D’Arcy MacMahon
Photo by JoAnn Bernier Cornell
After 15 years of dedicated service to New Bedford Rowing Center, D’Arcy MacMahon has announced that would be stepping down from his position as Executive Director and CEO effective October 31, 2021. He will remain with the Center in a consulting role, giving advice, support, and guidance to the organization’s management team, and will continue as the Center’s lead sculling instructor. Plans for the search for a new executive director will be forthcoming.
Under MacMahon’s leadership, the Rowing Center has undergone a significant evolution, shifting from a subordinate part of Boston’s Community Rowing, Inc., to an independent full-service organization, providing the entire Greater New Bedford community with access to the sport of rowing. During this time, in addition to the growth of its highly regarded recreational program for adults, the Center has introduced hundreds of middle- and high-school-age students to the excitement and challenge of competitive rowing. For most, it was their first contact with the sport, and for many, their first time out on the harbor waters of this historic city.
Among the Center’s most notable accomplishments during MacMahon’s tenure are its merger with Phoenix Rowing Association (Fairhaven, MA), the erection of its first boathouse on Pope’s Island, the sighting of a future 1,500 meter race-course on the upper reaches of the Acushnet River, and the founding of its annual Indoor Rowing Festival, all of which have led to the Center’s establishing a true presence for rowing here in the communities of the Massachusetts South Coast.
While the last two years have been a most challenging time for the Center’s Board of Directors, the leadership’s commitment and perseverance are credited with ensuring the Center could rightfully take its place as an integral part of New Bedford’s ongoing efforts to reconnect its residents with the extraordinary recreational opportunities of the City’s upper harbor waters.