Terry Kohler awarded Herreshoff Trophy

by Jake Fish on 23 Oct 2009 US Sailing, national governing body of the sport, has awarded its prestigious Nathanael G. Herreshoff Trophy to Terry Kohler for his outstanding contributions to the sport of sailing in the U.S. over many years.

Kohler (Brule, Wis.) is President and CEO of the Windway Capital Corporation, a holding company for subsidiaries including North Sails Group. Under Kohler’s leadership, North Sails has become a world leader in sailmaking through an ongoing commitment to designing and producing faster, lighter, and stronger sails.

Kohler has been active in the Women’s International Match Racing Association. He played in intricate role in a successful international campaign to get women’s match racing into the 2012 Olympics. Kohler is a major supporter of the Sheboygan Youth Sailing Center (Wis.) and has provided organizational leadership to Sail Sheboygan, a US SAILING Center.

At the age of five, Kohler picked up sailing on Lake Michigan and has been sailing and racing for over 60 years. He is a former Commodore of the Lake Michigan Sail Racing Federation. His racing accomplishments are extensive. In 1978, he successfully defended the Canada’s Cup for the U.S. He has competed in 36 Chicago Mackinac and 17 Bayview Mackinac Races. In 1984 and 1985, his crew was first in section in the Chicago Mackinac, and in 1992 his crew achieved a first to finish, first in class, and first in fleet. In 2008 at the 100th Chicago Mackinac Regatta, his crew finished second. Kohler is a member of six yacht clubs, and the founding member of the Great Lakes 70 Association and the Sail Yacht Research Foundation.

Kohler has a Master of Science degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s School of Management. He is also a graduate of the Admiral Farragut Academy of New Jersey. He later joined the U.S. Air Force and spent three years as a combat crew member pilot.

Terry and his wife, Mary, reside in Sheboygan, Wis. They have seven grown children and 13 grandchildren.
The Nathanael G. Herreshoff Trophy was donated to US SAILING in 1957 by the National Marine Manufacturers Association and is awarded annually to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the sport of sailing in this country. The recipient is selected by US SAILING’s Board of Directors from nominations made by members of the Board, Committee Chairs, past Presidents and Counselors of Honor.

For more information about the award and for a complete list of past recipients, please visit http://about.ussailing.org/Awards/Nathanael_G__Herreshoff_Trophy.htm.