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What is USPS?
| The United States
Power Squadrons (USPS) was organized in 1914 by Roger Upton, a member
of the power boat division of the Boston
Yacht Club. Since the first days, USPS has grown to over 60,000
members, has 450 Squadrons across the United States and in some US
territories, and is the world's largest private, nonprofit boating
organization.
Although the USPS was started for power boaters, sailors have been a
part of the USPS ever since the end of World War I. Today, more than 40%
of the USPS members are sailors.
While the USPS has many joint programs with the United States Coast
Guard, the Coast Guard Auxiliary, and the National Ocean Services
division of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, USPS is a private,
nonprofit, nonmilitary, and non-governmental organization of men and women
who have a common appreciation for safe pleasure boating.
The primary purpose of the USPS is safe boating through education. In
support of this, the USPS has three main objectives. These are represented
by the sides of a triangle as shown below.
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| Each Squadron performs civic service by
providing educational opportunities for the public through teaching the Public
Boating Course. Many other courses are available for the public as well
through our national offices. Materials can be obtained by calling
1-888-FOR-USPS. Another important civic service performed by Squadrons is
the Cooperative Charting Program. Through this program, squadron members
verify and submit updates to nautical charts, small craft facilities and
marinas. Each Squadron also provides its members with the opportunity to further
educate themselves through several courses. These courses, commonly
referred to as Advanced
Grades and Elective Courses, are only available to USPS members. These
courses are offered to members for the cost of materials and exam only.
Each session tends to be as much a social gathering as it is a learning
experience. It is sometimes amazing how much can be learned from another
person's experiences just through class discussions. Many life long
friendships are developed with fellow students from these courses.
The last, but certainly not least, objective is to offer its members a
variety of on and off water social activities to enjoy interaction with
fellow members who share their enthusiasm for safe and fun pleasure
boating. On water activities include cruises, rendezvous,
predicted log races, sail races, navigation contests, and even fishing
derbies. Activities ashore include dinner meetings with marine programs,
parties, dinner dances, picnics, and field trips.
The USPS is strictly a volunteer organization. No
member, on any level, is paid for any services they perform.
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