The
District 30 Fall Conference was held in Longmont and Broomfield
Colorado during the weekend of October 7th through 9th. The
event was hosted by the Bolder Valley Sail and Power Squadron.
Out of town participants arrived throughout the day on Friday.
We had clear skies and about 56 degrees. We stayed at the
Courtyard Motel in Longmont. After we got settled in
we went up to the
Hospitality Room hosted by D/C Dick Des Camps. The Hospitality
Room was well attended with out of town guest and members
of the BVSPS. About 7:00 PM we broke for dinner and went
to several
of the local restaurants for a good meal. Most of the out
of towners chose to drive to Longmont from home for the
meeting.
It was about a 10 hour drive from Des Moines and about a
12 hour drive from Cedar Rapids. So it was early to bed
to get
ready for the next day’s activities.
Saturday we got up early for breakfast at the motel and then
headed over to the Front Range Community College (less
than a mile away) for our meeting. The temperature was
down to
36 degrees and we had rain most of the day except when
there was
snow. The room was set up for multi-media presentations
and there was an adjacent kitchen for making coffee and
snacks. It was
an excellent room for our meeting. P/C/C Creighton Maynard
was
the C/Cs rep to the meeting.He was accompanied by his wife
Glenda. We opened with the council meeting and business
was discussed. Terry
Elia
put out
the youth
posters that were submitted and provided ballots to vote
on the different
age brackets.
After business was concluded, the Council Meeting was adjourned
and we prepared for the scheduled presenters.
BVSPS Cdr. Dave Hughes showed a video called The Perfect
Day which was a sobering account of what can go wrong
if
we don’t
take the proper precautions while boating.
John Harris gave a presentation on boating in the Mediterranean.
He discussed proper equipment you should have with
you, local customs in different countries, and dealing
with
local authorities.
This was an excellent presentation.
Ron Schwiesow gave a presentation on using a DIY - GPS Chartplotter
which runs on a laptop. He discussed the various
benefits of
using
a laptop versus a dedicated GPS.
We broke for lunch and went to a local brewery/restaurant
for a good meal and then headed back to the meeting
room for the
Conference meeting.
The Conference was opened by the D/C. Reports of
committees and squadrons were read to the membership.
Business
was conducted. The results of the Youth Poster
Contest were
announced. Creighton
gave his account on the health of the USPS and
then gave us the CC’s message. The Conference and Council meeting
were adjourned.
We returned to the motel for a brief rest and
then drove to Broomfield, Colorado to the home
of Pam and John Chatting
for
the evening
activities. The District dinner coincided with
the BVSPS Annual Haul-out Party. This party
is a celebration
of
the end of the
season for the local members. This party was
attended by about 60 BVSPS members and was an extravaganza.
The house was decorated in a
nautical
theme. The downstairs
had rows of tables arranged in a buffet setting
with the foods kept warm over heaters.
Some of the food
was store
bought but most of it was prepared by members
and donated to the cause.
AD Chesey reserved the Fire Extinguisher Simulator
from National. She had it set up in the garage.
After some
brief instructions
from AD, we all got a change to use it. We
filled out a registration sheet which she
will turn
into National
and
we will all be
Fire Extinguisher Certified. This kit came
in a big box, shipped from National. It contained
a
display
that represented
the
fire. When activated by the examiner who
is controlling
the fire with a controller which is shipped
with the kit as well,
a fire would be displayed on the screen.
The examiner can control the severity of the fire
and also throw
in other
conditions
such as unexpected flare-ups. The student
uses a special laser extinguisher to put out the
fire. They
have to
use the proper
sequence of P.A.S.S. to put out the fire.
Worst case scenarios were thrown at retired fire
marshal Ken
Danley to see if
he was still made of the ‘right stuff”.
We ate and ate wonderful food, we socialized
with our fellow D30 members but then it
was time to
leave. We
said our
farewells and headed back to our motel.
It was an early rise on Sunday. Everyone
had a long day ahead of them to get back
home.
All in all a great time was had by all.
We conducted our business, saw some
excellent presentations
and visited with fellow members.
Thank you BVSPS members,
P/D/C Gus Elia, JN
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