NYC Inner City Kids Camp Jackson Kayak

NYC Inner City Kids Camp

Posted by Nick Troutman, 25/07/2010| Posted In: Featured Post, Kayaking Friends, Uncategorized, Videos, Whitewater, clinics, featured, jacksonkayak.com, news, photos, playboating, star, trip reports

For the past several year Jessie Stone and Soft Power health have been running an Inner City kids Camp while teaming up with the Upward Bound program from Boys and Girls Harbor. This has been my third year hepling with this project.

What we do is simple teach kids how to kayak. Though we are talking about kids who sometimes don’t even know how to swim. The first day we take them to the pool to get comfortable being in the water and getting their hair wet. We then make them feel comfortable being in the kayaks, and exiting the boats as well. From here we start using the skirts, and get them on their way to rolling a bracing.

GOPR0045

By the third day we take the kids to the beach and bays of Long Island. The kids are always excited about this because many of them haven’t been to the beaches before. We continue working on basic skills and playing games.

Our last two days are spent on the river. We work on dealing with rocks and eddy lines and everything else the river has. It is also cool for the whole group the experience the wild life out on the rivers, such the Bald Eagle we were able to witness.

921bb0c

Our final Graduation was the Farmington river. This is a class 2-3 river which all the kids were able to paddle. Once we got to the take out we all swam around in the local playspot before heading back to NYC.

It was a great week, teaching this kids about kayaking, the river, nature, and show them confidence that they can take with them.

Here is a video from the Week teaching the Inner City Kids Camp.

http://www.vimeo.com/13624158

Comment on this post

Join us in our JK Community, set up a blog, share your JK Lyfestyles with other JK kayak owners and the entire JK Team!

JK News	JK Super Schools	About JK
JK in the Press	Dealers	JK Staff
JK Photo/Video	JK Store	JK Team
Contact Us	JK Support

the latest word,
Whitewater ---

Pan American Championships

Posted by Dane Jackson, 07/09/2010

This saturday was the pan american championships and it was awesome. It was held on the ottawa river on the small feature called pushbutton. It was originally gonna be on the garberator wave but the water was too low and we were not able to get a release out of the Read More
Posted In: JK Family Posts, Stars, Uncategorized, Whitewater, events, playboating, wrap ups

Pan Am Championships Go Off Without a Hitch- Results Here...

Posted by Eric Jackson, 04/09/2010

The 2010 Pan Am Championships- held in North America in 2010, specifically in Canada, just finished with the Men's Pro Finals. 9 countries competed, but only 5 Pan Am eligible countries (North, Central, and South America). We saw Canada, USA, Mexico, Costa Rica, Chile in the official Pan Ams. We also saw England, Read More
Posted In: JK Team Posts, Stars, Uncategorized, Whitewater, the athlete, the family man, the fun tour

Final Day of Summer on the Ottawa for the Jacksons!

Posted by Eric Jackson, 03/09/2010

Tomorrow the Pan Am Championships begins! Tomorrow the high temperature will be 65 degrees and rainy. Today it is 85 degrees and sunny until 3pm where the rains started moving in and the win/temp makes it start to feel like autumn. This is about the warm summer weather, however! We saw the Read More
Posted In: JK Family Posts, JK Team Posts, Kid's Kayaks, Team JK, Whitewater, the athlete, the family man, the fun tour, the icon

Joel Kowalski sends 'Keeners experience Creeking on '7 Sisters' of the Rouge, QC'

Posted by claywright, 30/08/2010
Daunting expedition boating in Mexico with the Hotel Charley crew

Posted by jessecoombs, 27/08/2010
KC turns 2 and Today is Kristine and my 22nd Anniversary!

Posted by Eric Jackson, 27/08/2010
The Midwest Freestyle Championships 2010

Posted by colinkemp, 27/08/2010
Lower Muddy Fork

Posted by brettbarton, 26/08/2010
MISSION: Goldy Locks and the 5 bears.

Posted by Nick Troutman, 25/08/2010
Justin Kleberg's Silver Run

Posted by claywright, 22/08/2010
Heather Herbeck's Summer Update

Posted by claywright, 22/08/2010
Industry trade mag shines spotlight on new Coosa, Hero

Posted by leehart, 20/08/2010
Face Time Intro: video

Posted by Nick Troutman, 19/08/2010

View News Archive

JK in the Press

Press Releases

Press Coverage 2010

Press Coverage 2009

Press Coverage 2008

Press Coverage 2007

Press Coverage 2006

Press Coverage 2005

All Media interests should contact Lee Hart of Brand Amp at the following address:
Lee Hart
Brand Amp
Salida, CO
719.539.7788
lee@brandamp.com
http://BrandAmp.com

JK Super Schools

US and Canadian Super Schools:

International Super Schools:

Photos | Videos

2008 Photo Gallery

[Show as slideshow]

2007 Photo Gallery

[Show as slideshow]

2006 Photo Gallery

[Show as slideshow]

2005 Photo Gallery

[Show as slideshow]

Photos | Videos

Jackson Kayak Dealers

Jackson Kayak dealers are chosen by the quality of service they provide you, the customer. Our dealer network may not be the biggest, but we think you will find it to be the best the sport has to offer. We will be adding dealers on a one by one basis.

US and Canadian Dealers:

International Whitewater Kayak Dealers:

Resources for JK Dealers

:: High-resolution downloadable JK Logos and Graphics
:: Animated Logo

Dealer Packets

Jackson Kayak Accessories to make your kayak all it can be
Creek Floats- Villain, Rocker, Hero
Fun Floats- Stars, Funs
Gear Bag
Happy Feet Footbags- Super Linear Stars, Funs, all playboats under 7'
Happy Seat- Stars, Funs, Villain, Rocker, Hero, All-Water, Journey, Dynamic Duo
Happy Seat / Thruster Combo- Stars, Funs, all playboats.
Happy Thruster- Stars, Funs, all Playboats
Sweet Cheeks- All Super Linear kayaks, any non-jackson, Journey, All-Water
Day Tripper Skirt- Mini-Skirt to keep your legs dry
Minicell Foam Block
Foam Footblock
Foam Seat Pad

Addition Paddler Tools
PaddleStation- get fit and ready for paddling
Kids Paddle- Because they aren�t so easy to find

Warranty

About Jackson Kayak | Contact Jackson Kayak

Jackson Kayak was born in October of 2003. We are a family owned business, dedicated to making paddling better for everyone. I’m Eric Jackson, co-founder along with Tony Lunt, my kayaker friend from Arizona. David Knight and I design the kayaks together and have been doing so since 1994. David Knight is a C-1er from the Washington, DC area. His full time job is at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Bethesda, Maryland. There, he is a naval architect with a special interest in structures (he likes to blow things up, then make them stronger, and try to blow them up again) David will retire from the government in a couple of years and move to Rock Island where we can play with him every day. My wife, Kristine is my external hard drive, my conscience and reminder of things, and my advisor. She is a partner for me in every way. You will see the attention to detail that Kristine brings to Jackson Kayak in everything we do. My partner, Tony Lunt, adds a strong business focus along with the financial support needed to strengthen the bootstraps that we have started Jackson Kayak with. He is a destination kayaker that must normally travel to find water. When not “street surfing” during the occasional downpour in Tucson, AZ, you can find him riding his stallions and roping cattle on his expansive desert ranch. Jackson Kayak is located at Rock Island, Tennessee, home of the Ultimate playboating spot as well as a river running and creeking paradise during the rainy season.

We have a 92,000 square foot factory in Sparta, TN that we purchased in 2006 when we grew out of our 735 square foot ex-laundry matt. In 2008 we installed two large ovens, brining our manufacturing in house for the first time. We have a true dream team in manufacturing with John Ratliff, John Shepherd, Brad Cisco, Leif Koehler, Jase Bouldin, Tony Lee, and more! My Right hand man is Dave Olson, who I have worked with since 1999 in my former company. Dave is a genius that loves business, especially the hard stuff. He has helped me grow up as a business owner, keeping pace with the challenges of running a company that is growing and getting more complex each year.

We are becoming a full service kayak company, opening up our products to the flatwater paddlers with the All-Water, Day Trippers, and Journey’s in 2009. This is just another step to bring the Jackson Kayak flavor and dedication to making paddling a lifestyle, not a commodity. With manufacturers moving to China, and going for cheap labor instead of dedicated paddlers with years of experience and skills in making boats under the JK motto: “Build it like it is yours”. We can certainly put our boats up for the most intense inspection and you will find workmanship in every corner, every trim job, and every piece of assembly.

We back up our product with a lifetime warranty on workmanship and go above and beyond the written warranty in case of anything going wrong. You will always have access to the president of this company, me, by emailing (ericjackson at jacksonkayak.com) or calling me on my cell phone at 931-224-1721 . I answer all of my own emails and come from the paddler’s perspective, as I most likely was on the water that day, and every other day you try to get me. This is my dream, for myself, my family, my friends, my partners, and my staff. Most of them fall in more than one of those categories. We are living our dream and working to make this company something we can all be proud of for years to come and pass off to our children.

You and your local dealer are our company advisors; we are making this company to cater to you. We are doing what we can to be your company of choice. Feel free to provide any input, at any time.

So, you have never seen a Jackson Kayak and you want some specifics, Check out the Kayaks section to learn more.

About Jackson Kayak | Contact Jackson Kayak

Jackson Kayak
325 Iris Dr
Sparta, TN 38583
Main number: 931.738.2628
info at jacksonkayak.com

Become a dealer: Marty Cronin, 303.517.2621; ,marty at jacksonkayak dot com
Dealer Service: Teri Lee x101; teri at jacksonkayak.com or Tara Etter x107; tara at jacksonkayak.com
School/instructional program sales: Colin Kemp, 931.314.3414, colin at worldkayak.com
Warranty issues: Please fill out the downloadable customer warranty info form and email to: warranty at jacksonkayak dot com. Download the form here: WARRANTY FORM
Please allow up to five days for a reply
JK store customer service: Lorraine Valet x118; websales at jacksonkayak.com
Accounts Payable: Debbie Sopha, x105; dsopha at jacksonkayak.com
Accounts Receivable: Donita Koelhler x117; donita at jacksonkayak.com or Camile Collins x100, ccollins at jacksonkayak.com
Shipping: Brandon Rains x102; brandon at jacksonkayak.com
Parts Vendors: Jane Bouldin x103; jane at jacksonkayak.com
Human Resources: Shannon Phillips x104; shannon at jacksonkayak.com
Media Relations: Lee Hart, Brand Amp, 303.898.4141; lee at brandamp.com

Jackson Family:
EricJackson at jacksonkayak.com
Kristine at jacksonkayak.com
Emily at jacksonkayak.com
Dane at jacksonkayak.com

Who makes Jackson Kayak fly? I am a business owner who is successful because my team is running like a well tuned racing engine. Each member of the home team is responsible for more than the tasks their title suggests. They don’t ever say, “that is not my job”, but instead, it is “how can I help?”. Kristine’s mom does accounts receivable, payable, the accounting, banking, and accessories. She is 65 years old and her career is just blossoming. Get in between her and her job and you’ll see one New Yorker you’ll side step before it is too late. Goat has been shipping our kayaks to your dealers, and to random locations, one boat at a time for over two years and when I get to the factory and want to get the quick version of what’s up, I go back to where he is staging shipments, and anticipating boats that are still on the line but will ship that day. When I want to get to the real deal, where it all counts everyday, I go to the line, where our team of assemblers have been building your boats since 2004. We have some new faces, but we still have the original ones; and for that we are blessed. Built it like it is yours isn’t a slogan it is a way of life in that plant. Look at any cockpit rim trimming job on a Jackson Kayak and you’ll see a smooth, beautiful hand trimmed, hand shaped boat. What makes them so much better? Time, time, and more time, by trained, practiced, hard working, kayakers who don’t want you to cut yourself on their rim. Who is that sweet southern voice on the line when you call in? Carman Ratliff. Carman is to customer service what hot water is to coffee. She adds the service to the customer. Her husband John is my right hand man, the Chief of Operations. He is the team leader that everyone falls under, but he doesn’t have to run the plant like a classroom. People show up to work, do their job, and then some, bringing new projects to the table on their own, without having to be told to get to work.

I am very lucky to have this team of individuals that definitely fall under the “The Whole is greater than the sum of the parts.” Concept. There is no limit to what this team can do. They care like it was their own baby. I just hope that I can help them become all they want to be as part of this team, known as Team Jackson Kayak/ Home Team.