Happenings at last week’s Meeting
Back for another Dinner Meeting and President Peter started the proceedings with the Toast and Invocation, then proceeded to introduce our Guests from the Safety beach Coast Guard; Flotilla Commander Bill Patterson and Member Gaynor Morris. He then handed over to Charles as the Chair for the evening.
Charles quickly handed over to Bill to do the talking while Gaynor worked the slides.
Bill gave us a wealth of information:
- The Coast Guard was started in Safety beach in 1976;
- It is a totally volunteer organisation;
- It was founded on the US Coast Guard model;
- It’s 3 vital services are:
- Boating Safety Education
- Community Support
- Marine Search and Rescue
- 72 Flotillas nationally with 19 in Victoria;
- The Flotilla is led by a Commander with a deputy and executive team. They are supported by 23 section officer roles;
- There are 58 members (45 are operational);
- 44 Members are 50+;
- 44 males and 14 females;
- The Coast Guard is part of Emergency Management Victoria (EMV), which was created in 2014, and the Coast Guard joined it in 2023;
- All assignments come to the flotilla through the EMV;
- There is an annual recruitment intake. Recruits must:
- Be 18+
- Fit and Committed
- Live within 20 minutes
- After interviews and acceptance, members serve 12 months as provisional and are put through various training streams;
- After the provisional period recruits then progress through various levels of promotion;
- The flotilla conducts various community engagements:
- Marine licencing courses
- Presentations to local groups
- Ceremonial days
- Social media outreach
- They conduct various fundraising exercises;
- Their Marine Incidents Response figures have a 10 year average of 67.7 which includes minor call outs like lack of fuel through to major incidents like missing persons;
After a lively Q&A session, Charles thanked Bill and Gaynor and gave them tokens of out appreciation (Antique things called pens. Ed).
The night had got away on us so there was a quick Lotto draw which was won by Geoff and then Charles called for the Presidents Report.
Peter announced that the Board would be accepting nominations for next years office holders, including the president. They would also arrange elections if required.
We were now subjected to a first, the “Speeding Fines Session” which was not about being fined for speeding but was a quick extraction of coins.
Charles now handed back to Peter who expressed his, and our, regard for the Coast Guard and the work that they do. He thanked all attendees and closed the Meeting at 8:00.
Mock Interviews
This year’s mock interviews at Balcomb College took place at the end of July. (Delayed reporting because of your Ed’s memory.) It was another successful year with all participants enjoying the exercise.
