Greg Enders Sportsmanship Award

Greg Enders was the guy who was always greeting new sailors, helping them feel at home in the group. He was also a top notch sailor who won by sailing well. He was a good sport on the water and an ambassador for the club off the water. He was also one of my very best friends. 

Greg turned into Geg after Katie (his niece) started to talk and she couldn’t pronounce her R's. We sometimes modified it even further to "The Gegster." We figured if it was good enough for Katie, it was good enough for us. And so for his close friends, Greg became Geg. 

Greg had a way of always resolving a conflict. He was always fair and didn't need to resort to "rules play" to win. He was that good. And so, the phrase "Do the Geg Thing" was born. It meant "do the right thing". 

Geg was an accomplished skier, sailor and mountain biker. He was 2001 CRAM Michigan State Champion in his sailing class. He also skippered a 43 foot catamaran on our last trip to the Virgin Islands. This sailboat was so big it had a door wall. It was a big boat. He loved Corvettes and old music. I can remember a party at Geg and Carol’s house where we hung out in the foyer and danced to the old stuff until the wee hours of the morning. What a great night. 

Greg was heavily involved in our sailing club. He was a past-Commodore and a Newsletter Editor for several years (when no one else was willing to take the job). He was also Fleet Captain for his class of boat, Race Committee….and the list goes on. He always just stepped in to make things happen.

Greg died suddenly of unexplained causes in 2002. It is believed that he had a severe reaction to some cholesterol medicine. He went from fine to gone in a week. He was way too young. 

What will I remember most about Geg?

• His silly little trot when he would come up to get a trophy. He got trophies a lot so we saw his trot quite often.
• His outrageous beach pants. I guess this was Geg’s wild side coming out. When I saw these, I knew the regatta weekend had begun.
• His attitude. He was always positive. I can probably count on one hand the times I have seen him actually mad at someone. He was always the mediator, the level head, the guy everybody ended up listening to. God knows he pulled me back many times before I said something I would regret to someone.
• I will always remember his unconditional friendship.

And so you see, this is an extremely important award. The winners are acknowledged for "Doing the Geg Thing"... And so you see, this is an extremely important award. The winners are acknowledged for "Doing the Geg Thing." We all miss you Geg. You’ll always be in our thoughts.

--Roger Cochran