The Bridge
 
 
Executive Officer:
Lt/C Steven L. Stuart AP
steven.stuart100@gmail.com

Administrative Officer:
Lt/C Hal Bloom P
htbloom@earthlink.net

 

Assistant Administrative Officer
1st Lt Barry Washik P

Education Officer:
Lt/C Robert Yannacci, P
sportscarguy at roadrunner.com

 
Assistant Education Officer:
P/C Kevin J. Powers, JN

 
Treasurer:
Lt/C Linda Brandt, P

Assistant Treasurer
1st Lt Dan Saint SN

 
Secretary:
Ken P. Roberts SN
kennormaroberts@gmail.com

Chaplain
P/C Lou Schwartz AP
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EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
P/C Carolyn Parker, SN
P/C Kevin Powers, JN
P/C Louis Schwartz, AP
P/C Clyde Starr SN
P/C Richard Van Dyke AP

Welcome to Lake Norman Sail & Power Squadron and our award-winning web site. We are a part of United States Power Squadrons, "America's Boating Club. We like to have fun on the water and to provide education to anyone on how to do that safely. How?-- Through our Public Boating Courses as well as extensive additional courses available to our members. And then there are the many public services we provide as well as a calendar full of social events, mostly on or about the water.

Enjoy these pages and send us your questions. You are now a visitor to what has quickly become one of the most visited sites in all of USPS.

Enjoy and come back again soon.

Remember:

At least one, readily accessible,
Coast Guard approved
Life Jacket (not in a plastic wrap !!!)
of appropriate size must be present on a water craft for each individual aboard that craft, in addition to a "throw-able" floatation device.

Commander
Cdr Russell Klein, N
russklein45@charter.net

COMMANDER'S MESSAGE

Squadron Members, thank you everyone for entrusting me with the leadership role as Commander of the Lake Norman Sail & Power Squadron for 2012. Since 1977, the past Commanders and members have built this organization to its present status as the premier boating organization on Lake Norman.  2011 was a year of continued achievement. Under the leadership of Commander Richard Van Dyke, we saw our membership numbers exceed 100 with the introduction of the “Trial Membership” program and the “Mentor” Program which has been instrumental in engaging these trial members.

The Education numbers were remarkable reaching out to 220 students in the Public Boating Course and accounting for about 5% of the nationwide effort of the United States Power Squadron. The Member Education effort was equally strong with four members achieving Advanced Grades and 26 others completing various elective courses.

Kids Day participation hit record numbers and for the first time received prime time local television coverage of this worthy civic event.

During 2011, over 40 members earned merit marks for their contributions indicative of an active and dedicated membership.

As a result of these and other accomplishments, our squadron received at least 10 awards from District and National, truly remarkable number.

I extend my personal thank you to Commander Richard Van Dyke and the Executive Committee he led.

As we look ahead to 2012, we will continue to focus on membership growth extending the trial membership program and strengthening the mentor program by expanding mentor assignments throughout the squadron.

We will be expanding our boating activities here on Lake Norman enriching the portfolio of options for our members. In that regard, we have committed our “on-the-water” support of the 2012 Dragon Boat Race which is part of the annual Asian Festival of Charlotte. We will be providing several vessels to serve as starting, finishing and patrol points for this race. The event, which takes place on May 5^th at Ramsey Park, attracts over 5,000 people and we will be given free booth space to promote the squadron. This venue gives us unprecedented access to a large number of people.

Additional new events are in discussions which include a scavenger hunt on the lake and a customized Cooperative Charting event on Lake Norman. I encourage your ideas and support as we expand in this area.

We will seek to expand the corporate and business sponsorship of Kids Day as well as media coverage. This kind of event serves well our civic duties and is well suited for other squadrons in the USPS to adopt.

Our Vessel Safety check program will be increased with more Vessel Examiners and more member participation as a means to connect to the larger boating community here on Lake Norman.

In closing, this is your squadron. You will most likely get out of it what you put into it. I’m committed to act as the executive leader but I will need your support and participation. In particular, your efforts to attract and inspire new members will form the foundation of a successful year and a promising future.

Russ Klein, N

Commander

  LNSPS Membership Roster 2012 (Password Protected) 
(Note: this roster takes a moment to load and also
your PDF reader will have to launch. Please be patient.)

Nationwide, 89% of drowning victims were not wearing life jackets ("Personal Floatation Devices" or PFDs). In 1998, North Carolina had 34 boating fatalities with 22 resulting from drowning. We need to educate the public about the value of wearing life jackets.

When should you wear your life jacket (PFD)? The answer should be "Always when you are in a boat!"  We realize, however, that will not happen. We should at least wear them in very cold weather, when we are alone in a boat, and most certainly, as required by law, enforce the rule that children wear them at all times. Common sense should ensure any skipper to require a non-swimmer aboard his/her boat to wear a life jacket. If a storm comes up, then everyone in the boat should put on a life jacket, without exception, before you really do need it! You may not have time to put a life jacket on after the storm strikes. A savvy and "Boat Smart" skipper should always brief each passenger of his vessel about the location of the life jackets and how to put them on before casting off.