Info here.

The Haddon Hammers New Jersey Indoor Rowing Championship will be held on Sunday, February 12, 2012. Information about the event, as well as details about the sale of the Concept 2 Model D ergs that will be used there can be found on the attached flier. Hope to see you there!

In an effort to engage more of our membership in club activites and operations, we are piloting an open conference line during our bi monthly meetings.  While you can listen in, you will also have the ability to ask questions, etc.  While it is strongly encouraged to attend these meetings in person, we recognize it is sometimes impossible to attend in person due to family or business committments.  We will determine after the pilot whether to make the conference line a regular mode of communication for club meetings.    Please note, attending club meetings via conference call does not count as attendance in the requirement to vote for directors of the club.  Below is the dial in information -

Dial in 1-877-227-7606   Access Code 2458297#

Any questions or comments, please contact Joe Kieffer at jkieffer@email.com

Our January meeting has been rescheduled for Monday January 16 @ 7pm. Election of officers for 2012 and seats on the Board will take place at this meeting.

If you rowed over 1,000 miles and are interested in receiving a certificate from the Schuylkill Navy, please let me know. I also would like to determine the winner of the mileage award for 2011, so if you are up there in miles, let me hear from you.

Floor refinishing will take place Wednesday, January 18. Front entrance and the Carlin room will be off limits from 6:30 am until 6:30 pm.

Jim Sonzogni

Dr. Robert Lippa, 55, dies while rowing

BY JOHN F. MORRISON
Philadelphia Daily News

morrisj@phillynews.com 215-854-5573

SATURDAY was an unseasonably warm day, an ideal time to be out on the river.

It was where Bob Lippa loved to be.

He was among more than 30 masters who showed up to row on the Schuylkill that morning. He was stroking one of the quads, a four-man scull, racing against three other boats, when he collapsed.

Several doctors and emergency-response personnel were among the rowers, but they were unable to revive him. He was rushed to St. Joseph’s Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Robert Leo Lippa, a physician specializing in emergency care and occupational health, and a man whose entire life was devoted to helping others, was 55 and lived in Bala Cynwyd.

He was a member of the Fairmount Rowing Association on Boathouse Row and rowed every day.

His daughter, Sara, also a rower, said that her father had been in good health and that his death was a shock to everyone.

Bob was an emergency-room doctor for more than 20 years, most recently at Lankenau Hospital. He was lately associated with WorkNet, which treats workers injured on the job at 17 locations in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

“Dad was generous, kindhearted and loving,” said his daughter, who also rows with Fairmount. “But more importantly, he touched people’s lives through his actions. He cared for everyone. He wanted to help people.”

Among Bob’s volunteer activites was helping those with disabilities to row with special equipment through Philadelphia Adaptive Rowing on the Schuylkill.

“Bob was one of the quietest, most humble guys I have met,” said Edward Moran, a former Daily News staff writer and himself a rower and rowing coach.

“He was a true pleasure to have around, always smiling, always engaging, and always ready to help,” said Moran, who is now associated with USRowing, the national team.

Bob Lippa was born to Sherman Lippa and the former Judith Barenberg in Swampscott, Mass., where he was raised and went to school.

He graduated from Amherst College in 1979, and the University of Massachusetts Medical School in 1983. He began his work in emergency trauma at Heywood Hospital in Gardner, Mass., before coming to the Philadelphia area to work at Lankenau.

Bob was also into skiing and was a member of the Spring Mountain Ski Patrol in the Poconos.

“He lived his life helping others in need,” his daughter said.

Besides her, he is survived by his wife of nearly 30 years, the former Carol Ryan, also a medical doctor; two sons, Alex and Adam; four sisters, Frances Lippa-Rohn, Amy Lippa, Martha Lippa and Gail McGregor.

Services: Noon tomorrow at the D’Anjolell Memorial Home of Broomall, 2811 West Chester Pike, Broomall. Friends may call at 5 p.m. today and at 11 a.m. tomorrow at the funeral home. Burial will be in West Laurel Hill Cemetery, Bala Cynwyd.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the National Epilepsy Foundation – epilepsy foundation.org – or the Eastern Pennsylvania Epilepsy Foundation, 919 Walnut St., Suite 700, Philadelphia 19107.

To accommodate attendance at the Lippa services, there will be NO COACHED PRACTICE Thursday Jan 12. Coached practice will resume on Saturday. If you still plan to row Thursday morning, please observe the “four-oar rule”. Brian L. Perkins

Robert Leo Lippa, M.D. (November 19, 1956 – January 7, 2012), resident of Bala Cynwyd, PA died unexpectedly while doing what he loved: rowing on the Schuylkill river. Bob was born and raised in Swampscott, MA. He is the son of the late Judith (Barenberg) and Sherman Lippa. He is survived by his wife of nearly 30 years, Carol F. Lippa M.D. (Ryan), his children Alex M., Adam L. and Sara M. Lippa, h…is sisters
Frances Lippa-Rohn (Rick), Amy Lippa, Martha Lippa and Gail McGregor (Douglas), his mother-in-law Dorothy Z. Ryan and many loving nieces and nephews.

Robert graduated from Amherst College, class of 1979 and UMASS Medical School, class of 1983. He worked as an emergency room doctor for over twenty years; first at Henry Heywood Hospital in Massachusetts and then at Lankenau Hospital in Pennsylvania. Most recently he worked at WorkNet in occupational health. He was a member of Fairmount boat club, where he rowed daily. Bob was kindhearted and loving, but more importantly, touched people’s lives through his actions. He was an avid volunteer, assisting weekly for Philadelphia Adaptive Rowing and was also a member of the Spring Mountain Ski Patrol. He lived his life helping others in need.

Funneral Arrangements:

Funeral Arrangements for Dr. Robert Lippa

Relatives and friends are invited to his visitation on Wednesday Jan. 11, from 5-8 pm at the D’anjolell Memorial Home of Broomall, 2811 West Chester Pike, Broomall, PA. 19008 and to his Funeral 11 AM on Thursday, Jan. 12th Service at 12 Noon in the Main Chapel of the Memorial Home, followed by inurnment at West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd, PA. A reception will follow the inurnment at Fairmount
Boat Club, 2 Boathouse Row, Philadelphia, PA from roughly 2-7pm.

In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy should be made for research to the National Epilepsy Foundation at http://www.epilepsyfoundation.org/ or the Eastern Pennsylvania Epilepsy Foundation at 919 Walnut Street, Suite 700, Philadelphia, PA 19107

Members: Joe Kieffer will now be our Financial Secretary; your dues payment can be made payable to “Fairmount Rowing Association” c/o Joseph Kieffer 505 Willow Avenue Ambler PA 19002 If you need to contact Joe.  Jim

It is my sad duty to report to membership that Bob Lippa collapsed in a quad during our morning practice today; he was taken to St Josephs Hospital where he died. Coach Rufo, Rob Hneleski, Jakub Svoboda, and Ted Villanueva worked heroically under difficult circumstances to try to revive him until EMT arrived.

Bob has been a respected member of FRA for many years; he achieved a personal milestone last summer when he won a gold medal in the 4x at the Masters Nationals in Oklahoma City.

Under the circumstances, our General Membership meeting scheduled for Monday is CANCELLED. We will probably meet on the 16th, and I will confirm.

As Bob was slated to become our Financial Secretary, you probably received a dues notice from him in the last few days. Please withhold your dues payments until I can make arrangements to have them sent to an alternate address.

Jim Sonzogni