All good conspiracies are grounded in a solid motivation. Last night's conspiracy to host a 50th birthday party for Scott Fairty was no exception. When Scott was hired as Geneva Kayak Center's general manager a few years back, Chicago paddling instructors knew our students wouldn't be the only beneficiaries. We, too, had a new mentor--one who soon also became a paddling partner and friend.
Part one of the conspiracy was the party, attended by various local paddlers as well as Scott's three kids and his father, Jack.
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| Caitlin, Gordon and Tara Fairty. |
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| Jack Fairty, who drove in for the occasion. |
Part two was the gift: Dozens of instructors, students and friends pitched in to buy Scott a new whitewater boat: A
Pyranha Varun. (A huge thanks to
Kelly Blades and
Pyranha for facilitating the purchase.)
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| Scott begins to realize something is up when the card contains about 40 names.... |
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| ...then finds, inside a small box, a model of the boat that will arrive in a week or so. |
No 50th birthday party would be complete without a little ribbing from the kids about Scott's age. "Over the hill!" the cake declared. "Happy birthday, you old fart."
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| Caitlin serves Scott a choice slice of cake. |
There may be nothing magical about celebrating the actual day on which a person was born, but it's a great opportunity to celebrate the person. Scott has brought a lot to the Chicago-area paddling community. We're looking forward to many more years on the water with him.
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