United States Coast Guard
Auxiliary Update For the Love of Boating
By Contributing Writer Ralph
Little,
Public Affairs, Flotilla 14-8
To start 2011 I wish to show you
how one person can promote boating safety. Our flotilla is honored to have
significant impact at the National level, having two past National
Commodores and a current member of the Auxiliary’s National Staff. Rusty
Gardner, is the National Branch Chief of Video Services for Public Affairs,
a natural adjunct of his everyday position and his innovations in promoting
boating safety. If you meet him, beware, since Rusty’s enthusiasm for
boating is contagious, even as his story defines the love of boating.
| Rusty’s day job is the Director of
Digital Media Productions for Florida State College Jacksonville. He
arrived there partially through a BA in Psychology and a Masters in
Religious Education. His confluence with the Auxiliary led to his
origination of an idea to promote boating safety with short videos
usable on Podcasts and DVDs. To date, he has produced them on Marine
radios and life vest use. He has also written emergency radio
articles for the Coast Guard Search and Rescue Journal, maintains
Facebook boating pages for Jacksonville and St. Augustine and has
originated a boating web site. The National Water Safety Congress
presented him a regional award for his outstanding contributions to
water safety. In his National role, Rusty worked an exercise in
March for agencies practicing response to an oil spill. The Gulf Oil
Spill happened less than a month later. |
Flotilla 14-8 member
Rusty Gardner
National Branch Chief
Video Services
USCGAux Department of
Public Affairs
|
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In Rusty’s own words, he always
loved the water and dreamed of the day he would own a boat. While
his parents sometimes had a boat as a hobby, it was not a lifestyle.
While the timing for his own boat never seemed right, he would gaze
at them from the Buckman bridge on his way to work and dream of the
day. About 8 years ago he bought the 23’ Yamaha jetboat that would
become the Salt Shaker. The first thing he did was take the
Auxiliary’s Boating Safety Course. Being impressed with the
instructor’s dedication, he signed up and his quest for boating
knowledge continued to grow. He became a Vessel Examiner, a Marine
Dealer liaison, took seamanship classes and produced the safe
boating videos that led to his National Staff position. |
Not satisfied, he renewed his
basic instinct to be on his boat with a few trips on the St. Johns River
that fired his desire to see all of Florida and led to his establishment of
Florida by Water.com, a free commercial site that provides a comprehensive
directory of boating information about Florida and access to all the sites a
boater could want. Each of thousands of locations on the site has to be
“boater friendly” and accessible by boat and they are verified as active and
pertinent. You can also access a float plan for your trip and other boating
safety web sites. It is a friendly and attractive boating tool.
The Auxiliary’s membership wishes
to meet you and share our experience. Contact Charles Smith at 904- 541-1660
and he will guide you through membership. All boat operators can take the
Auxiliary Boating Safety Program and its fee is included in our minimal
member dues. Call Bob (904-721-1346) for specifics on where and when courses
are offered and to register or to indicate interest in the courses.
