Local Business Spotlight: Annapolis Yacht Club Foundation
Eye On Annapolis Daily News Brief · Sep 19, 2026 · 38:48
Eye On Annapolis Daily News Brief
Eye On Annapolis Daily News Brief · Sep 19, 2026 · 38:48
Listen in the Podli app 🎧
Follow your favourite podcasts, listen offline and in the car with CarPlay and Android Auto, and always pick up where you left off. Free to try.
The Annapolis Yacht Club may be one of the best-known institutions in the sailing capital, but many people may not know much about another side of the club.
In this Local Business Spotlight, we sit down with Annapolis Yacht Club Foundation President Kathy Parks and board member Rob Flaherty to learn how the independent charitable foundation is helping people throughout the community get onto—and into—the water. Founded 26 years ago by 20 Annapolis Yacht Club members, the foundation supports local maritime programs rather than operating its own, with a mission Flaherty sums up as taking people from "water wings to Olympic rings."
That means funding everything from swimming lessons and sailing scholarships to adaptive boating programs and grants for competitive sailors. Last year alone, the foundation awarded 27 need-based sailing scholarships, while partnerships with organizations including Seafarers Yacht Club, Box of Rain and Chesapeake Region Accessible Boating help expand access to the water throughout the community.
We also talk about the foundation's High Performance Fund and its support for local sailor Leo Boucher as he pursues his goal of reaching the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, as well as some of the young people whose lives have changed simply because someone gave them an opportunity to get on a boat.
It's a side of the Annapolis Yacht Club that reaches well beyond its membership and into the broader Annapolis community.
Have a listen.
LINKS:
Episodes: Eye On Annapolis Daily News Brief
