John F. Romain

President

John began his rowing career with the Ithaca College Lightweights. During his junior & senior years he and Jerry Dietz coached the fledgling new women’s program to Dad Vail 8’s victory in the 1st year of the event offered at 2k. Moving on to DC, John rowed with the Potomac Lightweights and began sculling. Finally arriving in the Boston area and able to join the Cambridge Boat Club John was recruited to support the Head of the Charles ® Regatta, year 1 picking up trash then 6 years later serving 2 stints as Regatta Director. Since 1992 John has managed the HOCR Start Line, with a lot of help. Other interests & distractions include several years as Scoutmaster of Troop 60 in Sudbury, Mass., the family yurt in Rome on Great Pond and long walks with his ‘Pup Ellie.

Eric Buck

Vice President

Eric grew up in a community of naturalists and artists. In 1970, having found an inn for sale in St. George, Maine, his parents transplanted the family from the D.C. area. This marked a formative period in his life which included being an innkeeper’s son, teaching with the Hurricane Island Outward Bound School, banging nails, and messing about in boats large and small, coastwise and offshore. A subsequent stint in graduate school at UT Austin led to his career as an architect, first in Texas and later in Chicago. It was not until after he moved to Chicago that he discovered the entirely captivating world of rowing, first in sweep boats, then later in sculls. He and his partner Jay (an experienced rower in her own right) to thank for his introduction to skinny boats as she gave him learn-to-row lessons at the Chicago Rowing Foundation for his birthday some 10 years ago.Now having finally returned to Maine, living on the Megunticook River where it’s possible to row out the front door, it is time become more fully engaged with the local rowing community. Eric sees rowing as an all-embracing pursuit worthy of lifelong attention. He is only sorry he came to it so late.

Hugh Brock

Treasurer

Hugh Brock found rowing as an adult living in Philadelphia near Boathouse Row and is still a member of Malta Boat Club there. He rowed his first race in the Malta gig and was hooked, later buying a new FluidDesign single. On moving to Maine in 2020 he found Megunticook Rowing and has been a grateful and passionate participant since. Hugh’s main hope for the club is to establish it as a permanent institution at Lake Megunticook by growing its adult membership and its roster of committed supporters.

Meredith Currier

Board member at large

Meredith found her passion for rowing as a senior at the Taft School in Watertown, CT.  When she told her lacrosse coach that she was leaving to join the crew team, her coach said, “Why do you want to go backwards on your butt as fast as you can?”  Meredith still finds answers to that question every day. (More on that later.)  After high school, she went on to train at a high level athletically, playing Division 1 hockey and winning a national championship with the Princeton University Women’s Rugby Football Club. Though she put rowing on hold to focus on frozen water and scrums during the school year, she always gravitated back to flat water in the off season. Her summers took her to the rivers and rowing clubs in Baltimore MD, New Hope PA, and Portsmouth NH, rowing everything from singles to eights. In Portsmouth, she learned to love open, coastal rowing among fishing boats while she began her career as a traditional wooden boatbuilder.

When Meredith moved to Maine in 2001, there were avid rowers on Megunticook and other crews in Maine, but no program to make it accessible to people in our area. Meredith connected with a handful of other rowers who together founded Megunticook Rowing, and Meredith served as vice president and secretary of the board as well as equipment guru and coach until 2015.  During that time, Meredith cleared the Barrett’s cove site and established the basic infrastructure that we still use today.

So, now back to her lacrosse coach’s question.  Meredith has found lots of answers.  Loons.  Sunrise mist on the lake.  A perfect set.  The thrill of regattas.  But most of all, it’s the camaraderie of pulling as hard as you can; giving everything you have with and for your teammates, even when you can’t see the finish line.  That is what has brought Meredith back to the board of Megunticook rowing: her respect and gratitude for everyone who has contributed to our organization over the years.  It has been incredible and humbling to see what’s happened while she’s been away from MR, and that has given her renewed energy to pick up the oar again for the next power 10.

Meg Webb

Board member at large

Meg grew up swimming, sailing and canoeing on a lake in the Green Mountains of central Vermont where she developed a love of being in and on the water. Her first introduction to rowing was through her daughter Sophie, who joined Megunticook Rowing in 2016 as a coxswain. Meg’s love of rowing may also be genetic: her grandfather spent countless hours sculling on the Charles when he was at college – her grandmother used to say he left his summa cum laude on the bottom of the river. Meg started rowing regularly in 2020 and would, if she had the time, spend every free moment on the water. She and her husband, Walter Love, practice medicine together in Waldoboro and have two young adult children, Caleb and Sophie. In her free time Meg enjoys hiking, snow shoeing, gardening, and knitting.

Marnie Read

Board member at large

I have recently stepped away from a terrific career in the marine industry as a marketing, public relations, special events and branding executive.  I had the pleasure of working with some of the world’s most wonderful boatbuilders including Lyman-Morse, Hinckley, Morris, and others.  While at Lyman-Morse, I was the founding regatta organizer of the Camden Classics Cup. I am a tennis player, golfer and skier both both downhill and cross country (pretty good for a girl from Atlanta). I have known about Megunticook Rowing for a while but could never get it to fit into work and tennis. Last summer I decided to mix it up and get on the water to row. After a handful of sessions on the erg I got out on the water and into a quad in the late spring. That was it for me. I am devoted to this sport and organization. My hope is that my professional experience and background plus my enthusiasm will be an asset to the Board and Megunticook Rowing. Marnie lives in Warren with her husband Hank.

Will Schaetzke

Board Member at Large

Will will be coaching the Varsity Girls team this spring, 2022. He was excited to join Megunticook Rowing [as a rower] before he even made the move to Maine. He comes to us with great ideas and ample enthusiasm for all aspects of rowing. Will was a competitive rower at Shrewsburt High School for six seasons where he competed in an 8+ in the Head of the Charles and the Henley Royal Regatta. He then attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst where he pursued a short rowing career with the Men’s Club team. Will was a Varsity Girls Assistant Coach at Greater Lawrence Rowing for three seasons. In 2021, Will moved to Hope with his family and joined the Megunticook Masters Rowing. Will is thrilled to join the Megunticook Rowing coaching staff in the Spring of 2022!

Laura Riordan

Youth board member

Connor Howland

Youth Board Member

Connor Howland has lived in Camden his whole life, and is currently a student at Camden Hills Regional High School. Connor was introduced to rowing in 2018, starting on the erg and then moving into the coxswain position with the novice program on the water. He advanced to the varsity team as a coxswain in 2021, and has gained invaluable experience participating in the program. Outside of rowing Connor loves photography and exploring the Maine coast by hiking and sea kayaking. He’s looking forward to continuing his rowing with the team, and helping build the Megunticook Rowing organization.

Sam Abbott

Assistant Coach

Sam Abbott began rowing at the University of Vermont in 2011, where he rowed competitively for four years while earning a BS in Mechanical Engineering. During his time at UVM, Sam secured bronze medals in the men’s 4 with coxswain at both the 2015 New England Championships and the ACRA Championships, and set the UVM 2k erg record.

After graduation, Sam continued to pursue his passion for rowing, training in the single scull with the goal of making the US National Team, all while working as an engineer in Burlington, Vermont. In 2019, he transitioned to coaching, taking on the role of novice rowing coach at UVM, where he introduced college freshmen to the sport and guided them through their first experiences on the water.

Meredith Currier

Varsity Coach

Meredith started rowing at the William Howard Taft High School. She was then recruited to play D1 hockey for Princeton University. Realizing her rowing experience, the Princeton rowing coaches reached out to her and tried to bring her onto the team, but she was committed to hockey. Fast forward less than a year, Meredith decided to stop playing hockey and reached out to the rowing team, but they had already set their lineups. She then joined the rugby team and continued playing until the end of her college career. Meredith has extensive experience coaching as she has also coached hockey and rugby. Meredith is also one of the founders of Megunticook Rowing from back in 2008 with Ry Hills. Her passion for rowing is contagious and she brings so much to MegRow. You will catch her rowing in any boat no matter the time of day or weather. 

Will Schaetzke

Varsity Coach

Will will be coaching the Varsity Girls team this spring, 2022. He was excited to join Megunticook Rowing [as a rower] before he even made the move to Maine. He comes to us with great ideas and ample enthusiasm for all aspects of rowing. Will was a competitive rower at Shrewsburt High School for six seasons where he competed in an 8+ in the Head of the Charles and the Henley Royal Regatta. He then attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst where he pursued a short rowing career with the Men’s Club team. Will was a Varsity Girls Assistant Coach at Greater Lawrence Rowing for three seasons. In 2021, Will moved to Hope with his family and joined the Megunticook Masters Rowing. Will is thrilled to join the Megunticook Rowing coaching staff in the Spring of 2022!

Bob Perkins

Club Rowing Coach

Bob grew up in the Boston area and fell in love with rowing as a tiny 7th grade cox at Noble and Greenough.  Competing as a cox for three years was great (including a win at Quinsigamond), but the bug to actually pull an oar started at the same time… even if the growth spurt didn’t!  After competing in singles as a senior in H.S. (while still waiting for that growth spurt!), he continued to long for the rowing world whenever he saw flat water anywhere.  It took 20 years but then it all happened. Thirty years of obsession!  Rowing regularly on Megunticook Lake, being a principal in starting the Maine Rowing Association in 1994, inventing and running the 10 mile Megunticook Mini-Marathon for 15 years (thank you Meredith for picking that up and evolving it) and eventually coaching with Megunticook Rowing. It is just soooo much fun to be on the water in a boat or coaching a boat.

In his less important life, Bob was an attorney in Camden and then at the Maine Attorney General’s Office until his retirement in 2016 and has lived in Camden since 1978.

Ryan Boutote

Summer Coach

Ryan started rowing at Rutgers University in Camden, NJ, winning multiple Division III Varsity 4 events. After college he rowed for the College Boat Club on the Schuylkill River, competing in various regattas including multiple showings at the Head of the Charles. He started coaching the boy’s freshman 8 at Bishop Eustace Prep on the Cooper River under the tutelage of John Hartigan. Later he coached the JV and Varsity boys at Haddonfield High School NJ where his team won multiple first place finishes in various regattas including the Philadelphia City Championships, and a 4thplace finish at the SRAA National Championships. Ryan moved to Maine the summer of 2014 and fell in love with all the midcoast has to offer. Passionate about growing the local rowing community, Ryan has coached previously at Megunticook Rowing and went on to Camden Hills Crew, winning medals in multiple junior events. He continues to row and compete in various master’s regattas in New England. Ryan resides in Belmont with his wife Saadiya and two kids.

Devin Guptil

Summer Coach

Hello my name is Devin Guptill, I’ve been rowing for my high school and college career. During that time I’ve had the privilege of training under multiple coaches from Megunticook Rowing who have helped me refine my coaching skills from the time I started rowing to when I started coaching in 2022. Currently I’m rowing for the University of Maine club crew team and teaching the sport to novices who join. Now I’m looking forward to coming back for the summer to teach others the lifelong sport and skill of rowing and how incredible that can be.

Tilghman Moyer

Head Coach

Originally from Philadelphia, Tilghman Moyer rowed for Crescent and Vesper Boat Clubs on the Schuylkill River. He rowed for a year at Temple University, finishing his rowing career with a silver medal at the Dadvail Regatta. He spent the summer of 2017 working as the Fleet Manager for the Craftsbury Outdoor Center in Vermont. Tilghman coached the u17 juniors for Crescent in 2018 and Malvern Preparatory School in 2020.

Moyer completed a thru hike of the Appalachian Trail and then completed his B.S. in Environmental Science from Temple University in 2020. After graduating, Tilghman moved to Utah working in conservation and wildfire management. During the summer of 2023, he hiked 1500 miles of the Continental Divide Trail before being in his current role as the Recruiting Coordinator and Men’s Assistant at Colby College. Tilghman will begin his MBA at Thomas College in the fall of 2024.

“Megunticook Rowing is at the forefront of club rowing in Maine and I am very excited to be a part of it. We will have a great cohort of athletes with diverse backgrounds all with the common goal of perfecting their stroke.”

“I am looking forward to working with different coaches throughout the summer. I want to strive for a collaborative effort so we as coaches can continue to grow and be best prepared for
our eager athletes.”