KAELA PROCTOR

Atlanta Rowing Club, Atlanta, Georgia

How did you get started with rowing and the Hooch?

I remember as a child in California catching early morning glimpses of these really long boats with what looked like a dozen people on them. I had no idea what rowing or crew was, but I knew it was something I wanted to do. A couple of decades later I signed up for Learn to Row at ARC. Rowing with ARC brought me to my first Hooch. I had no idea what to expect but was amazed by how it all came together with thousands of people volunteering, participating and spectating. It was simply incredible. 

What jobs have you held at the Hooch?

In my 3 years with the Hooch I have worked a variety of jobs. My first year, with only about 4 months of rowing experience, I didn’t really know what some of the jobs were that I was signing up for, but they were all easy to learn on the spot. I worked on Safety Checks (inspecting boats for bow ball and tied down shoes) and Boat Flow Traffic (guiding teams onto the launch dock). The next year I worked with social media, posting updates and taking pictures. Working in Commission Control I helped keep our Hooch announcer on time with announcements for race times and other important information. This past year I was a floater volunteer, willing to go wherever there was a need. 

In your opinion, what are the best qualities of the Hooch?

I love seeing how all the different parts of the Hooch come together. It is an incredible feat from land, water, and air (drones are involved), managing people, boats, trailers and more. The people leading it have the most incredible stories and the volunteers are a lot of fun to work beside. You can start out the weekend knowing very few people and end it having made good new friends. You leave the Hooch as a volunteer feeling that you’ve contributed to something really special.