The promise of a reimagined Dunedin Boat Club and Sailing Center took a giant step forward this week thanks to a $300,000 gift from philanthropists David and Nancy Bilheimer, whose generosity continues to reshape the region’s medical, arts and entertainment venues.
Two years ago, hurricanes destroyed the Dunedin Boat Club’s historic blue boathouse on the city’s marina peninsula. To rebuild, the club joined hands with four other local sea-loving organizations. Together, they plan a new community asset that helps people of all ages and abilities access the waters of St. Joseph Sound.
“We thought the Dunedin Boat Club was just a boat club until we got involved and started looking at it,” said David Bilheimer, who spent his career in the air-conditioning systems business in New York City.
Added Nancy, a former school teacher: “We were impressed with the many different programs it offers, especially Sailability.”
Sailability is one of the five partners in the nonprofit project. Founded in 2001, it helps children and adults of all abilities access the water with the help of special equipment, stable boats and trained volunteers.
The other partners are the Dunedin Youth Sailing Association, which teaches youngsters, high schoolers and adults how to sail; the Windlasses, which encourages and teaches women how to race sailboats; and Science on the Sound, an environmental nonprofit dedicated to inspiring the next generation of scientists and environmental stewards with after-school programs, summer camps and boat-based expeditions.
The Dunedin Boat Club, one of the oldest sailing clubs in Florida, has its own history of charitable giving to about a dozen local nonprofits. It also convenes quarterly blood drives, takes veterans out on the water and presents the annual Holiday Lighted Boat Parade.
The new Dunedin Boat Club and Sailing Center will be a city-owned, multi-use facility. Its business structure will mirror that of the Dunedin Fine Art Center, which is owned by the city, but independently operated and supported by people who love the arts. Similarly, the boat club and sailing center will be operated and supported by people who love the water.
The Bilheimers’ gift places the fundraising effort about two-thirds of the way toward its $1 million goal. A few months back, Dunedin residents Marci Wilhelm and Brent Irish gave the project another shot-in-the-arm donation of $100,000. With the boat club’s 100-year anniversary fast approaching, volunteer fundraisers hope other benefactors will also step forward to build what is sure to become another community jewel.
Though not a boater, David Bilheimer said he was motivated to jumpstart the construction of Dunedin’s newest amenity. “We try to help out as best we can for the community.”
Boat Club Commodore Craig Polito said he was enormously grateful for the couple’s generosity.
“The Bilheimers have helped so many people in so many ways,” he said, noting their significant gifts to Ruth Eckerd Hall and the Capitol Theatre, the Dunedin Fine Art Center, the City of Dunedin, Mease Countryside Hospital, educational scholarships and so much more.
“They are extraordinary people who have given so very much to our community. They are one of a kind.”
“We are building a legacy here,” Polito added, “one made possible by the people who make Dunedin the special place it is. This gift puts our dream well within reach.”
Rosemary Goudreau O’Hara is the former opinion page editor of the South Florida Sun Sentinel and before that, The Tampa Tribune. She now lives in Dunedin and is a board member of the Dunedin Boat Club.
How to donate
Club members and non-members can make tax-deductible contributions by visiting www.dunedinboatclub.org/page-18195. All donations will be held and administered by the Pinellas Community Foundation.