The Yacht Insider: Award Highlights Yachting Community’s Response to Haiti Quake
The Florida Yacht Brokers' Association recognizes Andrew Cilla's efforts on behalf of children in Haiti.
February 8, 2010
On Friday night, the Florida Yacht Brokers Association named Luke Brown Yachts President Andrew Cilla its Yacht Broker of the Year for 2009.
Andrew Cilla poses with his new award and FYBA president Bruce Schattenburg.
Interestingly, when I caught up with Cilla on Monday afternoon, he told me he believes the award had absolutely nothing to do with his performance in selling yachts.
“It’s more to do with contributions to the industry and the community,” he said from his Fort Lauderdale office. “It’s my longtime support for Freedom Waters, which is a foundation that works with children with cancer and other life-threatening disabilities, and my recent support for the Timoun Lakay Foundation, which is helping with relief efforts in Haiti.”
Cilla told me that he met Haiti native Rachelle Sylvain-Spence, who founded Timoun Lakay, when the two served together on the Freedom Waters Board of Directors. Sylvain-Spence created Timoun Lakay in July 2009 to help children in Haiti by assisting existing orphanages and other groups.
The devastating earthquake and aftershocks that struck Haiti in January have shifted Timoun Lakay’s mission entirely to relief—with which Cilla is helping greatly.
FYBA President Bruce Schattenburg, with Rachelle Sylvain-Spence.
“Andrew has assisted me by opening up the whole yachting industry to our foundation,” Sylvain-Spence told me from her office in Weston, Florida. “The yachting industry has been tremendous in helping us gather and send supplies to Haiti, everything from hygiene supplies and medication to food, clothing, cleaning supplies, and generators. One of the yachting companies donated a 40-foot container to move the supplies to Haiti, and it’s almost filled.”
Cilla was humble in accepting the award, which—ironically, seeing as how he is a past president of FYBA—he told me he didn’t even know existed until his name was called at Friday night’s event. Sylvain-Spence said she was grateful to have been asked to speak in Cilla’s honor, and that she was stunned when someone spontaneously passed around a cowboy hat in the Timoun Lakay Foundation’s name.
“We collected $768 on Friday night alone,” she said. “I don’t know if there is a term to explain the generosity of the yachting community. It has been incredible.”
Editor's Note: Kim Kavin is an award-winning writer, editor and photographer who specializes in marine travel. She is the author of six books including Dream Cruises: The Insider’s Guide to Private Yacht Vacations, is editor of the online yacht vacation magazine www.CharterWave.com.
