Boards

Chairwoman – Rian Driedijk

After being busy writing minutes for the past year Rian decided that she wanted to lead meetings instead or record them. Making sure meetings start well prepared and on time is going to be her duty this year as chairman of Okawa. But that doesn’t mean that she won’t join the weekly Friday tea hours anymore, keeping up with how everyone in the association is doing is also an important role of the chairman After all. Next to all the important stuff Rian is also an enthusiastic Kayaker who is always eager to learn new things and try stuff out.

Treasurer – Jochem Vissers

Jochem, what an old and experienced board companion! Already busy with his masters and now taking on an internship in Norway. Such a great and educative life-experience, or is he just ditching his board to go on holidays? It’ll definitely be a great fun experience, but knowing the hard-working organized person he is, his treasurer tasks will once again be fulfilled, to the same standard as in his last successful board year. Once again, being Okawa’s treasurer for the second year shows his grave passion for all those wonderful Excel sheets; I guess it’s just become a hobby of his ;). But Jochem is also an insanely talented paddler, already joining the most advanced trips with less than 3 years of membership, and every other possible trip! Unfortunately he won’t be in the pool with us the coming time, but he will keep practicing those skills in Norway, so his kayaking passion is apparent! Being a great fit to the association, a fun an talented member, he will be a very valuable for the board, even from the other side of Europe!

External Affairs & Activities – Remko Koelwijn

Remko, or Remco, the correct spelling of this talented man is still unknown to some members. Hopefully, this will become clear for everyone after this year, once Remko has proven himself to be worthy of a ‘k’ instead of a ‘c’. Remko has always been eager to become the best, therefore, he also wanted to achieve a new record within Okawa by becoming the board member with the longest name ever: Commissioner of External Affairs and Activities. He is active in various associations related to outdoor sports, so he is a great fit in our kayaking association! With enthusiasm, he joins this board. As his title describes, he will ensure that many internal and external activities are held.

Chairman – Hugo Huibers

This year Hugo will take over as chairman, after several years away from the board it is now time for him to get everything back on track. If you don’t know Hugo yet, you can always meet him at the naborrel of a training, because all this man thinks about is beer and sociability, and a bit of kayaking of course. Furthermore, Hugo knows a lot about equipment and boat repairs, so he will always be willing to help you if you run into any problems.

Treasurer – Jochem Vissers

Jochem, a man of many talents. Kayaking, in the meantime, is also slowly making its way onto this list. With his loose hips and quick arm movements, Jochem seems to float across the water. Outside of kayaking, this man is also already going for his second board year. After being able to depend on him for one year as secretary, we are convinced that next year is going to be another success! This time as Penno. Hopefully the transcripts will come out as smoothly as all the reminders, emails & minutes from last year.

Chairman and External Affairs – Mervyn Franssen

As a fairly new member of okawa, he already has a lot of connections with the other members, and knows how to get things done. Mervyn is a spontaneous guy who quickly started organizing trips and paddling as much as possible, whenever the opportunity arises. With a lot of experience in boards and leadership positions, it is clear that he knows how to get things done. Even though his role is sometimes not as steady as many okawa chairmen before him had. He will be joining the Okawa board this year as chairman and external affairs commissioner.

Treasurer – Mick van de Wouw

After one year on the board Mick was not finished yet, he wanted to experience what it is like to have a normal year without only having meetings at home. He was present at every training session to show his skills in the pool, and he will probably continue this in his new role. He was no longer interested in being Vice-Chairman, so Mick will take a chance with Okawa’s financials as treasurer. 

Training Commisioner – Rick van den Berg 

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? To some extent, but also not. It’s Airplane Rick that you see on the board. Like Daniel, Rick also doesn’t get out of a board year, although Rick stepped into it a little more voluntarily. On the water, Rick knows little fear and paddling often goes without significant effort. Off the water, things are sometimes a little trickier; for example, Rick sometimes has trouble getting out of his boat (the right way), and has trouble with knives and planes. Coming year Rick will be looking for the right training/course for Okawa, this he will do together with his board title “Training Commissioner”.

Chairman –Chiel Ton

Everybody knows Chiel, he has been a member for ages and will probably be a member for an ever longer time.  Because of this he will  be the oldest board member by a long shot.

Not all his kayaking days were successful, a prime example was the day he went kayaking without paddling any features.

Outside of kayaking he will be more than happy to play boardgames while talking about whisky.

There are not a lot of instances where Chiel does not have the knowledge or experience to know how to handle the situation. On top of this, Chiel is eager to help the less experienced with basically anything while being really good at keeping all the crazy ideas in check which come up.

Treasurer – Thomas Klokgieters

Thomas has been very busy since he joined Okawa in 2019, last year he started as treasurer for Okawa and Thomas liked this so much that he has decided to continue for another year, because he still has many things he wants to improve. 

He has worked many afternoons on improving the bookkeeping , but those hours have not yet all paid off. 

During this summer, Thomas has found out that mountain biking can be very dangerous, but luckily, he can kayak again, because kayaking is of course much more fun! 

He also did some slalom canoeing, but in a slalom race in 2014  Suzan was faster than Thomas, maybe that was the reason why Thomas stopped doing slalom 😉 

Chairman –Auke Sijbesma

Auke has started kayaking since 2017. During his semester abroad in Norway, he started this crazy sport. Even though his kayaking adventure had already started with an injury, he was not put off and registered with Okawa. Within Okawa he is also known as Flauwke because of his great humor and word jokes. Auke has a Masters in Operations Management & Logistics at the TU / e. Unfortunately for Auke, student time is already over and he has been working as a logistic engineer at VDL since November. Despite his civilian life, he will often be present at trips, training sessions and other activities!

Treasurer – Thomas Klokgieters

As new treasurer of Okawa I am very curious what this year will bring. Also because off my study switch from mathematics to physics.

I started my canoeing career with slalom canoeing in group 7 at the HKC, after a “jeugdactief” introduction to my brother. After a few years and a 5th place at the Dutch youth championship😊 it turned out that slalom canoeing was not my thing. So, then I spent a few years floating between recreational and serious kayakers. I took a short stop after my final high school exams. However, after a year break, the canoe virus struck again and I went to Okawa in March last (2019) year.

Now, enjoying the more (more serious) paddling and the “gezellighed”, I joined the board this year. And treasurer was quickly chosen after almost being drugged and under light pressure😉. Next year I hope to automate the accounting. To have to do as little as possible directly (paying on time is always possible!). So that I have a lot of free time to paddle with you in my new cozy pyranha jed.

External Affairs – Loek Trimbach

Loek is quite new to the game, he joined Okawa after the introduction weekend of last year, just as Rens Jan did. Although he was mostly abroad during that year, the white waters have brought him back to be an active member again. With his love for venturing out into nature, with or without his motorcycle, kayaking is one passion that will stick.  

Next to the sport, Loek is especially font of social activities within the association, as well as outside. That’s why the role of external affairs fits him like a glove. As the successor of Elisa, he strives to make name of Okawa within study community of Eindhoven, by connecting with other sports-associations, and offering exiting kayaking-activities to the general public. Building a broader network will definitely do no harm to Okawa, or to Loek. 

Chairman –Bas Schouenberg

When Bas came to Okawa he already was an experienced canoer, he even guided a group during his first intro, and if you want to know what else happened during that intro you’ll have to ask him. Besides being board at Okawa Bas is also working hard on his master Building Physics and Services, furthermore he has his own company he is running. All in all he is a busy guy, but he still thought he had some spare time for a boardyear at Okawa where he follows in the footsteps of his girlfriend as chairman of the association. Bas has proven himself on the water for instance last sumercamp he has paddled the Lower Guisane as one of the few, he also was there when various of our members had their first encounter with white water. When it comes to being a board Bas has already proven his worth with multiple years of board experience with the scouts and within Okawa he has arranged the Okawear last year with his better half, this did not all went according to plan but it ended up fine, let’s hope this board year goes smoother. 

Treasurer – Ron de Crom

 AKA ½Rosa

After a year being a treasurer he still did not become depressed of all numbers, luckily for us. His second (Elisa) half also managed to be a board member for another year. Luckily for him or else he would have to buy his own bag for all his gear. After purchasing his whole set (with only 3 spray skirts) his desire to have everything himself is to big which makes hem looking for a creeker. Always present at the trips to use his gear and at the non- kayak activities to drink ice the green. Ron is extremely enthusiastic about the club with awesome ideas which, he sometimes can be to stubborn to let go which can drive his nuts. He is always searching for new challenges may it be on the water or outside of the water. This all together makes him an active member of the board who, hopefully doesn’t lose his head this year and experience a lot of joy. 

External effairs – Elisa van de Schoot

AKA ½ Rosa

This is Elisa’s second year as a board member, however this time not as a secretary but this year she will fulfill a new board function. As a commissionaire of external relations, she will be the one to go to for all your kayak related questions. If you want to organize a kayak activity for your association or just want her phone number, this is your change. But don’t get fooled by her pretty face because behind that face is a girl that somehow always ends up with a whip in her hands so be careful. 

Last year she proved herself as a board member, sometimes a little bit quiet but most of the times super enthusiastic when she can design new things for Okawa and let her creativity loose.

Vice-chairman – Randor Bongers

Randor is extending his time in the board. He will be glad to help you, not as your event commissioner, but this time as your vice-chairman. Last year it turned out that every piece of work or happening could be translated into an event some way or another, so vice-chairman should be a safer function. He will be overseeing and supporting a lot of our committees, is organizing exchanges with other associations and of course will be representing the chairman at constitutional drinks and other inter-association events. The last mentioned task had to be added to his job description, since he was missing his events a little bit.

He can be found every Monday in the swimming pool, where he is practicing his freestyle moves among other things.  Unfortunately he cannot be with us on Friday since he  abandons us to train at the Maaslande Kanovereniging Oss. Luckily he joins us at many trips and non-kayaking activies, so we do not have to miss him.

Chairman – Roderik Blok

He already kayaks for a couple of years with a great enthusiasm at Okawa and is also an active member outside of his kayak, if he is not devoted to his study of mechanical engineering. After a year of distance from the Okawa board (painfully), is ons Blok in de branding teruggekeerd. Roderik holds the post of chairman and is only one position away from a quarted of all major board positions. With such an experienced chairman next year will have to be a success.

Treasurer – Sfia Bearzatto

Sfia is for the third year in a row the treasurer of Okawa. During the formation of this board she contemplated the idea of having a different position in the board. However once she was told that a different position meant she could no longer take care of her baby, the books of Okawa, she decided to continue another year as treasurer. Her motherly instinct is strong, however the fact that she is displaying this behaviour to our books might be problematic. 

anyhow, she is great at is and maybe we will be able to separate her from this position next year………

Voorzitter – Birgit van der Stigchel

Deze enthousiaste jonge dame is dit jaar nieuw in het bestuur. Waar ze vorig jaar nog actief deel nam een de activiteitencommissie zal  ze dit jaar de functie als Voorzitter op zich nemen. Dit alles gebeurt  naast haar studie Psychologie en technologie. Iedereen kent Birgit (of Biergieter, Brigitte) natuurlijk al. Zo is ze bijna elke training aanwezig en gaat graag mee op de trip, met haar trouwe groene kajak. Birgit liet altijd al van zich horen, zo kon je al van veraf horen of ze aanwezig was in de kleedkamer, maar dit jaar ga je nog meer van haar horen!

Penningmeester – Sfia Bearzatto

De meeste mensen zullen Sfia kennen als de penningmeester van afgelopen jaar. Ook dit jaar is deze dame weer de meesteres van de centjes. Naast het onderhouden van haar kindje, de boekhouding van Okawa, is Sfia ook actief student. Zo doet ze naast haar studie Electrical Engineering ook mee aan een Drone project. Mocht dit alles je toch ontgaan zijn, dan ben je vast een keer in aanraking gekomen met haar gebaar voor “Ik kan je niet verstaan, ik heb mijn oordoppen in”.  Een ding is zeker, Sfia zal ongetwijfeld zorgen voor een goede stem(ming) binnen het bestuur.

Voorzitter – Harm Elbertsen

Onder het motto “driemaal is scheepskanorecht” is Harm de Kleine ook dit jaar weer van de partij om onze mooie kanovereniging aan te sturen. Nadat Harm 2 jaar geleden heeft leren organiseren en vorig jaar heeft leren notuleren, zal hij dit jaar met de alias Kapitein Elbert aan het roer staan van onze vereniging. Papa Polo zal hij helaas nog niet overtreffen met deze hattrick, maar als ervaren rot zal hij het wel en wee van Okawa in goede banen leiden. Ik zeg proost!

Penningmeester – Erik Stuurwold

In een land hier niet zo ver vandaan, eigenlijk gewoon Nederland was er eens een geblesseerd jongetje, zijn been zat in het gips. Hij wilde ontzettend graag mee kajakken. Een probleem, vindt maar eens een kajak waar je in past als je been in het gips zit. Toch ging hij mee op introkamp naar Duitsland. Hoewel hij eigenlijk mee ging als fotograaf, kon hij het toch niet weerstaan om een stukje te peddelen. Toen hij een boot vond waar zelfs hij in paste met zijn gipsbeen, was hij niet meer te houden. Er werd een rol duct-tape te voorschijn getoverd, aangezien dat de oplossing voor alles is, kan ook dit opgelost worden met duct-tape. En daar ging onze manke nelis, zo blij als een kano in het water. Met hetzelfde enthousiasme is hij ook zijn bestuursjaar als penningmeester begonnen, dus we hebben er alle vertrouwen in dat het helemaal goed komt met onze centjes dit jaar.

Voorzitter – Martijn Doornbusch

Geboren midden in de natuur. Daarom studeert hij nu ook aan de HAS in Den Bosch. Langzaam heeft hij zijn weg terug gevonden naar het water. Sinds een aantal jaren kayakt hij dan ook fanatiek, met soms een korte pauze er tussen, om dan voor zijn studie het water in het buitenland te bekijken. Soms geniet hij ook even van de natuur en het wild wat er rond loopt. En met zijn motto van niet links, niets rechts, maar recht door die wals, loodst hij dit bestuur door een succesvol bestuursjaar. Nu nog hopen dat hij een vriendin krijgt dan heeft hij zijn doelen voor dit jaar ook weer vervult. 

Penningmeester – Sander Giunta d’Albani

Dit is Sander zijn eerste jaar in Eindhoven en het eerste jaar in een kano, maar nu al erg actief in het bestuur als penningmeester. Helemaal zonder kennis over varen is Sander overigens niet. Al is het wel met wat grotere boten dan we bij okawa gewend zijn. Dus het zal vast ook wel goed komen met wat kleiners. Met Sander gaan onze centjes helemaal veilig zijn dit jaar. Dat hij uit Groningen komt zullen we dus maar door de vingers zien.

De grote baas: Elmar jongerius 

Elmar is een kajakker die erg graag snel wil groeien en is dan ook altijd fanatiek bij trainingen en trips aanwezig. Hij is dan ook snel zijn beginnerstatus kwijt geraakt. Nu zijn kajakskills op niveau zijn wil hij graag aan de volgende stap beginnen en dat is in het bestuur van Okawa. Met zijn ervaring in de commerciele wereld (eigen electronica bedrijf), hoopt hij de soms wat verouderde aspecten van de verenigingen te updaten. Hij heeft dan ook grote plannen met de vereniging en wij wachten gespannen af wat dit ons gaat brengen. Ohja naast kajakken, bestuur van Okawa, runnen van een eigen bedrijf studeerd hij ook nog, druk baasje dus.   

Maar vertrouwen in deze nieuwe grote baas van Okawa hebben we allemaal. 

Schatbewaarder: Paul Koppelaar

De enige persoon die over is gebleven van het vorige bestuur en nog steeds op dezelfde positie, onze schatbewaarder. Ook dit jaar gaat Paul weer goed op de centjes van onze club passen. Paul is de enige niet student van dit bestuur. Hij is al weer een aantal jaartje actief in het arbeidsveld, als ICT’er. Erg handig al bestuurslid dus, zo heeft Okawa onder andere deze site aan hem te danken en het gloednieuwe forum. Een auto van de baas is daarbij ook erg handig en is dan ook één van onze vaste chauffeurs met Okawa trips. Paul is namelijk een erg fanatiek kajakker welke elke training aanwezig is en elke trip mee wil. Zijn kajakskills zijn de afgelopen 1,5 jaar dat hij lid is van Okawa dan ook enorm omhoog geschoten. Hij is erg leergierig en fanatiek om nieuwe trucjes in zijn kajak te leren.  

Voorzitter: Polo van Ooij

Polo, onze doorgewinterde Okawaan. Al bezig met zijn 3de jaar als bestuurslid en daarvan al 3 jaar als voorzitter.

Met zijn 15 jaar peddelervaring verreweg de meest ervaren peddeler van het gezelschap. Altijd enthousiast en gemotiveerd om te varen en is daarom ook bijna dagelijks in zijn bootje te vinden.

Vroeger was slalommen zijn onderdeel maar door de jaren heen is freestylen meer zijn ding geworden. Als hij de kans krijgt zit hij gewoon in zijn slalom bootje. De favoriete move van Polo is de “turbo splash” en deze laat hij dan ook graag zien aan zijn clubgenoten.

Penningmeester: Paul Koppelaar

De enige niet student van het gezelschap en met zijn 1ste jaar als peddeler ook het groentje binnen het gezelschap. Maar deze status is hij snel aan het veranderen door met regelmatige basis in zijn bootje te zitten en praktisch alle okawa trips mee te gaan. Een auto van de baas is dan ook heel handig. Bang van water is hij in ieder geval niet want naast het kajakken heeft hij ook zijn duikbrevetten.