The US J/24 Class Association has awarded the fourth annual Kelly Holmes-Moon J/24 Boat Grant to Erica Trejo from Chicago, IL. The Program is named in honor of Kelly Holmes-Moon, a long-time supporter of the J/24 Class Association who served as US Class President and as the Copyright Holder’s Representative. For the 2020 season, the boat will see weekly action at Wilmette Harbor with J/24 Fleet 100. The Boat Grant team plans to participate in a number of events including the Midwinter Championship in Melbourne, FL, Cleveland Race Week in Cleveland, OH, the Great Lakes Championship in Chicago, IL, and working to attend the District 15 Championship in Madison, WI. Mark Soya, with the help of other Class members, will mentor the young team, as well as the other individuals who applied for the Program. Erica has been sailing and racing her whole life, but has only a few years of J/24 experience. She has already seen how much fun the Class is and how competitive it is too. In the past two years, she has been pleasantly surprised at how many boats were in attendance at each regatta. She loves how everyone is so welcoming, and she is excited to be a part of the J/24 family. She looks forward to learning more about the boats while on this year’s journey and the challenge of racing against so many good sailors in the Class. Her team will consist of a mix of younger J/24 sailors and seasoned veterans, which will surely help them grow over the next year. She said, “I am incredibly excited to receive the boat grant this year! I am excited for this year’s journey. Come say ‘Hi’ if you see us. I would like to thank the US J/24 Class and the Boat Grant Committee for making this possible and for helping me achieve this great honor.” The Kelly Holmes-Moon J/24 Boat Grant Program encourages talented young sailors to gain first-hand experience racing within the J/24 Class of one-design sailboats at virtually no cost. Dave Eggleton donated the boat, USA 423, to the program, providing the Scholarship Boat recipients with the experience to escalate their level of competitiveness and inspire them to accomplish great things in the sailing world. The team is in need of contributions to help fund their campaign. To find out how you can help, e-mail director@j24class.org. The application process for the 2021/2022 Kelly Holmes-Moon J/24 Boat Grant Program will begin in the fall of 2020.