DRAGON BOAT RACE

The Greenery, Inc. – Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Jerry Ashmore, and a group of his fellow Greenery employees, recently put their working relationships to the test. The group teamed up to compete in the Beaufort Water Festival’s inaugural Dragon Boat Race Saturday, July 20.

The race was organized and hosted by DragonBoat Beaufort. The object of a dragon boat race seems pretty simple. Your team of paddlers must cross the finish line faster than your competitors: easier said than done however. The team is made up of 20 paddlers, sitting two-by-two, who must paddle in unison. There is a drummer who provides the rhythm in the front of the slim, 48-fott canoe and a steerer in the back. Dragon boat racing is a team sport in its purest form because if the paddlers don’t work together, they will surely sink. 

The Greenery team quickly learned that lesson during the first practice, Ashmore said. The employees, who hailed from Beaufort, Hilton Head Island and Hardeeville, started off a little rocky as their boat filled with water. But they soon learned they had to work together to survive. “It was pretty special to see everyone working together, even as we were sinking,” Ashmore said. “It really brought us closer.”

Ashmore said this was a fun, unconventional way to promote teambuilding within The Greenery’s employees. But more importantly, the competition raised money to support various programs for cancer patients. The Greenery’s employees take pride in the communities they serve, which is why they were willing to get wet and give back.

Bluffton Today link below.

http://www.blufftontoday.com/bluffton-news/2013-07-24/dragon-boats-fill-beaufort-river#.Ue__f1PvrNU