LHCOCC Board of Directors and Coaches
In November 2003, David and Liz were on vacation in Maui. David noticed a sleek vessel on a pickup truck. He struck up a conversation with the owner and learned about outrigger canoes, specifically the OC-1. In the summer of 2004, David purchased a used OC-1 in Maui and had it shipped to Lake Havasu. He had never paddled in an outrigger canoe, but something was calling him.
David was born in 1952 in Los Angeles, CA, and he moved to Inglewood at the age of one. He parents were from the Philippines. When his parents didn't want him to understand what they were saying they would speak in their native tongue. Unfortunately, he never picked up the language, culture or history. He was Americanized.
David had been paddling his OC-1 in Thompson Bay, Bridgewater Channel, under the London Bridge and eventually around the island in Lake Havasu. He would start paddling around 5:30am watching the beautiful sunrises. He found he was the only one on the lake at that time of the morning.
Eventually he found out about the OC-6s. David visited Na Leo O'Ke Kai Outrigger Canoe Club in Phoenix, AZ, where he first met Lono and Louise Navarro in August 2004. David paddled in an OC-6 for the first time. He decided, on the spot, that he wanted to start a club in Lake Havasu City. Lono invited David to attend the Lake Las Vegas Regatta that October. Within a half hour of paddling in an OC-6 David was in his first sprint race. Within one minute he was exhausted, in a race that lasted almost 15 minutes.
At the race Lono and Louise explained to David the ins-and-outs of starting and running a club, based on their own experience. They introduced him to some of the people involved with SCORA (Southern California Outrigger Racing Association.) Billy Whitford was one of them. Billy and David talked for a while about his club NAC (Newport Athletic Club.) It took David two weeks to weigh all the information he learned in Lake Las Vegas. In November 2004 David began his journey to start an outrigger canoe club in Lake Havasu City. On July 5, 2005, the club members took their first paddle together.
LHCOCC Founders: David and Liz Vidad
Michele Kirkpatrick, President
Michele joined the club in May of 2015 and has been in love with everything paddling ever since.
Her claim to fame is she was recruited for the Iron Champs Women's Short Course only after paddling for three weeks. She had no idea what she was getting into but was hooked after that.
Gary Mortimer, Vice President & Coach
Gary joined LHCOCC in 2009. Being a social guy, he thought paddling and racing with friendly people would be more enjoyable than alone on his SUP.
Gary says, "Over the years my participation in the sport and the club evolved seat by seat until I ended up steering from seat 6. Participating in a variety of open ocean races, including paddling and steering for other clubs, taught me to realize how important it is for all paddlers (every seat) to be well prepared for whatever the ocean/river/lake throws at them. The canoe listens to the crew working together and responds to that energy in ways that words cannot express."
Gary created the club's Steersman's Course, which has since been adopted by SCORA. He is a self taught steersman and enjoys lending his knowledge and experience to anybody that is willing to learn. He has been instrumental in teaching the majority of the club's steerpersons the art of steering.
Jeanne Holdren, Secretary
Jeanne joined the club in October of 2013 and her first race was as a Novice at Crystal Pier in 2015 and her team took 3rd place. She joined the club for the physical activity on the Lake, as she enjoys outside exercise during the summer. She's a Dietician, always lending healthy eating tips to all the paddlers.
She's a fierce and competitive Seat One, always willing to stroke for any crew. She became a board member to help the sport she loves.
Diane Denny, Treasurer
Diane is one of our original members and joined the club shortly after it was formed in 2005 by David Vidad. She read an article in the paper about the club and it had photos of the canoes, which she found interesting. The article invited people to come give it a try. With her love for being on the water and wanting outdoor exercise, it was a perfect fit.
In 2007, the club became a 501 C3, and was officially recognized as a non-profit organization. For the first time, officers and board members were elected and bylaws were written for the club. Diane was elected club Treasurer and she's retained that position ever since.
Angie Veneroni, Director
Angie joined the club in 2006, after deciding it was an activity she wanted to be involved in since she loves to work out and loves the water. She also enjoys team work and Ohana.
She is a Physical Therapist by trade and leads a team stretch before and after practices.
Angie has paddled the Queen Lili race three times, as well as the Catalina 9 man race.
Lee Payne, Director
Lee joined LHCOCC in 2009, being very competitive, having 10 years under her belt as a swim coach, racing is her passion. She loves being a coach because 'it's rewarding to see the smile on a person's face when they achieve their goals."
Lee has been racing with LHCOCC since 2010 and she accredits her racing and coaching skills to one of our original members, Steve Benson (featured in photo with Lee, coming in 1st place-OC 2 Co-Ed at ADR, 2019.)
Vince Kirk, Director
October 2022 I moved to Lake Havasu City from Long Beach, California. Dragon Boat was my experience before that move. I was a rookie, but the club welcomed me from the jump. The workouts and friends I have made here is the glue that keeps me going. (Never had a bad “paddle.”) Looking forward to helping out, and putting LHOCC’s best foot forward.
Cathy Chandler, Steering Coach and SCORA Director
Cathy has been paddling with LHCOCC since 2014.
She loves the team effort and the competitiveness of racing.
Cathy is the Steering Coach along with Gary Mortimer.
My outrigger paddling journey began in 2009 in the cold waters of Washington State with Kikaha O Ke Kai OCC, where I quickly fell in love with the sport and immersed myself in Pacific Northwest racing.
After relocating to Southern California, I joined Dana Point OCC, where I discovered a passion for steering and coaching. Over five seasons, I helped coach nearly 50 new paddlers, guiding many from their first strokes to completing the 30-mile Catalina Channel crossing. I later joined Imua OCC in Newport Beach and served as Men’s Head Coach before relocating to Oahu for renewable energy work.
Living in Hawaii placed me at the heart of the outrigger world, where I spent seven years paddling with respected clubs including Windward Kai, Kailua, New Hope, Na Koa Lani, and The Fossils. Those years deepened my appreciation for the culture, tradition, and leadership of the sport.
Today, I call Lake Havasu City home and proudly paddle with Lake Havasu City OCC, continuing to race the SCORA circuit and share my passion for outrigger canoeing with the next generation of paddlers.
Joseph Munro, Coach
Sheila holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in Physical Education and Human Movement from California State University, Long Beach and has spent much of her career in collegiate physical education, athletic training, exercise testing, and strength and conditioning. Her experience includes coaching and training a wide range of athletes, from collegiate students to Olympic competitors.
Sheila Beuler, Coach
In 1997, Sheila joined the Santa Fe Fire Department, where she served as a firefighter/paramedic and later Battalion Chief. During her career, she developed comprehensive firefighter fitness and medical monitoring programs, secured grant funding for advanced testing equipment, and helped establish a state-of-the-art exercise testing lab for department personnel.
Since connecting with the Lake Havasu City Outrigger Canoe Club in 2006, Sheila has remained dedicated to coaching, mentoring, and perpetuating outrigger canoe culture, training, and competition.
