 |
08E - Division 18 - Mid-Ohio
|
 |
Who We Are:
The Coast Guard Auxiliary is an organization of approximately 30,000 volunteers
who donate their time and possibly their facilities (boats, aircraft and radios)
to assist and augment the U.S. Coast Guard in some of their non-military,
non-law enforcement activities. Each year Auxiliarists (people just like you)
save almost 500 lives, assist some 15,000 boaters in distress, conduct more than
150,000 free vessel safety checks of recreational vessels and teach over 500,000
students in boating and water safety courses. The results of these activities
save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars every year.
Eighth District: The Eighth Coast Guard District is divided into 3
regions. The Eastern Region includes northern Alabama, and Mississippi, all of
Tennessee, Kentucky and West Virginia as well as Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana
below the 41st parallel. These inland states have many miles of navigable
waterways over which tons of cargo are transported from the tributary waterways
of the Great Lakes to the Ohio and Tennessee Valley River systems in to the
Lower Mississippi River. The Coast Guard is charged with licensing and
regulating commercial traffic on these rivers as well as maintaining Aids to
Navigation. Both commercial vessel safety and recreational vessel safety are of
paramount importance to the Coast Guard.
The Eighth District Coastal Region includes the Gulf Coast states, Texas,
Louisiana, the lower portions of Mississippi and Alabama and the Gulf Coast of
Florida. All together the three regions, including the Eighth District Western
Region, comprise the largest Coast Guard and Auxiliary District.
Auxiliary: The United States Coast Guard Auxiliary
was established by an Act of Congress as a non-military organization composed of
citizens of the United States and it's territories and possessions, who are
owners, sole or in part, of motorboats, yachts, aircraft, or radio stations, or
who by their special training or experience are deemed by the Commandant to be
qualified for duty in the Auxiliary. The U.S. Coast Guard may utilize the
Auxiliary for any purpose incident to carrying out it's functions and duties as
authorized by the Commandant and any motorboat, yacht, aircraft, or radio
station placed at its disposition for any such purpose by any member of the
Auxiliary. Any such facility so volunteered shall be deemed a US Coast Guard
Facility while assigned to authorized Coast Guard duty.
Vision Statement: Unfolding from a heritage of
volunteering to the Maritime Services since the beginning of this great country,
we the members of the Eighth Eastern Region are an energetic and dynamic
community servicing the boating public. We are dedicated to upholding the
highest professional standards of the Maritime Services while serving the
communities in which we work and live. Our healthy and diversified Region is
anchored in the values and principles of all our members.
As we recruit, train, and utilize our members, not only to serve Team Coast
Guard, but the general boating community, we fulfill each member's expectation
as to why they joined the Coast Guard Auxiliary and what they wish to accomplish
in the future. By merging the expectations of our members with the expectations
of Team Coast Guard and general public, we are able to build an energetic and
dynamic inland Maritime Service Team to serve our communities.
As the regional center for a variety of inland, maritime activities serving all
who call during a time of need, we look to the future for traditional and
non-traditional mission and means of training our members and leaders. The
Eighth District Eastern Region offers a fair and attractive environment for our
members promoting diversity and fairness where future generations of
Auxiliarists may grow and prosper.
We are committed to our fundamental objectives of protection of life and
property through training and proactive and reactive service, always respecting
individual right, human dignity, and community values. The Eighth District
Eastern Region is committed to creating and maintaining active Coast
Guard/community partnerships and assisting citizens in identifying and solving
problems to improve the quality of life in our communities.
Employing creativity, patience, persistence, and an appreciation of diversity
both in the Auxiliary and in the community, we perform our duties with an
unwavering commitment to integrity and professionalism, and are accountable to
those we serve for our decisions and actions. The men and women of this region
accomplish their missions with empathy, compassion, and sensitivity at all
times, with the highest regard for individual and constitutional rights. The
Eighth District Eastern Region will keep to the highest standards of the
Maritime services of the United States, always ready to answer the call.
Dolores Kearton
Commodore Eighth Eastern Region