Civic leaders say river activities can be economic catalyst for Hamilton.
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HAMILTON — The Great Miami Rowing Center signifies three communities at work. There’s the individual rowing teams, GMRC as a whole and Hamilton. All three impact each other in an effort to better the community and the individuals involved.
‘An economic driver’
The Great Miami River is slated to be “an economic driver” for Hamilton.
“The Butler County Visitors Bureau just named the Great Miami River as the county’s biggest asset,” said Frances Mennone, executive director of GMRC. “It distinguishes Butler from others that don’t have that natural resource. It’s critical to the long-term economy that we focus on the resources we have.”
The rowing center is meant to be a catalyst to the activities the river will provide.
“We hope it’ll be an aquatic facility,” Mennone said. She said eventually the river can provide fishing, canoeing and kayaking.
The sport of rowing is just a start to the community change.
“Rowing should help with the image of Hamilton,” said Nancy Wiley, chair of the Vision Commission, which works to make sure the city’s Vision 2020 plans for the community are being implemented.
The rowing center is “one of 20 projects we are working on, a catalyst to get things going,” Wiley said. “If we can get to have major regattas we can bring in 30,000 people who stay in hotels and buy food and spend money.”
These hopes may be well on their way, as interest in GMRC has been increasing.
“There are a lot more participants (since 2007),” said GMRC rowing coach Emilie Graham. “The sport of rowing has gained a lot of interest in the community.”
More than 100 people currently row throughout the seasons.
“Even throughout the (economic) downturn we have maintained a healthy membership,” Mennone said.
A combination of private donations and member dues have kept GMRC running, and regatta events can make it profitable.
GMRC already hosts three events on the Great Miami River: the Hamilton Fall Classic, the Burgundy and Blue Regatta in May, and Row for the Cure held Sept. 12.
‘One big family’
“We’re totally a family at GMRC,” Graham said. “I think we’re all working together really well.”
The GMRC rowers work together to fund the program, through program dues, as well as helping each other row. Regardless of teams, the rowers help organize, set up and clean up equipment, and even gather for a cheer at the end of every session.
“The nature of the sport kind of brings people together and everyone just does work together really well,” Graham said. “There’s an inherent teamwork that is ingrained in the sport of rowing.”
While GMRC is a privately funded organization, the idea for a rowing center was dreamt up in the Vision 2020 project in the 1990s, and has been helped financially by the Hamilton Community Foundation, Mennone said.
“Now we have a thriving youth program and Miami Hamilton operates a program through us,” Mennone said. There also are beginning and master’s rowing classes for adults.
Mennone was consulted and then hired to run the program because of her expertise in building rowing programs from the ground up. The Butler County native started up a rowing center in Chicago, as well as did coaching in Cincinnati, before she moved to Hamilton.
“None of those towns were rowing meccas, I grew up that way,” Mennone said. “We’re going to be continuing educating the community and promoting the sport.”
The GMRC community has been creating opportunities for individuals and the community to shine.
“We’ve (competed in) races and we have had our students sought out by colleges,” Wiley said. “We’ve beaten teams that have been around much longer. We’re doing better than we hoped.”
Learn to row
The success of the rowing center and its impact on Hamilton is entirely dependent on those who choose to row. A perfect example was August’s Learn to Row class, which was led by GMRC coach Graham.
“The nature of the sport kind of brings people together and everyone just does work together really well,” Graham said.
“I think everyone can make it through Learn to Row. What it tends to do is change you a little bit and your perspective on athletics and team work and camaraderie.”
This group rowed a four-person boat called “The Alien” for reasons nobody knows. The team consisted of Michael Starkey and Cynthia Malcolm from Fairfield and Christina Hawley from Hamilton. All three had their own reasons for starting the class.
“I have wanted to row since I was in (Ohio University) 20 years ago, as my professor was the U.S. rowing team’s exercise physiologist,” said Starkey, 41. He is a the president of Hauser Corporate Solutions.
“OU however did not have a team, and I thought I would have to wait until I was done coaching my son in his sports to find time,” he said.
When he found out about GMRC, he joined immediately.
Malcolm is an aesthetics (skin care) instructor with two kids who said she enjoys trying out new things. She joined GMRC after she heard about it at the YMCA.
“The nature of the sport kind of brings people together. ... There’s an inherent teamwork that is ingrained in the sport of rowing.”
Emilie Graham
Great Miami Rowing Center coach
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