Sea Scouts Honored by the United States Power Squadrons® for Life Saving

Past Commander J. Robert Baechle

National Marketing and Public Relations Committee

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FAX: 732-946-7872

Telephone:732-946-2837

On February 23, 2008, at its Annual Meeting in Dallas, Texas, the United States Power Squadrons (USPS®) presented Lifesaving Awards to the Sea Scout crew of the 45-foot Viking Sportfisherman TRIDENT, for saving the life of a Sea Scout instructor during a June 17, 2007 training course. At the time, the vessel was under the command of USPS Past District Commander and Course Director Lee Popham of Miami, Florida, and was engaged in a Sea Scout SEAL training activity with six Sea Scouts and three adult instructors on board. USPS has partnered with the Boy Scouts of America – and their co-ed Venturer and Sea Scout contingents -- for several years, in order to mutually promote recreational boating safety, skills, and emergency preparedness. The awards were announced by USPS Chief CommanderErnest G. Marshburn, a Distinguished Eagle Scout himself.

Honored with USPS Lifesaving Awards were USPS members and Sea Scout volunteer adult leaders Lee Popham (Miami, Florida) and Patricia Walker (Vero Beach, Florida). Popham is an elected member of the USPS National Finance Committee, has served as an Instructor of USPS Seamanship and Coastal Navigation courses, and also serves as the volunteer National Vice Commodore and instructor for the Sea Scouts. Walker is the USPS volunteer District Youth Activities Committee Chair for the Southeast coast of Florida, as well as a volunteer youth and adult leadership instructor for the National and Southern Region Sea Scout Committees.

Also honored with Lifesaving Awards were Sea Scouts Andrew Bohuslav and Conner Bost, both of Houston, Texas; Gabriel McCorkle of Vienna, Virginia; Melissa Roesner of Baltimore, Maryland; Samuel Walker of Vero Beach, Florida; and Peter McKenna of Rockville, Maryland.All of the Sea Scouts are also youth members of USPS.

SEAL is the acronym for the Sea Experience Advanced Leadership courses. Each year a small number of Sea Scouts from across the country are accepted into the program. After qualifying with exams and other preparations, the selected candidates spend a week at sea with each candidate spending a full day as ship's Navigator and another as ship's Boatswain, taking command of the vessel and crew

Founded in 1912, the Sea Scout program is the oldest senior division of the Boy Scouts of America,available to young men and womenaged fourteen to twenty one. The scouts learn boating skills and life skills while working on Sea Scout Rank Advancement program. For more information visit the Sea Scouts' Web site at

Founded in 1914, USPS has been a premier recreational boating educational organization, providing courses in basic boating and navigation that have been used to train Navy navigators in time of war. USPS also participates in a co-operative charting program with NOAA to help update the Nation's navigation charts, and provides complimentary vessel safety inspections. USPSUniversity offers a broad range of boating courses and seminars for recreational boaters of all types. For more information please visit their Web site at