“The Auxiliary Meritorious Service Medal is awarded tro Auxiliarists who have contributed exceptional meritorious service to the Coast Guard and/or Coast Guard Auxiliary. Auxiliarists who serve in any capacity within the Auxiliary are eligible. The Auxiliary Meritorious Service Medal may be awarded by any Flag Officer.”

Mr. William B. Griswold

Auxiliary Liaison to the National Safe Boating Council. His amicable demeanor and commitment to recreational boating safety fostered the growth of Auxiliary partnerships among many boating safety organizations. As an outstanding mentor an leader he led the Auxiliary through the National Safe Boating Council’s grant program to achieve the highest percentage of successful grant application packages of all boating safety organizations. He spearheaded the distribution of approximately 10,000 National Safe Boating Week packages. He traveled extensively throughout Canada and the United States to support national safe boating campaigns.

Mr. David N. Hand

(Excerpt of the citation) Mr. Hand is cited for meritorious service in the performance of duty as Deputy Chief and Chief, Marine Safety and Environmental Protection Department. He reorganized the Auxiliary’s marine safety and security program to align it with the Auxiliary’s National Business Plan. He developed and delivered the Auxiliary’s marine safety and security training plan. He integrated the participation of active duty mentors with each of the Auxiliary’s 16 regional marine safety and security staff officers. His ingenuity was instrumental in the improvement of communications that led to the increase in Auxiliary Trident Program participation from 13,000 to more than 130,000 hours annually. He cultivated new departmental initiatives including the Commercial Fishing Vessel Crew Training Program to reduce casualties among commercial fishing fleets. He assumed and promoted the “America’s Waterway Watch Program.”

Commodore Paul H. Riddle

(Excerpt of the citation) Commodore Riddle is cited for meritorious service in the performance of duty as Director of Products and Marketing and Special Assistant to the Executive Director of the Coast Guard Auxiliary Association. He was instrumental in the development of simplified Auxiliary membership service options and vastly improved accessibility options. He designed and implemented the Direct Sales Pilot Program that reduced the administration’s burden on the Auxiliary’s 16 District Material Officers by more than 50 percent, decreasing delivery times from several weeks to a few days. He developed the virtual mall site “www.ShopAuxiliary.com” that provided a new revenue stream to support Auxiliary activities. It generated over $6,000 in the first six months. He developed key elements in the Auxiliary Associate Membership Program to provide a new and viable alternative to conventional Auxiliary membership.

Mr. Robert T. Shafer

(Excerpt of the citation) Mr. Shafer is cited for meritorious service in the performance of duty as Chief, Aviation Operations Division. He was the driving force behind the most significant changes ever made to Auxiliary aviation operations policies and procedures. Due to his determination and expertise the Auxiliary Standardization Team was established, a comprehensive Auxiliary Air Training Manual was developed, strict two-pilot rules were instituted and a host of Auxiliary aviation syllabi were created. He was a major contributor to the most comprehensive Auxiliary Operations Policy Manual in more than a decade. He served as the lead instructor for the inaugural Auxiliary District Flight Safety Office course. He was responsible for recruiting nine new members to the national aviation staff. Despite a 20 percent increase in Auxiliary flight operations he ensured strict safety policies were incorporated to protect Auxiliary flight crews.

Mr. Wayne B. Spivak

(Excerpt of the citation) Mr. Spivak is cited for meritorious service in the performance of duty as Branch Chief, Special Assignments for the Public Affairs Department and as Chief, External Communications Division. Demonstrating exception initiative and a desire to educate recreational boaters he authored over 100 articles that addressed a broad range of recreational boating safety issues including: hoax distress calls, mandatory vessel safety equipment, VHF-FM marine radio communications standards and the benefits of wearing life jackets. His articles also focused on “America’s Waterway Watch” and the “You’re in Command” programs. He ensured distribution of these articles to over 6,000 media contacts and personally pursued their publication. His efforts resulted in the publication of these valuable articles over 1,500 times, including publication in such renowned journals as the “Miami Herald” and the “New York Times.” He significantly contributed to the creation of an online course that provided clear and comprehensive guidance for Auxiliary public affairs staff officers.