WHATEVER IT TAKES
By Brian McMahon, FSO-PA 4-15,
I gave up one summer day of sailing my own boat to participate in REI’s kayak and canoe demo-day at Lake Cochituate (the Lake is situated across the towns of Framingham, Natick and Wayland, Massachusetts). It was also an opportunity to get some photos to the Nor’easter illustrating our efforts to promote paddle craft safety.
Three Division 5 members were setting up a booth when I arrived. Getting their attention away from arranging pamphlets on the table top, and focusing on the steady stream of visitors heading directly to the waterfront to test the paddle boats was difficult. Then I remembered that the district publications officer said we had enough photos of Auxiliarists sitting behind a table, so I grabbed my camera and lured two of them down to the beach. There they mingled and started conversations with the “civilians” and talked about paddle craft safety. Even better, I was able to convince them to try out a canoe which gave them even more credibility as promoters of paddle craft safety.
We’re lucky to have a few “fishermen” in the Auxiliary but could also use some “hunters” at boat shows. Rather than simply waiting for visitors to stop by a booth and chat, if we had more Auxiliarists out and around during events, we’d be more successful in getting our message across.
Photo Captions
Joining Brian in the effort to bond with the paddle craft community, James Healy, DCDR 5 and Ray Ellis, FL 52, also get underway by paddle-power.
Back on shore, Jim and Ray also did a foot patrol of the beach at this very crowded event; they made contact with a tremendous number of people and spread the safety message .
For Brian McMahon it even meant rolling up his pants and wading in. Like Brian, Auxiliarists all over First District Northern said we will do whatever it takes to accomplish our mission. All through the spring and summer the surge was on; reaching out to the paddle craft community where ever they were, promoting safety and reducing accidents and fatalities.
Reprint by permission from the Nor'easter