Head Of The Charles Regatta 2016 HOCR Program | Page 33

the growing event, and to do so, they would need someone to dedicate themselves full time to that task. Without a director who could seek sponsorship and long-term funding, the costs would fall to the athletes. For a year, HOCR founder, D’Arcy McMahon served as the first Executive Director, before Smith and Carr recruited Schoch to be the first full-time director in 1991. Smith and Carr knew Schoch from his year teaching at the Belmont Hill School in 1978-1980, when he rowed at Cambridge Boat Club. So when they saw Schoch at work running the Challenge on the Hudson – a regatta that had been formed to support environmental group Scenic Hudson – and securing IBM as a sponsor, they knew they had found their guy. As an oarsman and coach with business acumen, they had found the person they were looking for to fill the role of Executive Director. Quickly, Smith became a mentor to Schoch, as he began to work with a new group of people and learn the ropes of HOCR and CBC. Tog