Olympian Meghan O’Leary to Chair Boathouse Bash
Olympic Rower Meghan O’Leary will serve as the honorary chair of Riverfront Recapture’s Boathouse Bash on June 22. The Boathouse Bash is a celebration of Riverfront Rowing’s and its Director of Rowing Brian Wendry, who has given 20 years of service to the organization. Under Wendry’s leadership, Riverfront Rowing has grown from a local rowing club with a handful of boats into one of the most successful community rowing programs in the Northeast. O’Leary, who represented the United States in 2016 Rio Olympics, is one of Riverfront Rowing’s most notable alumnae.
Meghan O’Leary will join supporters of Riverfront Rowing from throughout the region to toast her former coach Brian Wendry, celebrate the success of the program and launch the Rowing Stewards Fund. This fund was created to support long-term and capital-intensive investments that ensure the sustainability of Riverfront Rowing.
The weekend’s festivities will kick off with a Steward’s Reception Friday, June 22 on the deck of the Boathouse in Hartford’s Riverside Park, an opportunity for guests to mix and mingle with O’Leary and Wendry from 6 to 7 pm. This will be followed by the Boathouse Bash from 7 to 11 pm, a party on the banks of the Connecticut River featuring a summer supper, open bar, music and supporters of the organization from throughout the Greater Hartford region. The celebration will wrap up on Saturday, June 23 with a Reunion Row, a friendly race open to rowers throughout the region.
Purchase tickets for the Stewards Reception, Boathouse Bash, and Reunion Row and learn more about sponsorship opportunities at boathousebashhartford.org. 100% of proceeds will benefit the newly launched Rowing Stewards Fund.
About Meghan O’Leary
Meghan O’Leary is a 2016 Olympian, 2017 World Championship silver medalist, and five-time National Team member with the United States Rowing Team. A native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, she was a two-sport student athlete (Volleyball, Softball) and Jefferson Scholar at the University of Virginia. After obtaining both her Bachelor’s (CLAS ’07) and Master’s (M.Ed ’08) from UVA, she went on to begin a career with ESPN in the Content Production and Programming Departments. In 2010, Meghan’s career took a dramatic turn after picking up rowing for the first time and falling in love with the sport. After just one year of rowing with Riverfront Recapture’s community rowing program, she was invited to join the US Rowing National Training Center in Princeton, New Jersey. During her time with the National Team, Meghan continued to work part-time with ESPN through the spring of 2013, until deciding to pursue her Olympic rowing career full-time.
Meghan is a three-time World Cup medalist, five-time National Selection Regatta Champion, and has competed in four world championships. At the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics, she finished sixth in the women’s double sculls with her partner, Ellen Tomek. Outside of rowing, Meghan is a professional motivational speaker and entrepreneur. She is the Vice President at InstaViser, where she oversees the Customer Success and Marketing divisions. She is an advocate for women in sports and equality, serving as an ambassador for the Women’s Sports Foundation. Meghan also serves as a Director on the USRowing Board of Directors.