RESOLUTION FOR BOARD MEETING OF JUNE 1, 2017
Title
RESOLUTION sponsored by the Board of Commissioners recognizing Recovery on Water
Body
WHEREAS, Recovery on Water (ROW) is a rowing team that gives survivors of breast cancer the unique opportunity to interact, become active in their recovery, and gain support from fellow survivors; and
WHEREAS, founded in 2007 and incorporated in 2008, ROW began as a collaboration between Sue Ann Glaser, a breast cancer survivor, and Jenn Gibbons (now Jenn Junk), a high school rowing coach; and
WHEREAS, patients and survivors of breast cancer will undergo or have undergone surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, or a combination of all three in attempts to treat their disease. Such treatments may leave patients with significant complications, including lymphedema, obesity, depression, and poor quality of life; and
WHEREAS, many studies demonstrate the beneficial effects of exercise on breast cancer survivors, showing significant reduction in depressive symptoms and fatigue, and improvements in lymphedema, bone mineral density, body mass index, quality of life, and most significantly, relapse rates; and
WHEREAS, the goal of the ROW program is to increase exercise consistency in people diagnosed with breast cancer and to improve their quality of life; and
WHEREAS, ROW provides members with a supportive community of fellow survivors; and
WHEREAS, over 80 patients and survivors of breast cancer participate in ROW exercise programs 7 days a week, year round: in rowing shells on the south branch of the Chicago River during the spring, summer, and fall, and on indoor rowing machines during winter months; and
WHEREAS, data has shown that ROW has significantly increased the quality of life for breast cancer survivors on the team; and
WHEREAS, since its founding, ROW has not only developed as a non-profit organization, but its membership has grown exponentially, serving patients and survivors from the city and suburbs of Chicago; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that we, the Board of Commissioners of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, on behalf of ourselves and staff, hereby officially recognize Recovery on Water and the positive impact it has made in the lives of many breast cancer survivors; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this Resolution be spread upon the permanent Record of Proceedings of the Board of Commissioners of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago and a copy of same, suitably engrossed, be presented to Jenn Junk, co-founder and Executive Director of Recovery on Water.
Dated: June 1, 2017
Approved: MARIYANA T. SPYROPOULOS, President; BARBARA J. MCGOWAN, Vice President; FRANK AVILA, Chairman, Committee on Finance; TIMOTHY BRADFORD; MARTIN J. DURKAN; JOSINA MORITA; DEBRA SHORE; KARI K. STEELE; DAVID J. WALSH; Commissioners of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago
Approved as to Form and Legality: Susan T. Morakalis, Acting General Counsel, STM:aw