Team honors Clark for fundraising razzle dazzle

Shelter Island’s Amanda Clark was named the winner of the “commercial award” at US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics Awards Dinner in Portsmouth, R. I. on January 28 in Miami. The award is presented to the athlete who has made an outstanding effort in support of the commercial and sponsorship activities of the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics.

“Whenever we have a speaking engagement or appearance, Amanda is 100 percent reliable to knock the socks off of any corporate executive,” said Katie Smith, USSTAG’s commercial manager. “She completely represents the ideals of USSTAG, the Olympic values and the qualities that we all strive toward.”

The U.S. Olympic Sailing Committee presented  the award as part of its “Charlie Awards” dinner for the 2011 USSTAG athletes who achieved excellence in the following categories: Breakthrough Performance, Most Improved Fitness, Best Teammate, Best Individual Performance, Best Team Performance, Commercial Award, and Outstanding Service to the Team. The awards were presented after US Sailing’s Rolex Miami OCR, a regatta for international Olympic competitors in which USSTAG won five medals in SKUD-18, Finn, Laser Radial, Women’s RS:X and Women’s Match Racing.

“The US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics Charlie Awards are named in honor of our dear friend Charlie Leighton, who is the driving force behind our team’s Medalist Donor Program,” said Dean Brenner, the chairman of the U.S. Olympic Sailing Program. “We have a terrific team of athletes of which the OSC and staff are extremely proud. There were many great moments in 2011, with the highlight of naming our Olympic and paralympic Teams.”

Upon receiving the award, Clark said: “I am so proud to represent our sponsors, our team and the USA at the Olympic Games. It is a dream come true.”