Watch the United Way Rock the Boat Event

For the first time ever, Andrews University has entered a boat in the United Way of Southwest Michigan’s annual Rock the Boat cardboard boat race. The event will take place next Thursday, July 16, starting at 5 p.m. at The Inn at Harbor Shores in St. Joseph, Michigan. University President John Wesley Taylor V will captain the boat, christened Andy Afloat. Kevin Wiley, assistant registrar and coordinator of the annual United Way Employee Campaign, will serve as President Taylor’s first mate. Together, they will compete against several dozen boats paddled by teams from area businesses.

Designed and built by Gunnar Lovhoiden, professor of engineering, Andy Afloat is a raft design constructed primarily of cardboard carpet tubes glued together. The boat is just shy of 13 feet long, with a beam (width) of 36 inches. Sea trials were successfully conducted last week on Lake Chapin, giving the team confidence that Andy Afloat will indeed stay afloat long enough to enable them to finish the race without swimming.

“Our participation in Rock the Boat is the fulfillment of a promise Dr. Taylor and I made last fall during our United Way fundraising campaign,” shares Wiley. “We told the Andrews University employees that if we reached our fundraising goal, we would join the boat race. Employees generously made their donations, and we easily reached our monetary goal for the campaign. Thank you all very much! Now we’re keeping our promise!”

All are invited to attend next Thursday and cheer for Andy Afloat. Several food trucks will be on site to fortify appetites while the race takes place. Click here for more Rock the Boat information.

To learn more about the United Way of Southwest Michigan, please click here.