Left to Right: Mr Rehkopf, BM1 Surran, LTJG Balunis.

For Auxiliarist Tom Conroy of Baltimore, MD, 30 plus years of part time broadcasting really paid off when accepting his Public Affairs position with the USCG Auxiliary. “When you do something like this for so many years, you make a lot of good contacts," he said.

That was proven recently, when, as part of National Safe Boating Week, Conroy contacted Aaron Rehkopf, News Director of Clear Channel Communications Baltimore about the possibility of an interview to promote boating safety. For Aaron, the answer was a definite “yes.”

We later found that his dad was a retired boson mate third class who served on Mackinac Island at a lifeboat station and on a lighthouse at Thunder bay Island, Lake Michigan for the USCG back in the 50's.

News Director Aaron did have one request, “remember, radio is theatre of the mind, I’d like to do this interview out on the water underway.” That request was gladly granted thanks to the assistance of Coast Guard Activities Baltimore.

A sunny day in May was the day we had waited for; bright with a moderate breeze over Baltimore’s beautiful Inner Harbor as gentle waves lapped against the hull. Auxiliarist Tom Conroy, LTJG Tim Balunis, and BM1 David Surran met with Aaron Rehkopf, who arrived with minidisk and microphone in hand, ready to go.

The interview was conducted on the aft deck of a new 27’ USCG vessel, and we were all impressed with the relative silence of four stroke outboards compared to their old two stroke counterparts. Less stink too!

The interview covered many aspects of boating safety, plus the importance of homeland security and what recreational boaters can do to help. Sharing the water in a busy port like Baltimore was also discussed.

The program, “Maryland Today” lasted 30 minutes and aired on 93.1 WPOC plus 104.3 WSMJ, both in Baltimore. In addition, another Boating Safety program, recorded earlier aired on 100.7 WZBA. Custom made boating safety public service announcements written and produced at Conroy’s studio were distributed to area stations for airing.