The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

I clren, Su/anne and David. Her first hus- band died unexpectedly. She and her husband, Bill, who operates a home inspection service, have been together for 22 years. Lawson has lived in Bay side for several years and previously worked for AOCX) and Bardon Supplies. In 1982 she completed correspondence courses and became an independent bookkeeper. "1 ju s t enjoyed doing books and it car- ried on from there," she said. Lawson works out of her home and has about a do/en regular clients, including several small local businesses. She also does about 100 personal income tax returns every spring. "That keeps me busy," she laughed. Boating is what introduced Lawson to the Bay of Quinte Yacht Club in the mid- 1980s. "I got to know the members and we started to come to func t ions . And I really enjoyed the camaraderie," she said. Lawson didn ' t off ic ia l ly become a mem- ber of the yacht club u n t i l 2002. "I was asked to be a treasurer because of my bookkeeping experience and in order to be a director, you had to be a member first." She has been treasurer Cor the past three years and stepped into the com- modore's position Dec. 1 . She succeeds Peter Savidge. Lawson said she is "honoured" to spend 2005 as commodore and serve both the boating and non-boating members. The club's headquarters at Vic tor ia Park boasts a banquet faci l i ty , members' lounge, licensed bar-patio and enough land to accommodate do/ens of members' boats over the winter. She said the yacht c lub isn ' t strictly for boaters, though. "It's not necessary to own a boat to join the club. The club is a good place to social-. i/e, learn about boating and go on the Bay of Quinte together for various ren- de/vous," she said. Lawson added the club has operated a sailing school since 1953 and many of these graduates have gone on to buy sail- boats and join the club. Her goal as commodore is to encourage members to use the club's facil i t ies more often "and enjoy the camaraderie of fellow boaters and non-boaters. "I believe in the club because of the fe l - lowship it provides. I t ' s a good way for boaters to get to know one another." Being a female commodore is especially gratifying for Lawson "because there aren't too many of us wi l l ing to take on the responsibility." Contrary to what people may think, Lawson said this is a busy time for the commodore. There are Christmas parties, devnces and other social functions that require her attention throughout the win- ter months. "We have a busy social season between now and the l i f t - in in May so there is a lot of work to do as commodore. But once the boats are in, it's an en t i re ly new season for me." Contact Henry Bury at: newsroom^ inteIHgencer.ca