When the CENTURY 21 team saw Raphael Barta and Christian Thompson’s photos from their participation in the Great Sandpoint Flat Water Regatta in their custom, branded CENTURY 21 canoe, we knew we had to share their story with you!
Raphael and Christian, both members of CENTURY 21 RiverStone in Northern Idaho, paddled their way to victory in the Regatta on July 14th, which benefited the Rotary Club of Sandpoint. All proceeds from the race went to support the club’s scholarship program for local, high school graduates.
We were so impressed by the canoe and the team’s victory, we sat down with Raphael to hear all about it.
C21: Was this the first year the office participated in the race?
RB: Yes, it was our first time rowing in the race. Both Christian and I are outdoorsmen. We both ski, Christian is a rock climber and I’m a fly fisherman. We were pretty confident we could put up a good fight in the race.
C21: Was it just you and Christian in the race?
RB: Yes. Christian was in the bow of our boat and I took the stern.
C21: We have to know, how did you create that custom, CENTURY 21 canoe?
RB: Debbie Ferguson in our office strategized the whole design and executed it beautifully. She had it done in a day!
C21: The canoe is very impressive!
RB: We completely agree. We were so happy with the canoe that we actually displayed it outside our office on the sidewalk. It got a lot of attention!
C21: Who were you competing against in the Regatta?
RB: The Rotary Club is very big and quite popular in our town, so many of the local businesses entered.
C21: Did the whole CENTURY 21 RiverStone office come to cheer you on?
RB: Oh yes! The banks were packed with fans.
C21: You won the race! Was it an easy victory?
RB: We really won by a nose. We pulled away during the very last lap. I have to admit, it was a very strategic victory. We cut the leading boat off right at the pier.
C21: How did it feel to win?
RB: Of course we were thrilled to come in first, but the true victory was that the Regatta raised over $16,000 for the Rotary Club. We feel great about that.
