January Pan Am Newsletter

nancykemper — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 19:24:32 +0000

Registration is now open for many of our events including:

TAMPA
ROCKY POINT
SARASOTA
SRDBA REGIONALS

January Pan Am Newsletter

nancykemper — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 18:16:45 +0000

Registration is now open for many of our events including:

TAMPA
ROCKY POINT
SARASOTA
SRDBA REGIONALS

In Memoriam: Linda Fessell

nancykemper — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 11:44:29 +0000

In Memoriam: Linda D. Fessell 1947-2011
Our deepest sympathy goes out to the family and friends of Linda Fessell.
Red Dragons Tampa

Tributes to Linda Fessell
Today the Pink Dragon Ladies mourn the loss of one of its founding members, Linda Fessell. Linda was a steady and dedicated force on the team who worked hard and inspired others through her example. A mainstay in the “engine room,” Linda’s superb technique, consistent power, and reliable stamina always set the tone in the boat’s mid-section. But Linda’s leadership on the team began in 2004 when she answered a call by the Moffitt Cancer Center to help form a breast cancer survivor dragon boat crew. This enthusiastic group of survivors called themselves the Pink Dragon Ladies and went on to compete in the 2005 Tampa Bay International Dragon Boat Races – feeling victorious despite finishing last!

Unwilling to wait until the follow year to race again, four members of the original team decided to incorporate as a 501(c )3, not-for-profit organization so that they could keep their dream alive and make it accessible to cancer survivors throughout the Tampa Bay region. Linda Fessell was one of those four founding members, and she served as the first Treasurer. She also enlisted the help of her son, Matt (a recent graduate of FSU’s law school) to file the articles of incorporation.

Incorporated on August 29, 2005 as Team Survivor Tampa Bay, Inc., and racing under its familiar name, the Pink Dragon Ladies became the first cancer survivor dragon boat team in Florida. Linda’s foresight and dedication helped create the legacy that the team enjoys today in the cancer survivor and dragon boat communities in the state of Florida.

With breast cancer survivor teams now established in Miami (Save our Sisters) and Orlando (Warriors on Water), and with teams starting to form in Punta Gorda, Sarasota, and The Villages, the dream of Linda and the founders continues to flourish.

I met Linda at that first meeting at Moffitt and we paddled together for 7 years. Linda was a woman of few words who did not seek the limelight. When she was on the boat she was entirely focused on the job at hand. She gave the team 120% every time. But off the boat, she was dedicated to her daughter Theresa and son Matt, and their families. I know that Linda would not want us to make a fuss – that was not her style. But we grieve the loss of her friendship, her dedication, and her example. And our hearts go out to her family who lost the devoted love of a mother, grandmother, sister, and daughter.

They say that in the dragon boat all hearts beat as one. At times like this, all hearts break as one.- Liz O’Connell