Co-op Charting

Adopt-A-Chart

What is it?

Adopt-a-chart is an organized comprehensive effort to keep a chart or portion of a chart up-to-date on an ongoing basis.

Co-op Charting Event

We had our annual District Seven, Tri-squadron Cooperative Charting outing on Saturday, August 27th at the Battery Park Pavilion. We head out on boats or by land to review the charts for corrections and necessary updates for Sandusky Bay and the Lake Erie Islands area.

View photos of the event

Following the hunt we joined the Akron Power Squadron for their annual Corn Roast at Battery Park Marina

Golden Eagle Award
	The GOLDEN EAGLE AWARD is a very special award that is presented annually to only one individual in all of USPS. The National Cooperative Charting Committee presents the national GOLDEN EAGLE award to the District Cooperative Charting chairman who has best prepared his or her district during the year for current and future excellence in Cooperative Charting. In order to receive this award the district must rank in the top five of all districts nationwide in co-op charting. The recipient must also be recommended by the district commander as well as his or her peers. Then and only then each candidate is scrutinized by the National Cooperative Charting Committee. This award is presented at the USPS 2011 annual meeting in Orlando, Fl. D/7 is extremely proud of the recipient for 2010, our own D/7 Co-op Charting chair, D/Lt Joanne Hancock, SN.
D/Lt Joanne Hancock, SN was nominated for the NOS-USPS GOLDENEAGLE AWARD in recognition of her exceptional leadership and accomplishments as District 7 Co-op Charting Chair. Through her continuing efforts, District 7 has established a solid Co-op Charting Program that continues to receive significant recognition throughout D/7, at the National Co-op Charting Committee and at NOS. She has been the primary driver of this program and all recognize these accomplishments would not exist except for her efforts. Joanne has turned a district with hardly any co-op charting activities into a district that was ranked fifth nationally with over seventy five percent squadron participation. In 2005 District 7 wasn’t even ranked in the top twenty. In 2010 District 7 was ranked fifth nationally. That is quite an accomplishment! Joanne has tirelessly forged this program beginning with her local squadron, Stark County Power Squadron. There she initiated the program and continues to also lead that effort. As D/7 Co-op Charting Chair from 2002 to the present, she has visited squadrons throughout the District to introduce the program and to coordinate areas for their effort. She has helped schedule, plan and conduct annual Co-op Charting outings for individual squadrons and also for District 7. Joanne has been very diligent in monitoring and submitting the necessary Co-op Charting reports to NOAA. She continues to recognize that a great deal of valuable data can be lost if it’s not properly submitted. Her detailed knowledge of the program and careful follow-up with all squadron Co-op charting chairs has been responsible for increased participation as well as increased accuracy of the reports that were submitted. A key learning that Joanne has incorporated into the Co-op Charting Program is the need to provide both training and assistance in the reporting of results. The CCWEB can be difficult to use, especially for novices and intermediate participants. She has studied the CCWEB program thoroughly, researching and resolving issues, assisting in most report preparation and reviewing all reports submitted by others. This has both increased the accuracy of reports from D/7 and decreased the frustration that participants might experience if they had to use the program themselves. Joanne has also established herself as a national expert and regional advocate for the Co-op Charting Program. Because she participates in the activity across a diverse region, she has gained knowledge of both how to produce a successful program and how to apply successfully it to a variety of situations. Through this experience, Joanne has developed an unusually effective model for coordinating a Co-op Charting event. After initiating this model at her own squadron, she used it with over 25 participants in events locally and at distant squadrons. She begins well before the event occurs by maintaining a library of Lake Erie charts covering her area of responsibility. In this way, she will always be ready to assist any D/7 Squadron in their program, even upon short notice. Each Co-op Charting event she leads begins with chart preparation: making copies of the charts to be surveyed and making copies of all worksheets and explaining their use. She also takes care to pair up novice participants with those more experienced and makes sure that sufficient supplies, paperwork, vessels, and food are available to all participants. She conducts brief training before the event starts, either at a squadron meeting or the morning of the event. Finally, she requires that every Co-op Charting event plan also includes a backup plan to be implemented in case of inclement weather. Examples of a backup plan would be Coast Pilot update work or Small Craft facility investigations. Joanne also recognizes that because D/7 boaters have a more limited boating season than some other areas, each possible weekend must be utilized. In her year’s planning, she is recognized as one who places a premium on both advance planning and effective use of every volunteer who is available. In 2008, the Co-op charting Program in D/7 reached a new level of participation. The number of outings doubled and the number of reports submitted tripled. This major accomplishment was a direct result of Joanne’s efforts to organize events and to encourage those participating. Through her tireless efforts over a period now spanning seven years, D/Lt Joanne Hancock, SN has exemplified dedication to the Co-op Charting Program at District 7 and has produced excellent results using innovative techniques plus sheer determination. In doing so, she has greatly raised the awareness of the program among D/7 members and its local squadrons. She is a great asset to the program, and District 7 was proud to recommend her for the Golden Eagle Award.

Golden Eagle Award

The GOLDEN EAGLE AWARD is a very special award that is presented annually to only one individual in all of USPS.

The National Cooperative Charting Committee presents the national GOLDEN EAGLE award to the District Cooperative Charting chairman who has best prepared his or her district during the year for current and future excellence in Cooperative Charting.

In order to receive this award the district must rank in the top five of all districts nationwide in co-op charting. The recipient must also be recommended by the district commander as well as his or her peers. Then and only then each candidate is scrutinized by the National Cooperative Charting Committee. This award is presented at the USPS 2011 annual meeting in Orlando, Fl.

D/7 is extremely proud of the recipient for 2010, our own D/7 Co-op Charting chair, D/Lt Joanne Hancock, SN.

D/Lt Joanne Hancock, SN was nominated for the NOS-USPS GOLDENEAGLE AWARD in recognition of her exceptional leadership and accomplishments as District 7 Co-op Charting Chair. Through her continuing efforts, District 7 has established a solid Co-op Charting Program that continues to receive significant recognition throughout D/7, at the National Co-op Charting Committee and at NOS. She has been the primary driver of this program and all recognize these accomplishments would not exist except for her efforts.

Joanne has turned a district with hardly any co-op charting activities into a district that was ranked fifth nationally with over seventy five percent squadron participation. In 2005 District 7 wasn’t even ranked in the top twenty. In 2010 District 7 was ranked fifth nationally. That is quite an accomplishment!

Joanne has tirelessly forged this program beginning with her local squadron, Stark County Power Squadron. There she initiated the program and continues to also lead that effort. As D/7 Co-op Charting Chair from 2002 to the present, she has visited squadrons throughout the District to introduce the program and to coordinate areas for their effort. She has helped schedule, plan and conduct annual Co-op Charting outings for individual squadrons and also for District 7.

Joanne has been very diligent in monitoring and submitting the necessary Co-op Charting reports to NOAA. She continues to recognize that a great deal of valuable data can be lost if it’s not properly submitted. Her detailed knowledge of the program and careful follow-up with all squadron Co-op charting chairs has been responsible for increased participation as well as increased accuracy of the reports that were submitted.

A key learning that Joanne has incorporated into the Co-op Charting Program is the need to provide both training and assistance in the reporting of results. The CCWEB can be difficult to use, especially for novices and intermediate participants. She has studied the CCWEB program thoroughly, researching and resolving issues, assisting in most report preparation and reviewing all reports submitted by others. This has both increased the accuracy of reports from D/7 and decreased the frustration that participants might experience if they had to use the program themselves.

Joanne has also established herself as a national expert and regional advocate for the Co-op Charting Program. Because she participates in the activity across a diverse region, she has gained knowledge of both how to produce a successful program and how to apply successfully it to a variety of situations.

Through this experience, Joanne has developed an unusually effective model for coordinating a Co-op Charting event. After initiating this model at her own squadron, she used it with over 25 participants in events locally and at distant squadrons. She begins well before the event occurs by maintaining a library of Lake Erie charts covering her area of responsibility. In this way, she will always be ready to assist any D/7 Squadron in their program, even upon short notice. Each Co-op Charting event she leads begins with chart preparation: making copies of the charts to be surveyed and making copies of all worksheets and explaining their use. She also takes care to pair up novice participants with those more experienced and makes sure that sufficient supplies, paperwork, vessels, and food are available to all participants. She conducts brief training before the event starts, either at a squadron meeting or the morning of the event. Finally, she requires that every Co-op Charting event plan also includes a backup plan to be implemented in case of inclement weather. Examples of a backup plan would be Coast Pilot update work or Small Craft facility investigations. Joanne also recognizes that because D/7 boaters have a more limited boating season than some other areas, each possible weekend must be utilized. In her year’s planning, she is recognized as one who places a premium on both advance planning and effective use of every volunteer who is available.

In 2008, the Co-op charting Program in D/7 reached a new level of participation. The number of outings doubled and the number of reports submitted tripled. This major accomplishment was a direct result of Joanne’s efforts to organize events and to encourage those participating.

Through her tireless efforts over a period now spanning seven years, D/Lt Joanne Hancock, SN has exemplified dedication to the Co-op Charting Program at District 7 and has produced excellent results using innovative techniques plus sheer determination. In doing so, she has greatly raised the awareness of the program among D/7 members and its local squadrons. She is a great asset to the program, and District 7 was proud to recommend her for the Golden Eagle Award.

United States Power Squadrons

District 7

Co-op Charting