Not to brag, but Jim Gluek has joined the DEL Flags team. The match could not be more exciting or perfect. Jim is a master sailor, born to water.
DEL owners, Ann and Mark Meyer, met Jim at the Pewaukee Yacht Club. Gluek was seeking a change. DEL Flag was hiring. Their shared interest in sailing was fortuitous. But things always happen that way for Jim. “Everything that has shaped my career has been personal,” he says, “connecting with people.” That single quality says a lot about him.
Born to sail, Jim grew up near Lake Minnetonka in Minnesota. His grandfather sailed, and his parents and siblings sail. He started racing at age nine and never stopped. For thirty years, he has lived and sailed on Lake Nagawicka. In winter, Jim’s favorite sport is ice sailing. He and his wife also love to ski. In warm weather, they sail four days a week. They love to sail.
To earn a living, Jim followed his brother into sewing sails. He has been a sailmaker for 37 years. Sewing flags is a lot like making sails. The products use the same kind of patterns and similar wind-rippling fabrics. Sails and flags both require precision of design and durability. It’s not a stretch for Jim to translate his skill set from sails to flags.
Ann is teaching him everything she knows, downloading her decades of expertise and knowledge into his competent hands. “I am gradually handing the lines over to Jim,” she says. “He is so precise and thorough and organized.”
“My goal here is to help with sales and be a part of production and manufacturing,” Jim says. Promoting the company’s new line of yacht club burgees is a good fit for Gluek.
He’s been involved in ILYA, Inland Lake Yachting Association. His name shows up on top in many race results. With the COVID-19 pandemic, many events are cancelled. “We’ll miss the big regattas,” Jim says. It hasn’t stopped him from getting on the water. In fact, with less attention on competition, he is seeing a return to grass roots. “It’s been refreshing. Everybody’s focused on club sports in our back yard. Competing is great, but sailing is also about fun and socializing,” he says, and can’t help adding what he’s already said, “I love sailing.”
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