ACCEPTANCE SPEECH FOR MAYOR

ACCEPTANCE SPEECH FOR MAYOR’S PROCLAMATION

5/16/2013

Good Evening, Everyone.

On behalf of the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, Dunedin Flotilla 11-10, I would like to thank Mayor Eggers and the City Commissioners for your proclamation of National Safe Boating Week, May 18-24.

I know that I speak for my fellow Flotilla members when I say that we are very proud and grateful to be active in this community, a community that lies next to what we think is the most beautiful water in the world, the Gulf of Mexico. But this water can be very dangerous – storms pop up and the seas get rough when you think you’re going out for a fun day on the Gulf. Mechanical problems could spoil your day or a medical emergency could be a matter of life or death if you don’t know what to do.

The members of U.S. Coast Guard Flotilla 11-10 of Dunedin take boating safety very, very seriously. We have nearly 80 volunteers in our flotilla and donate over 22,000 hours of our time. We come from all walks of life and we all bring something different to the Auxiliary. But THE ONE thing that we all do have in common is that we share our love of the water and our desire to do what we can to educate the public about boating safety.

We teach boating classes all year long and they are filled almost to capacity in the classroom that you’ve provided to us. Thank you for giving us a pleasant place to teach the members of our community. We do Vessel Safety checks for free to make sure people feel comfortable that they have the right safety equipment aboard their boats. Anyone can call us and we’ll go to them to do a vessel safety check.

We reach out to the community alongside the City of Dunedin and support your wonderful events, like Touch-a-Truck, the Holiday Street Parade, and the Holiday Boat Parade.

We do Search and Rescues, and we also help the Coast Guard practice their maneuvers in C-130 airplanes, where they rendezvous with an auxiliarist boat and crew in the Gulf and practice dropping life-saving supplies to boaters in trouble.

Our Dunedin Flotilla works very closely with Coast Guard Station Sand Key and Air Station Clearwater in these and many other activities. In fact, this Saturday, May 18^th, Station Sand Key will open its doors to the public. They are hosting an Open House from 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. People can experience a day in the life of a Coast Guard Member. We’ll be there alongside them. The Dunedin flotilla is proudly providing the majority of volunteers for this open house. There will be tours of the Coast Guard boats and lots of fun family activities are planned. I have emailed each of you, but please consider this your personal invitation to come. We’d love for you to bring your friends and family and meet your local Coast Guard as we launch National Safe Boating Week together.

So, Mayor Eggers and City Commissioners, thank you for this proclamation. We are very glad that you consider safe boating a priority and we are proud to serve this community in the Coast Guard Auxiliary.