What's Next?

Don’t know about you but I certainly missed my first Keenon House chicken dinner of the new boating season. Frankly, it’s not looking too promising for the April meeting either due to the government mandated stay at home orders. This certainly will represent a hardship not only for the Keenon House but other restaurants around the lake.

Your board last met on March 12. What we were going to share at the March 25 meeting I will share here. First, you should know our finances are in good shape. Member dues are still trickling in. If you haven’t paid for 2020, please send us your check or pay using PayPal or credit card by visiting the web site.

You may have noticed we’ve had the Safety Trailer inspected and it is parked at its new summer home at Lake Gaston Outfitters. Unfortunately, the beginning of the season LGA Lakeside Learning Days were cancelled due to school closures and it won’t be moving any time soon until the two words “social distancing” used together are banished from the English language.

Let’s hope things return to normal by the end of May. We will be purchasing more boater safety information pamphlets, maps, whistles, etc., for the marinas and real estate offices. We’ve also purchased 10 throwables and 10 fire extinguishers for use by the USCG when they conduct safety inspections over the Memorial Day weekend. Hint, Hint! Failure to have on board these USCG approved life safety devices can result in a pricey ticket. Thanks to the WSC, the violator receives one of these devices free versus a ticket.

Our thanks to Dominion Energy for the new mile markers.

To enhance our brand recognition we’ve placed ads in the Spring and Summer editions of Lake Life magazine.

“Help Wanted” - my term and that of the Secretary conclude this October. We aren’t the only organization scrambling to fill volunteer board positions. If you’ve been on the fence thinking about it, now is the time. Our mission is vital.

Lastly, we are all about water safety. A note to all members to make sure we practice what we preach. As the skipper of the boat please make sure PFD's are in use as mandated by law and the vessel has all required safety equipment on board plus the boat registration. Watch the little ones at the dock and while underway.

Please have a safe boating season and remember life jackets float but people don’t.

Brian Goldsworthy

President

Per the USCG Auxiliary Flotilla 9-3, all Boat Safety classes are cancelled until further notice.  This is due to the Covid 19 stay at home mandate.  This includes the upcoming April 11 session.   

 Lake Gaston Water Safety Council 2019 Accomplishments

• Continued to update the LGWSC website and Facebook throughout the year to ensure timely and informative content was available to boaters. During the course of the year we had over 2,000 visitors from as far away as California inquiring about launch sites, where to borrow child life vests, etc.

• Due to the retirement of our webmaster, a new web platform is now used which permits real time updates by authorized users.

• LGWSC volunteers attended the Water Safety Information trailer at 6 events around the lake. Questions were answered about water safety for an estimated 570 folks. Of this number, 60 were middle school students in support of the LGA sponsored Lakeside Learning Days.

• We welcomed students at 6 sessions of the USCG Auxiliary Boat Safety class.

• Council members participated and distributed boat safety awareness information at the opening of National Safe Boating week.

• Provided at no charge 10 throwable and 10 fire extinguishers to the Coast Guard Auxiliary for distribution to the USCG when they conducted boat safety inspections during the holiday periods. In lieu of an expensive ticket, the USCG staff provided mandatory safety equipment donated by the Lake Gaston Water Safety Council.

• Distributed over 650 water safety packets to marinas and real estate offices located around the lake.

• Promoted awareness of the Children's Life Jacket Loaner Program at nine (9) locations around the Lake to ensure visitors had proper safety equipment available.

• We developed a new WSC awareness lawn sign and posted at over 40 strategic locations arounds the lake.

 • Authored 6 water safety related articles for inclusion in the LGA semi-monthly Bulletin.

• We cosponsored with the Lake Gaston Gazette Observer our first youth coloring book contest. Youth were given an opportunity to create a poster with a water safety theme. Firs, second and third place finishers along with honorable mention were awarded pries donated bu business members.

• Identified focal points for reporting missing, off station and malfunctioning danger and navigation buoys:

◦ Mile Markers - (252) 535-6161 Ext. 4

◦ Danger and Navigation Buoys - (919) 707-0150 (NC) /

(434) 848-3107 (VA - Brunswick County) / (434)

738-6191 (VA - Mecklenburg County)

• Made available signs for personal watercraft responsibility

awareness and to promote use of life vests.

• Provided contact numbers to report unsafe boating incidents in

the form of laminated cards and signs.

On February 13 your Board of Directors had our first meeting of the new year.   Thought you might be interested in the highlights.  

We already have 3 scheduled deployments for April;  two Lakeside Learning Days for middle school kids in partnership with the LGA and on April 2, something different in that we will be participating in a Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours along with the LGA.  This is an effort to reach a different audience to talk about water safety.  

But first, over the next 6 weeks the trailer must be inspected, restocked with brochures and then moved from winter storage   

The new web site is working well   Tell us what you think   

We will be running 2 1/4 page ads in the spring and summer issues of the Lake Life magazine.

Dominion advises the 36 new mile markers are in and will be deployed soon.

We have been notified the USCG will visit the lake this summer.  Make sure you have your boat registration on board and all required safety equipment.  Better yet, invite Flotilla 9-3 to do a free safety inspection and if passed, receive the coveted safety inspection decal.  Having been boarded last summer, I will be requesting the inspection once the weather breaks.

Lastly, happy to report we have a speaker lined up for our first meeting at the Kennon House on March 25    More details to follow