Head Of The Charles Regatta 2016 HOCR Program | Page 29

our thanks/
OUR THANKS TO ED SMITH, FORMER
TREASURER, RACE DIRECTOR, TRUSTEE,
AND CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD

AMANDA COX

E

very October, like a frothy pumpkin spice latte to an Autumnconnoisseur, the Head Of The
Charles Regatta draws a community of
rowers and non-rowers to the banks of
the Charles River. They’re here to see
Andrew Campbell fight off Mahe Drysdale and Gevvie Stone set record after
record on her home course. They’re here
for the thousands of youth competitors
taking their first racing strokes on this
river; to see family young and old on the
famed windy river. And like every rower
with a Concept2 chapstick in their vest
pocket, they’re here for the bright lights
and bedazzled tents of the sponsors.
You can thank Ed Smith for helping
to kick-start all that.
It’s impossible to recount the history of the HOCR without considering
Smith, th e mastermind behind many
of the Regatta’s initiatives. His energy
is contagious and since the moment
he stepped foot into Cambridge Boat
Club (CBC) and began to volunteer for
HOCR, it seems not a waking moment
passed that he didn’t think of ways to
improve the regatta. Smith has faithfully served as Treasurer, Race Director,
Trustee, and finally he served as the
Chairman of the Board from 1997 until
his retirement in 2015.
Upon graduation from College of
the Holy Cross in 1973 where he rowed
on Lake Quinsigamond, Smith moved
to Boston and planned to continue
rowing at CBC. The club, which had
only recently taken over running HOCR,
recruited him to volunteer, and he was
immediately swept up in the world of
this young, but growing regatta. That
year Smith raced his very first HOCR in

OPPOSITE PAGE
Ed Smith presenting
the Jerome Olrich
Trophy in the early
1990s.

PHOTO: HOCR ARCHIVES

MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION AND RECREATION

FIFTY-SECOND HEAD OF THE CHARLES REGATTA

29