HWS News
23 April 2025 • Alums • Athletics Alumnus Hay Makes Estate Bequest to HWS Sailing
Sailing enthusiast Warren Kingsland Hay ’59 leaves 50% of estate to high-performing HWS Sailing team.
Warren Kingsland Hay ’59 has left nearly $250,000 to the Hobart and William Smith Sailing Team through a bequest from his estate. An avid sailor for most of his life, Hay was committed to supporting HWS sailing and its student athletes, ensuring access to a program that did not exist for him when enrolled at the Colleges.
Hay was born in Westport, Conn., and prepared at the Westminster School in Simsbury, Conn. He attended Cornell University for a time before transferring to HWS, where he pledged Sigma Chi and earned a degree in Economics.
Since Hay was older than most of his classmates and passionate about sailing, he was one of the few students permitted to join the Seneca Yacht Club. He also worked full-time at the Seneca Hotel on Exchange Street. After graduation, Hay was employed at Geneva’s Shuron Optical Co., which retained more than 800 workers at the height of its production.
Hay was deeply committed to HWS and leaves his legacy with a significant bequest. In 2013 Hay wrote his last will and testament, leaving 50% of his estate to HWS Sailing. In 2025, HWS received a gift of nearly $250,000 from his estate.
“This is an incredible gift. Through his generosity, Mr. Hay has helped secure the funding necessary to maintain the high standards of the program and ensure the future success of the team,” says Sailing Team Head Coach Scott Iklé ’84.
HWS Sailing competes in the Middle Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association conference. The team is consistently high-performing and recently finished second at the 2021 Intercollegiate Sailing Association Singlehanded National Championships.
Top: The Hobart and William Smith Sailing Team practices on Seneca Lake.
