COLUMBUS, OH – Five nonprofit community organizations, a conservancy district and four Ohioans were honored recently by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) for their work this year in providing boating safety education programs across the state.

ODNR Director Sean Logan and Division of Watercraft Chief Pamela S. Dillon presented the awards during Confluence 2007, a biannual boating conference held at the Maumee Bay State Park Resort and Conference Center near Toledo.

“ODNR values the contributions made by our boating education partners and recognizes the importance of their programs to Ohioans,” Dillon said.

Awards for this year’s Outstanding Boating Education program went to Five Rivers Metroparks in Dayton and the Spirit of America program in northeast Ohio. Program Achievement Awards went to the Hamilton County Park District, Dayton Power and Sail Squadron, the North Central Ohio Safe Boating Council in Richland County and the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District in eastern Ohio.

Ohio’s Boating Educator Awards for this year recognized the contributions of Lake County Metroparks employee Brian Davidson of Wickliffe, U.S. Coast Guard Master Chief Nickolas Suvak of Madison, Tom Wehrung of Columbus and Division of Watercraft Education Officer Douglas C. Golding of Grandview Heights.

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For Further Information Contact:
John Wisse, ODNR Division of Watercraft
(614) 265-6695
-or-
Jane Beathard, ODNR Media Relations
(614) 265-6860

Five Rivers Metroparks	Spirit of America
Hamilton County Parks	Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District
Tom Wehrung	Douglas C. Golding
	Brian Davidson