08:00, 30 August 2003, The attendees arrived after what has become the NACON 2003 joke, “the hike to the event,” to the sounds of the Nashville Community Orchestra. These men and women volunteers came on an early Saturday morning to entertain the members of the Coast Guard Auxiliary and Coast Guard and to open our National Board Meeting.

After the Naval ROTC Honor Guard and some brief introductions, the Mayor of Nashville, TN, the Honorable William Purcell delivered some opening remarks. He praised, “…incredible outstanding service…provided on our inland waterways.” Mayor Purcell went on to inform us, that not only does he know and appreciate the work that the America’s Volunteer Lifesavers perform, but also, “we are known to Mayor’s and leaders all over the country.”

Following was a welcome by RADM Duncan, District Commander of the Eighth Coast Guard District (D8). He also praised the Auxiliary for our dedication and resourcefulness. However, RADM Duncan had a request. Help is needed in D8. The Admiral’s staff is seeking Auxiliarists who can to pitch in and offer their assistance with a backlog of applications for Merchant Mariners. As such Auxiliarists are needed who are willing to assist with administrative duties.

RADM David Belz, the Assistant Commandant for Operations (G-O) followed RADM Duncan. He brought with him a message from Secretary Ridge, which said, “[how] proud of the Auxiliaries 64 years of service… [and] unyielding service in the name of safety and security of America on our waterways.”

Admiral Belz stated, “The Auxiliary has donated 1.7 million hours to the Coast Guard. Quite a significant number.”

Next in line was Captain David Hill, the Chief Director of the Auxiliary. CAPT Hill reemphasized the role of the Auxiliary.

· Recreational Boating Safety
· Maritime Domain Awareness
· Recruitment of the Coast Guard (AIM program) and Auxiliary, as well as the Health Care initiative.

COMO Everette Tucker, N-I, of the International Affairs Directorate welcomed the many members of the international community of Auxiliaries of other maritime lifesaving services.

Ruth Wood, President of Boat/US reiterated the long-standing (35 years) relationship with the Coast Guard Auxiliary. Her (as well as Boat/US) focus is on the way the Wallap-Beauax funds are distributed, as well as sanitation and dredging issues that are effecting boating and marinas in our nation.

Ms. Wood suggested that by acting as individuals, we could influence our legislators. Boat/US has a web site that enables you to quickly send a message to your Congressman or Senator. It’s at www.boatus.com/gov

Captain Scott Evans, Chief of the Office of Boating Safety spoke about his mission, which is our mission – Recreational Boating Safety. He emphasized that Operation Boat Smart is crucial to this mission, by building partnerships with all stake holders in recreational boating safety (RBS); manufacturers, operators, marinas, distributors to name a few. “Preventing an accident prevents a fatality. Wear your PFD and don’t boat while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, including legal prescription drugs.”

CAPT Evans stressed that the new campaign “You’re In Command” is a key element in the mission of the Office of Boating Safety. For more information go to their web site www.uscgboating.org.

CAPT Evans stated the preliminary 2002 fatalities stats were very disappointing, with deaths rising again to the mid 700’s. Our combined programs are the answer to lowering these numbers.

Harry Strong, the Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary (CCGAux) spoke about the strong working relationship between our two Auxiliaries. He stressed that we should not be embarrassed by the losses to our northern neighbors in the last two International Search and Rescue (ISAR) competitions. An interesting fact the Mr. Strong brought to light was, “that the CCGAux, which only has 5,000 members and 1,500 boats performed 2,200 SAR cases last year. That’s a lot of work!”

The last speaker was Stu Soffer of D8-WR, the local Operation Boat Smart point of contact. Mr. Stoffer implored the membership to be creative when seeking partnerships with local and state stakeholders. Think out of the box, and look for opportunities to exploit, bottom line….”Get the message to the public.”