On February 8, 2024, the Rotary Club of Tiburon Sunset granted a $1000 donation to Call of the Sea in memory of former member Earl Johnson, who was a longtime volunteer at Educational Tall Ship, helping build the brigantine Matthew Turner. The donation was at the recommendation of Bill McNicholas, who attended Call of the Sea’s Fall Event last year and was inspired by the vision of this organization, to empower generations of students of all ages and backgrounds to become environmental stewards and transform their world through on-the-water field experiences.
Pictured here holding the donation check, from left to right: Earl’s wife, Gay Johnson; Angie Lackey Olson, wife of COTS and ETS founder Alan Olson; Brian Swift, Rotary Club member; Barbara Treadwell, COTS volunteer and member of the Sew n’ Sews team that took care of the canvas and upholstery projects on the ship; and Bill McNicholas.
We thank Bill and the Rotary Club for their generous donation and also for honoring the memory of Earl. He, like so many of the volunteers at ETS, gave so much time and heart to the ship, as well as the many other causes and organizations he supported. Here he is, spackling seams on the tall ship, prepping the cabin wall panels for painting. Earl was a perfectionist, a trait that is valuable on a ship!
