Freedom Boat Club Donates Sailboats to New College of Florida's ...
For Immediate Release
Contact: Wanda Kenton Smith CMO, Freedom Boat Club (941) 451-8756 [email protected]
Freedom Boat Club Donates Sailboats to New College of Florida’s Waterfront and Sailing Programs
April 28, 2016, Venice, FL – Freedom Boat Club, North America’s oldest and largest boat club with 10,000+ members in 21 states and Canada, strongly believes in community partnerships and in giving back. The company’s Venice, FL headquarters office supports dozens of organizations all along the Sun Coast where it operates 17 corporate-owned clubs from Bradenton to Marco Island. The most recent major corporate partnership initiative includes the gifting of three sailboats to the New College of Florida’s Sailing Team and Waterfront Programs. As a member of the Intercollegiate Sailing Association of North America, the New College Sailing Team regularly hosts regattas and competes in major competitions, taking home first place in the 2014 Allstate Sugar Bowl Regatta in New Orleans. Freedom Boat Club’s sailboat donations including two Hunters and a Catalina are now part of the college’s official sailing fleet and will have multiple uses as part of the school’s active waterfront and Sailing Team programs. “We deeply appreciate the generous gift from Freedom Boat Club President and CEO John Giglio and Freedom Boat Club,” said New College of Florida President Dr. Donal O’Shea. “This valuable gift provides New College with three clean, safe and well-maintained boats and allows our students the opportunity to learn the proper sailing and operation of keel boats. It also gives our waterfront program the vessels needed for group bay cruises, staff-led overnight cruises, and it opens up a much greater range of potential destinations. And Freedom Boat Club Corporate ▪ 990 Laguna Drive, Venice, FL 34285 ▪ www.freedomboatclub.com
New College’s highly competitive Sailing Team already is putting these boats to good use – the Catalina 250 was a committee boat in the last regatta New College hosted!” Added Freedom Boat Club President/CEO John Giglio, “We maintain boats in our fleet for three years before replacing them and each boat is serviced and regularly maintained. We decided to donate these sailboats to New College to support the good work of the college in our community and to provide more opportunities for young people to enjoy the sailing and boating lifestyle. We are glad to see these great sailboats become part of the sailing and waterfront program as we work together to promote boating to more young people.” About Freedom Boat Club Freedom Boat Club has 110 clubs in North America and Canada and is the exclusive boat club franchisor in North America, ranked in the Entrepreneur Magazine Top Franchise 500. For more information about Freedom Boat Club, visit www.freedomboatclub.com. About New College of Florida New College of Florida is a national leader in the arts and sciences and is the State of Florida’s designated ‘honors college’ for the liberal arts. Consistently ranked among the top public liberal arts colleges in America by U.S. News & World Report, Forbes and The Princeton Review, New College attracts highly motivated, academically talented students from 38 states and 23 foreign countries. A higher proportion of New College students receive Fulbright awards than graduates from virtually all other colleges and universities. For more information about the New College Sailing Program, visit https://www.ncf.edu/campuslife/clubs-and-activities/sailing-program/ ###
Caption: Freedom Boat Club President/CEO John Giglio, left, with New College of Florida President Dr. Donal O’Shea, with club-donated sailboats on Sarasota Bay, FL Freedom Boat Club Corporate ▪ 990 Laguna Drive, Venice, FL 34285 ▪ www.freedomboatclub.com
