SRA Stories: Vanessa Harder

At Sammamish Rowing Association (SRA) we love to praise our athletes and shower them with acknowledgement and support. As an athletic team, we focus mainly on the physical achievements of our crews. Our organization supports over 300 athletes, but our community is even larger. The countless family members, friends, coaches, volunteers, and community supporters are all just as invested in the red, blue, and white of SRA as the athletes are.

The Harder family in London

Our community also includes those who will never row, and those volunteers deserve just as much recognition. While they might not be getting PR’s on 2K tests every few weeks, their contributions can be just as impressive. Such is the case of Vanessa Harder, the SRA Volunteer of the Year for 2018.

David Harder and his daughter, Kennedy, after her win at Regionals 2018

In the Spring of 2017, the Harder’s brought their daughter, Kennedy, to the SRA open house. Initially reluctant to go as she was focused on her sports of basketball, swimming and golf, Kennedy warmed up to the idea of rowing when she saw her friend, Claire Surbeck, at the open house. She went on to row that summer and joined the novice girls’ team in the Fall, leaving her other sports and became 100% focused on rowing. Harder said Kennedy was hooked, and that her novice year with Coach Molly Lawrence was, “Transformational for our daughter. Molly is so gifted in teaching the girls rowing technique and growing them as athletes; all the while, she also creates a joyful novice team experience and improves the girls’ self-esteem.” Harder was impressed with the growth of Kennedy in both her confidence and fitness, and credits the SRA coaches and program structure.

Susan Freeberg spoke at the September 2017 mandatory parent meeting that Harder attended (as a novice parent), where Freeberg asked for someone to take charge and manage the food tent at regattas.

Harder met with Susan Freeburg at the Hod Fowler Boathouse to learn more about managing the food tent. Even though she didn’t even know how to put up a tent or connect a propane tank at the time, Harder and her husband David (who, as an Engineer, does know how to execute the technical operations the food tent requires) agreed to help. Harder soon learned that managing the food tent was almost like a full-time job in and of itself. She has a OneNote document that covers in extensive detail all she has learned so far. From recipes, food items, quantities, equipment, volunteers, efficient organization, trailer hauling, cooking, set-up, take-down, and plenty of other logistics and lists- Harder has them all explained and digitally documented.

Only a portion of the food tent food brought in by Costco

Since she was in the 7th grade, Harder has been volunteering, beginning with National Charity League (NCL) which is a mother – daughter philanthropy organization she joined with her mother. Fun fact, Harder and both her daughters have been a part of NCL here in Washington. Her donation of time and devotion to her community continued through high school, college, and up till now. When those emails kept flooding her inbox, looking for an SRA food tent leader, she felt like she should check it out. Harder said, “The thing is that it’s been with me for so long [volunteering] that giving back is part of who I am.” All her life, Harder had always focused on giving back to her community. She has logged far too many volunteer hours to count and has been involved in numerous organizations and sports. “My volunteering resume is more extensive than my career resume,” she said

A lot of what she does with the food tent, she had to learn herself; alongside her husband, or from other volunteers. Not only is she intensely focused on doing everything properly and in an organized manner, she also adds her own personal touch. She recalls once making several gallon sized zip-lock bags of homemade dry rub to flavor the steak and chicken for the chipotle style protein bowls, now know as “SRA Bowls”  they had at the food tent for junior regionals last year. She focuses on staying away from pre-made food, and invests time in researching healthy, nutritious meals and snacks for the rowers and coaches.
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Harder works in tandem with Pam Halverson, another junior parent, who is in charge of looking at food alternatives for athletes with allergies to ensure that every rower has plenty to eat regardless of the limits of their diets. Harder said, “We want volunteers to be happy. Getting parents engaged in the food tent and close to the racecourse makes them love it.” Harder and her husband contributed a gift to the food tent supplies- bright red Williams Sonoma aprons with the SRA logo on front. Donning these aprons, and red SRA hats, volunteers feel like they are truly part of the team as well- and they are.

The inside of the food trailer

“Doing this role with David has pushed me out of my comfort zone,” Harder admitted. Before a regatta, they are working almost full work day hours to prepare the food trailer. Harder has to order food from several businesses. She deals with Costco Business who comes to the boathouse to deliver bulk items. She then often follows up at other grocery stores for additional items, foods for rowers with allergies, and last minute necessities. She spends hours packing the food trailer with labeled coolers, and has an intricate way of layering ice and dry ice to keep food fresh.
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Someone needs to drive the food trailer to regattas. Todd Lozier, a junior parent and community supporter of SRA, has been that person for 2 years. His truck is big enough to haul the heavy trailer to regattas, which has been a tremendous help to Harder. “[Lozier] is a super amazing, fantastic guy,” Harder said, “He hauls the trailer to regattas for us, helps unload and load, and is usually one of the very last people to leave the regatta since it takes awhile to pack up.” Fun Fact- Lozier even transports boats that frequently are loaded on top of our food trailer, making his role so key.

Harder has taught her children to “leave everything better than you found it,” and she is applying the same principles to her volunteer work at SRA. She finds under buying food for regattas “unacceptable” and make sure every rower can have as many servings as they like to properly fuel for races, while also making sure she is fiscally responsible to stay within SRA’s budget. Her personal touch is seen everywhere from her hand crafted menus to the oatmeal bar wagon she plans to have at Regionals this year. Her desire to make volunteering at the food tent a pleasant experience has dramatically risen the number of parents who sign up to volunteer and wear the now famous red aprons.

Kennedy is finishing up her sophomore year so the Harder’s plan to be around a little while longer. However, Vanessa is already preparing to pass on the food tent baton. “When the time comes, I want to hand it off better than I found it”. For now, she is savoring every experience as her daughter continues participating in the sport she loves.

One of Harder’s favorite memories is from Junior Regionals last year. Kennedy was stroking the Novice Girls 8+ in the finals and their boat was ahead by open water. Sprinting away from the food tent to see their daughter race, Vanessa and David were able to watch just under the last 1,000 meters of the race. The girls were crushing the competition and extending their lead with every stroke. Harder remembers Kennedy bursting into joyful and exhausted tears when they crossed the finish line along with her coxswain and friend, Mary Kirchoff. They had beaten the next best boat, Green Lake Crew, by 13 seconds.
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The energy and cheers from the crowd paired with the absolute joy and happiness from Kennedy made this moment incredibly special for Harder. Kennedy’s smile was huge as she took a photo first with her father, and then her extremely proud mother. Harder was a chaperone at San Diego Crew Classic this April and was able to watch her Kennedy stroke the JV boat which placed second, making history as the first SRA girls boat to reach the Grand Finals. These memories motivate the Harder’s to keep volunteering for a program they and their rower cherish.

Kennedy Harder receives an embrace from her friend and coxswain, Mary Kirchoff, following their win at Regionals

SRA has amazing athletes, no question about it, but we also have an incredible support system. People generously give their time, attention, and effort to make this organization, “better than they found it,” as Harder would say. Without our volunteers, much of what we do wouldn’t be possible. It truly takes a team- one made up of more than just athletes- to accomplish our mission. Thank you to Vanessa Harder, SRA’s 2018 Volunteer of the Year, and all of our volunteers for the outstanding work you do for our team. 

Vanessa (right) and Kennedy (left) Harder hug after Kennedy won her Regionals race with her novice eight boat