At the US Power Squadrons (USPS) Annual Meeting held this weekend in Jacksonville, Florida, USPS District 3 of Long Island, New York and the Manatee Sail & Power Squadron of West Central Florida each were honored with a Civic Service Award. Sponsored by BoatUS, the awards are given annually to the USPS District and Squadron in recognition of exceptional service and public boating safety education and service to the boating community.

BoatUS Chairman and Founder Richard Schwartz, who presented the awards, said, “These two groups had great success in reaching out to their communities to make recreational boating more safe and enjoyable. They are a public asset that deserves recognition.”

The individual squadrons that make up USPS District 3, of Long Island, NY which includes Suffolk, Nassau, Queens and Kings (Brooklyn) counties, logged over 1000 hours at boat shows, offered a unique tour of the Aids to Navigation of the Great South Bay of Long Island, offered dozens of boating safety courses and used their Web site, local radio and TV in their boating safety outreach efforts. They also completed many speaking engagements and cooperatively participated with other organizations on environmental efforts, including increasing the number of holding tank pumpout stations in the Long Island area. District 3 Commander Friedmann said, “All of our squadrons have spent their time and energy making our waterways safer and healthier. Our goal was to ‘make noise’ in various communities to let people know what we do and why – and how they can participate.”

The Manatee Sail & Power Squadron of District 22 in the Manatee River and West Central Florida region was honored for its public education courses and seminars, boat show participation, vessel safety check program and its excellent Web site that includes extensive information on hurricane preparation and “good neighbor” efforts. It also completed four outings to cooperatively chart the Tampa Bay area in concert with NOAA. The squadron’s “Hurricane Team” also took to the road with a PowerPoint presentation on hurricane preparation, sharing it with many waterfront communities, marinas and boat clubs. Manatee Sail & Power Squadron Commander Richy Evers said, “We are committed to improving our skills and knowledge, enjoying our active boating lifestyle and giving back to the community.”