Reprint courtesy of our friends at The Hartwell Sun! Page 11A of the 3/21/24 edition.
On Monday evening, the Hart County Property Owners Association (HCPOA) heard from their guest speaker, the Coast Guard Auxiliary–an organization that, despite consisting of volunteers, trains to a very high standard.
With primary elections on May 21, candidates for chief magistrate judge Wayne Hinson and incumbent Thomas Jordan were present. Hartwell City Councilman Tray Hicks was also in attendance.
HCPOA president Lowell Macher introduced the evening’s guests from the Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 2-9 (Lake Lanier): Bruce Lindsey, Flotilla commander; Larry Cole, former commander; and Beatrice Cole on boat crew.
Lindsey clarified that the auxiliary consists of certified “uniformed civilian volunteers assisting the Coast Guard with its recreational boating safety mission…we do not carry guns; we do not do law enforcement or military operations.”
However, the Auxiliary still performs important services including but not limited to boat towing and assisting boaters in other emergency situations, performing vessel safety checks, teaching safe boating practices. As Lake Hartwell does not have a Coast Guard to monitor it, the auxiliary’s services are especially vital.
“The Coast Guard is the only part of the service where they teach people how to save lives [instead of] taking them,” Larry Cole said. “To me, that’s a big deal and…we should be very proud of them and need to support them more than they are [supported].”
Larry Cole and Lindsey talked about the topics such as the history of the Coast Guard and the Coast Guard Auxiliary, and various safety measures important for people living on the lake. These precautions (such as how to avoid boating accidents) can be found at www.cgaux.org.
Lindsey also stressed that as the Auxiliary is all volunteers, they have a position available for most anyone interested above the age of 18, or at least age 17 with parental consent. They also offer monthly safe boating classes from February–October; next month’s class will be April 20.
Those interested in learning more about the Coast Guard Auxiliary or becoming involved with Flotilla 2-9 can find more information on their website, wow.uscgaux.info.
The HCPOA’s next meeting will be April 15 at 7 p.m.