Profiling George Simon

Since it is the registration renewal period this month, we decided to profile our state registrar, George Simon. George began swimming regularly to improve his bad back. He swam at the YWCA in Raleigh, but in 1982 a move across town brought him closer to Raleigh Aquatic Masters. RAM is his first and only Masters team. He doesn't compete anymore, but he has fond memories of his competitive past, especially the long course nationals that were held in the Optimist Club pool in Raleigh. This meet provided George with his only participation at the national level. His favorite stroke is freestyle and he enjoys swimming the mile.

George has worked for IBM for 30 years, with the last three as a Product Safety Engineer. He enjoys working with computers and that is why he enjoys being the NC registrar. He became involved as the state registrar through RAM. A friend of his was the RAM team registrar, and when he left the team post, George took over. RAM is the largest chapter in NC, so being the team registrar gave him a lot of experience. George has been the state registrar for just over two years. His biggest challenge as registrar is to retain USMS membership by North Carolinians. There was a decline USMS membership among NC swimmers in 1995 and that saddened him. Masters means a lot to George, and he will spend 1996 figuring out innovative ways to retain and recruit members. George plans to swim forever. The day he quits is the day a lifeguard needs to pull him out of the pool.