History Repeats
Dear Editor: In the early 1980s, the Baranof Barracuda Swim Club traveled to Juneau for a swim meet. Bailey Harang was one of the swimmers on that trip. During the event, her dad, Gordie Harang, approached me and asked me about Juneau’s scoreboard. Juneau had, what was then, a state-of-the-art six-lane scoreboard, while we only had a one-lane board in Sitka. He was very impressed and asked me how much it would take to get the same board in Sitka. Since a new scoreboard costs around $11,000, it was really a dream for our club.
On the Monday morning after the meet, Mr. Harang came to the Blatchley Pool office and handed me a check for $11,000. He said “Coach Suha, go get that scoreboard.” You can imagine the size of my eyes at that moment. This gesture was recognized in the Sitka Sentinel with a picture of Mr. Harang and me, plus an article honoring Alaska Marine Lines and Arrowhead Transfer – a photo which I cherish still today.
Now, nearly 30 years later, the electronic timing equipment at the pool is aging and BBSC has been looking for ways to replace it. Fortunately, the Rasmuson Foundation awarded the Baranof Barracuda Swim Club a matching grant of $30,000 to purchase new equipment, and we have been very busy raising these funds. But, as the deadline for gathering all of the money approached, we realized we would be nearly $7,000 short.
Upon hearing this, and for a second time, Gordie Harang, along with his son, Trevor, made our dream possible. These golden-hearted men found out how much we needed and wrote a check to cover the rest, so we could receive the full matching grant. Writing this note does not nearly do enough to show our gratitude to these wonderful men. Even so, the swimmers of the Baranof Barracuda Swim Club, and the community of Sitka, would like to say “thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your donation!” God bless you, Harangs!
Coach Suha Tokman, Sitka
