The Swampscott Yacht Club wants to make sure healthcare workers and first responders from the town who navigated their way through the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic earlier this year are properly appreciated.
In recognition of the efforts of those doctors, nurses, paramedics, police, firefighters and others who were on front lines during the coronavirus shutdown that saw hospitals bursting at the seams with cases, the club has announced the creation of 25 honorary memberships through the end of the year.
“The Swampscott Yacht Club (SYC) is proud of all of our front-line emergency and healthcare workers here in Swampscott and around the country.” said Rob Smith, the club’s commodore.
Member and club spokesman Ted Dooley said that as far as he knows, no one from the club has suffered from the virus since the pandemic began.
“We’ve been fortunate that to the best of our knowledge, we’ve had no one in our club be affected by this,” he said. “But we just felt we wanted to do what we could to recognize the people who have been working so hard to help fight the disease.
“It’s been a long year,” he said.
Healthcare workers or first responders who live in Swampscott should email [email protected].
The club, which has 150 members and a group of lifetime members, has a protocol to be included in the club. There is a $100 application fee, prospective members need two sponsors, and there are interviews and a final vote of approval.
The honorary membership waives the fees and the process, allows for free use of the facilities through the end of the year.
The Swampscott Yacht Club (SYC) was founded in 1933 and has called the Swampscott Fish House home for nearly 90 years. The Fish House was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. It is the oldest active fish house in the United States of America and the only municipal fish house on the East Coast.
SYC is a volunteer yacht club, with a 501(c)(7) designation, that engages in service to the Swampscott community while maintaining an active and diverse membership from the Town of Swampscott and surrounding communities. The SYC has more than 150 active members involved in its sailing, boating, fishing, and non-boating social activities.
For more information on how to join the SYC as a mariner or social member, please visit www.SwampscottYachtClub.com.
