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Meet Our Board of Directors
Kent McCleary
Chair
Kent McCleary is honored to return to RRC leadership as Chair of the Board of Directors. His goal is to make rowing accessible to all in Renton's diverse community, so youth learn the teamwork skills, physical fitness and grit rowing develops. McCleary, MAT31, teaches English as a Second Language in the Renton School District. He is fluent in English and Spanish.
He rowed for Washington State Men's Crew, was named All-PAC-10, served as Commodore and raced in Istanbul, Turkey. While a journalist, Kent rowed and taught sculling at Carillon Point (Kirkland) Rowing Club, the Wenatchee Row and Paddle Club and was the single sculler in the Twin Falls [Idaho] Solo Bocce Ball, Tiddlywinks and Sculling Club. He returned to sculling on Lake Washington in 2002 and in 2006 helped found Renton Rowing and later the RRC to provide rowing opportunities to youth of the South Lake Washington area. Kent coaches Masters scullers, novice youth rowers and teaches safety at RRC.
Rebecca Ossa
Vice Chair
Rebecca has been involved with the RRC since May 2012 when she showed up at the RRC's storage pen in the Cedar River Trail parking lot for her first lesson in sculling. Many classes later, she was introduced to sweep, and soon came to love rowing in the larger boats - Quads, Fours, and Eights. She competed in her first regatta in 2015 and several more since, usually sitting in the bow seat position. In 2019, she volunteered to be a Masters Co-Team Captain and helped the coaching staff assemble masters for regattas and the not to be missed annual RRC Halloween Row.
“It’s been an absolute joy to see the RRC grow from its humble and scrappy beginnings to the energetic center it is today.” During her non-rowing hours, she works as an architectural historian and is mom to a rescued Podenco (Ibizan hound) from Spain.
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James Lothian
James is a current master rower at RRC and Washington state native. A devotee of the Concept 2 Erg, James exercised daily on the C2 for about 20 years before reading “Boys in the Boat” which inspired him to start rowing on water, he has been a member of RRC since 2019.
James has been in the Consumer Electronics Industry as a retail executive for 40 years and plans to retire in October 2023.
Treasurer
Cameron Wong
Secretary
Cameron is a current masters rower at RRC and has been rowing at RRC since 2016, when he joined the high school team. He continued his love for rowing into college by interning at the George Pocock Rowing Foundation, rowing with UW’s club team, and working for the ASUW Shell House capital campaign project to help renovate the Boys in the Boat shell house. After graduating in 2021, Cameron returned to RRC and rejoined the masters team. He’s excited to join the Board and help RRC grow in the Renton community!
Cameron is a graduate of the UW Foster School of Business with a double-major in Marketing and Finance. He currently works as a Senior Research Analyst for Ipsos, a global market research agency. He also serves on the Renton Downtown Partnership board of directors.
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Larry McCann
Development Chair
Larry McCann joined RRC with his partner Eva Foster in 2021. He was inspired to start rowing in 2010 after his 4 kids finished junior rowing. Larry says he is not much of an athlete. He rows for the joy of perfecting his strokes on beautiful Lake Washington with like-minded friends.
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Devin Malkin
Youth Representative
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Tony Ridnell
Masters Representative
Tony has found rowing after a diverse professional and sporting career. After graduating from the United States Military Academy in 1982, he served in the Army for 7 years, leaving as a Captain. Concurrently, his rugby career took off and Tony represented the United States National Team “Eagles” in the 1987, 1991, and 1993 Rugby World Cup. He started a business, TR International Trading Co, Inc in 1994, and recently sold it in 2020 allowing him to retire. He looked out his window one day on Lake Washington, saw whom he has learned to be Connie and Mike of Renton Rowing Center on the lake and was inspired. He was at RRC’s ‘learn to row’ that evening. In addition to representing Renton, Tony rows with Sammamish Rowing Association as well.
Ben Dagang
Independent Board Member
Ben has been at the RRC boathouse since 2018 and has served a host of roles, from youth coach to volunteer repairman to equipment manager. He has been rowing since 2003 at programs including the River City Rowing Club, the Pocock Rowing Center, and the University of Washington.
Emily Beaudin
Independent Board Member
Emily started rowing as an adult, after taking a Learn to Row class at RRC in 2017 and was hooked right away. She joined the management committee in 2019 and continued on until the MC became the board and is now thrilled to be among the inspirational group making up the first RRC Board of Directors. She was an active masters member until 2020 when she stopped rowing due to pregnancy but is looking forward to rejoining the masters on the water this spring.