Bea Hartigan, Volunteer Of The Year
NEW YORK. Bea Hartigan was selected as the 2011 Times of Huntington Volunteer of the Year. The long-time open water swimming race director and coach was recognized as a open water swimming advocate and devoted fundraiser.She has spent decades organizing and officiating swimming competitions including the Fran Schnarr Memorial 5K in Huntington Bay (New York) since its inception 19 years ago. Gil Smith describes Bea’s manner of volunteering: “Some people volunteer sparingly but not Bea; she volunteers full throttle.”
“It’s hard for people to realize how much goes into the organization of any race, it literally takes hundreds of hours,” said Steven Munatones who has also known her for years.
“Because she has been doing it for decades, she has put in thousands of hours promoting events, getting volunteers and donating money over the years. She is quite the remarkable individual whose own legacy and helpfulness to so many people is hard to put into words.”
Photo from Townwide Fund
Copyright © 2011 by Open Water Source
Southern California native, born 1962, is the creator of the WOWSA Awards, Oceans Seven, Openwaterpedia, Citrus Corps, World Open Water Swimming Association, Daily News of Open Water Swimming, Global Open Water Swimming Conference. He is Chief Executive Officer of KAATSU Global and KAATSU Research Institute. Inductee in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame (Honor Swimmer, Class of 2001) and Ice Swimming Hall of Fame (Honor Contributor - Media, Class of 2019), recipient of the International Swimming Hall of Fame's Poseidon Award (2016), International Swimming Hall of Fame's Irving Davids-Captain Roger Wheeler Memorial Award (2010), USA Swimming's Glen S. Hummer Award (2007, 2010) and Harvard University's John B. Imrie Award (1984). Served on the FINA Technical Open Water Swimming Committee and as Technical Delegate with the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games, and 9-time USA Swimming coaching staff. Note: WOWSA only recommends products or services used or recommended by the community. WOWSA does not receive compensation for links or products mentioned on this site or in blog posts. If it does, it will be indicated clearly on that specific post. See WOWSA's privacy policy for more information.
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