A sunny day for safety
Story and photos by Petty Officer 3rd Class Etta Smith
Click images for high resolution and captions
Auxiliarist Richard Robichaud from Flotilla 21 of Caysco Bay discusses boating safety at the Fourth Annual Health, Safety and Wellness Fair for L.L. Bean employees at the companies' distribution and returns facility June 18, 2008. More than 1,500 employees attended the six-hour event that hosted more than 85 different vendors.
A team of Coast Guard members from Massachusetts and Maine attended L.L. Bean's Fourth Annual Health, Safety and Wellness Fair in Freeport, Maine to educate more than 1,500 of the company's employee's about the importance of safe boating.
"The goal of the event was to promote a safe lifestyle at work and at home for all of our employees," said Mary Kay Blatz, L.L. Bean safety administrator for the distribution and returns department in Freeport. The fair also offered an opportunity to introduce employees to new activities and hobbies they could pursue in their free time, said Blatz.
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| Auxiliary members attended the event last year as well, encouraging attendee's to get a free vessel check from their local Auxiliary. |
Because so many L.L. Bean employees use personal water crafts in their free time, Blatz said it was important they have the necessary skills to enjoy that hobby safely.
The Coast Guard's mission was to increase the employees' safety awareness and to show how the employees can be safer out on the water, said Al Johnson, the recreational boating safety specialist at the First Coast Guard District in Boston.
Helping Johnson deliver this message were active-duty members from Coast Guard Sector Northern New England and Auxiliary members from Flotilla 21 in Casco Bay, Maine.
Chief Petty Officer Chris Wheeler (LEFT) listens as Jim Sherman, an L.L. Bean employee for 15 years, tells a story about a boating accident where the canoe he and his son were paddling, capsized. His son got pinned underneath the canoe and Sherman had to dive under to free him.
"If we can save just one person (through events like this), then we were successful," said Chief Petty Officer Chris Wheeler of Coast Guard Sector Northern New England.
Auxiliary Flotilla 21 had a booth at the event last year as well, encouraging attendees to get a free vessel inspection from their local auxiliary, said John Hume, public affairs officer for Flotilla 21.
"Vessel inspections are the best preventative tool to ensure the safety of the boating public," said Hume.
All of the Coast Guard representatives said they enjoyed the day and look forward to returning next year to carry on the Coast Guard's message of safe boating.
"We were thrilled with the outcome of the event," said Blatz. "The weather was perfect and the interactive nature of many of the exhibits really caught the interest of employees."
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