USCG Auxiliary Official Newsletter of the New Bern Flotilla Division 20, District 5SR (Published at no expense to the U.S.

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1 USCG Auxiliary Official Newsletter of the New Bern Flotilla Division 20, District 5SR (Published at no expense to the U.S. Government) Guardians of the Neuse and Trent Rivers Editor: Mark West, PSO-PB (252) Brig Court New Bern, NC Approved for release: 26 February 2018 Volume 26 Issue 3 March 2018 From the Helm Two location moves, altered hours scheduling, interference from an unknown yoga class. With all that, the January ABS class landed a location but was canceled due to a government shutdown. What are the odds! Kind of tough to handle so much behind the scenes action, only to lose out to an uncontrollable event. I have asked the team to add earthquake, tsunami, and hurricane predictions to their planning checklist for future classes. I attended my first division meeting and received some interesting information as to how DIRAUX works and who the players are that handle all our administrative functions. Karl Mielenhausen has put together a Form Routing Guide to help us move our paperwork to the right people or places. I know you're probably thinking that watching paint dry would be more fun than a forms guide. Trust me, any short-cut through our bureaucracy is a blessing. The Division Workshop is scheduled for 03 March from at the Garber United Methodist Church. Class listings to follow. Crew College is going great with 15 attendees from multiple flotillas in our division. Sign-offs have started on Mike Ott, FC classroom accomplishments. On-water operations are still scheduled for 01 April. We might try to move that up if this great warm weather continues. Although we were blindsided in January, our public education programs have jumped in February. A Local Waters class was held on 15 February and our rescheduled ABS ran on 17 February. There was good attendance in both classes. Our next ABS class is scheduled for 10 March. As a member, the course is free if you need it to gain BQ status. Semper paratus Always Ready, since 1939 Events and Dates March 01 Flotilla Monthly Meeting 1900 University of Mount Olive 03 Division 20 Training 0800 Garber Methodist Church 04 Crew College 1400 Fairfield Harbour POA Building 10 TCT Training 0900 River Bend Town Hall 10 ABS Class 0730 New Bern Yacht Club 11 Crew College 1400 Fairfield Harbour POA Building March Training Opportunity TCT Refresher A TCT refresher session is being offered as part of the regular monthly meeting on 01 March. This is a great opportunity to get up-to-date with your training if you need the session to maintain currency. It will also serve as a good introduction for those who will need TCT for crew status. This Issue From the Helm 1 Events and Dates 1 February Minutes 2 FSO Reports Budget 4 February PE Events 5-6 February Award Presentations 6 1

2 USCG AUXILIARY Flotilla Minutes of the 01 February 2018 Regular Meeting The meeting was called to order by M. Ott at 1900 at the University of Mount Olive, 2912 Trent Road, New Bern. The Pledge of Allegiance was given and a meeting quorum was established. Members attending: L. Bonforte, B. Cooper, J. Cox, L. Deglandon, B. Flynn, D. Fort, S. Genovese, E. Gillespie, D. Jessup, M. Kent, K. King, B. Manning, G. Maravelas, B. McClard, K. Mielenhausen, B. Neilson, M. O Brien, M. Ott, F. Pagano, E. Reese, D. Reid, R. Roberts, M. West. Guest attending: Wade Reid A motion was made to approve December minutes by Pagano, seconded by Fort. The motion passed. A motion was made to approve December finance report by Flynn, seconded by Gillespie. The motion passed. FSO Updates FN: An audit was conducted and approved. VE: G. Maravelas has stepped down as FSO. Williams will replace. OPS: The facility was moved to Hobucken. MT: West continues to encourage 7029 usage. PE: Fort provided schedule of future classes. Prospective instructors are encouraged to attend and familiarize themselves with each syllabus. 15 February - Local Waters at Mount Olive 17 February - ABS at New Bern Yacht Club March - TBA PE: A sub-group headed by Pagano will focus on school education programs. PA: Beginning planning with PE for Safe Boating Week, May. HR: Manning to assume photographer duties. DV: FSO position is open. Old Business The Kidde recall has caused some confusion regarding vessel inspections. VEs may need to call Kidde to confirm if units are usable or not. New Business FC Ott presented flotilla goals for 2018: Increase instructor base for adult and school classes. Increase Vessel Exams - VE class at Hobucken TBA. Increase training for crew and coxswain. Hold Crew College and increase operations for training. Restrict new members to four to improve mentoring and concentrate on current member retention. Awards Membership and ID cards Cox, Kent Annual Performance Award 2017 Pagano, Gillespie, and Flynn Annual Achievement Award 2016 Pagano, Flynn Annual Service Award 2017 Flynn, Mielenhausen, 750 hour Service Award Bonforte 60 Ops hours Fort 2017 Auxiliarist of the Year Manning Training Fort made a presentation titled Volunteer Opportunities for Auxiliarists. The meeting was adjourned at Respectfully submitted, Mike Kent, FSO-SR Mike Ott, Flotilla Commander, presents the Auxiliarist of the Year award to Bob Manning. 2

3 FSO Reports for February TJ Bendicksen, FSO-CS The following activities were undertaken during February: - Updated flotilla website calendar with scheduled classes and activities. - Sent and received s/communications regarding website updates. - Occasional website buffering continues to challenge access to our flotilla website. - Posted monthly Channel Marker newsletter to website. Bill Neilson, FSO-CM Kip Williams, FSO-FN Checkbook Balance as of 01 Feb 2018 $6, Deposits ABS Class Receipts (Note: Total ABS receipts were $ $50.00 retained for future cash box.) Dues COW Payments Total Deposits $ Expenses George Maravelas OPFAC Parts Robert Manning Injets/Forms ABS Materials William Flynn Engraving NBYC Clubhouse Rental Total Expenses $ Checkbook Balance as of 28 Feb 2018 $6, Bud McClard, FSO-HR Mark West, FSO-IS During the month of January, members of Flotilla contributed hours of service to the Coast Guard Ice Operations Marine Patrols Coast Guard Administrative Support Coast Guard Operation Support Recreational Boating Safety Member Training Search and Rescue Marine Dealer Visits Public Affairs Public Education William Flynn, FSO-MA No significant events to report for February. Mark West, FSO-MT The Crew College organized by Flotilla continued in February with 15 crew candidates from throughout the Division attending. Sessions are scheduled to conclude on 11 March. Ralph Azersky, FSO-NS Fil Pagano, FSO-OP The 2018 surface operations are proceeding on schedule. We are two-thirds of the way through our Boat Crew College given on Sunday afternoons from 1400 to The 15 attendees are doing well and are beginning to get signed off on dockside tasks. The mandatory Operations Workshop for 2018 will be given at our Division 20 workshop on 03 March 2018 as well as BCQ mentoring. OPFAC is undergoing routine maintenance at Station Hobucken in anticipation of the coming boating season. CGAUX will play an integral part in the welcoming of the new FRC, Richard Snyder, at Fort Macon 20 March Beth Cooper, FSO-PA Bob Manning, 2017 FSO-PE For my final report as FSO-PE, income from the two classes conducted this month, Navigating Local Waters and ABS, was $150 and $570 respectively, including three new members attending ABS and participating in the activities of the classes. The location for the ABS class was the New Bern Yacht Club, a very large and well maintained facility, perhaps a little less convenient since everything has to be in one room, but we thank the members of NBYC for allowing us to use their location. It was awkward and somewhat redundant to add new emphasis to state and federal requirements, but Dave Fort did the best he could do. Some modifications are needed to repetitive information before the next class. All ABS students passed. Comments from the attendees' surveys were favorable. The next ABS will be 10 March. David Fort, FSO-PE Bob Manning ran the ABS class on 17 February, which was rescheduled due to the January Government shutdown. Thanks for all his efforts to bring this to fruition. We had a successful Local Waters on 15 February headed by Karl Mielenhausen. We currently have another ABS scheduled for 10 March and are working on plans for April and May, including Safe Boating week kick-off. TJ Bendicksen is scheduling school classes. 3

4 Ed Gillespie, FSO-PV Sixteen visits were made through 21 February. Two new program visitors should be certified by the end of February. Kip Williams, FSO-VE With the unseasonable weather this month, calls for vessel exams have begun. We have received a number of tentative requests via the Internet and sign-ups at the Flotilla ABS Classes. We are still in need of some supplies, but they will be coming quickly. It is anticipated that this year's VE season will be one of the best for Flotilla Thank you to all who participate Budget for Consideration at the March Meeting 4

5 February Public Education Events Bob Manning, Mike Ott, Bill, Dave Fort and Mike Kent make presentations at the About Boating Safety class presented on 17 February. (Photos courtesy of TJ Bendicksen) 5

6 Karl Mielenhausen, Dave Fort, Don Jessup, and Beth Cooper at the Local Waters workshop held on 15 February. (Photos courtesy of TJ Bendicksen) Awards Presentations from the February Meeting Fil Pagano, Mike Kent, Karl Mielenhausen, Ed Gillespie, Dave Fort, and John Cox receive awards at the February meeting (Photos courtesy of Bob Manning) 6