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January 19, 2006
OHIOANS HONORED AT CLEVELAND BOAT SHOW
FOR COMMITMENT TO RECREATIONAL BOATING
Greater Cleveland Boating Association recognized for 50 years of service
(Boat Show Calendar)
CLEVELAND, OH - Several individuals and organizations recently were honored for their ongoing support and promotion of recreational boating in Ohio at the Cleveland Boat Show, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR).
The Greater Cleveland Boating Association was recognized as northeast Ohio’s top boating organization of the year with the 2005 Sima Marine Award. The nonprofit boating association, established in 1946, includes representatives of 41 boating organizations in Cuyahoga, Lorain, Erie, Lake and Ashtabula counties. The award recognizes the association’s decades of service to Ohioans through its promotion of safe enjoyment of water-based recreation.
Additional recognition was given during the awards ceremony to Karl Yanuzzi, chairman of the Lake Erie Safe Boating County, who received the 2005 South Shore Cruising Club Boater of the Year. The council, a nonprofit organization consisting of various boating partners in northeast Ohio from Lorain to Ashtabula, exists to increase public awareness of safe boating practices and to promote boating safety education along Ohio’s north coast.
Ken Alvey, former chief of the ODNR Division of Watercraft, also was presented with the U.S. Coast Guard Meritorious Public Service Award by Rear Admiral and 9th District Commander Robert J. Papp Jr. The award, which was approved by Congress, recognizes Alvey’s 33-year ODNR career, which began in 1972 as a state watercraft officer and ended in October 2005 when he retired as chief of the Division of Watercraft. It is the U.S. Coast Guard’s third highest civilian award.
Norm Schultz, president of the Lake Erie Marine Trades Association and executive director of the Boating Associations of Ohio, was presented a special Skipper of the Year Award for 2005 by the Greater Cleveland Boating Association. Schultz is a longtime member of the Ohio Waterways Safety Council.
In a special presentation, West Marine, an international supplier of boating-related products, made a $3,000 donation to the Ohio Lake Erie Commission’s Lake Erie Protection Fund. The fund supports research and improvement grants several times a year for enhancing Lake Erie, its shoreline and watershed.
The donation represents proceeds from the first West Marine North Coast Fishing Tournament, a non-profit event, held in Marblehead, Ohio where 300 anglers participated this past summer.
Also at the ceremony, representatives of Sandusky Harbor Marina in Sandusky, Lakefront Marina in Port Clinton and Huron Lagoons Marina in Huron each received Ohio Clean Marinas Program certification. This brings to twelve the total number of Lake Erie marinas that have achieved Ohio’s Clean Marina certification. The Ohio Clean Marinas Program is a partnership of ODNR, the Ohio Sea Grant College Program, and the Lake Erie Marine Trades Association, and others to encourage marinas and boaters to use simple, innovative solutions and boating practices to keep Ohio’s coastal and inland waterways clean. To learn more about this program, visit ohiocleanmarina.osu.edu
The Cleveland Boat Show (www.clevelandboatshow.com), which is produced by the Lake Erie Marine Trades Association, continues through Sunday, January 22 at the I-X Center in Brook Park adjacent to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.
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