MERCHANTS AND MARINE DEALERS: YOUR SUPPORT OF BOATING SAFETY IS NEEDED!

If you are a dealer in recreational boating, or simply a merchant with a high sense of community service, WE WANT YOU! The Coast Guard and Coast Guard Auxiliary have a key, community outreach program called the “Recreational Boating Safety Visitation Program”, and it’s all about you. If you believe in supporting recreational boating safety to make our waterways safer for everyone, then become one of our Recreational Boating Safety (RBS) Partners, and turn your belief into action!

What Does It Mean to Be a Partner?

Our goal is to educate the recreational boater about boating safety. In fact, the Coast Guard considers this our “Job #1”. We achieve this two principal ways: through our highly-respected public education classes, and the distribution of State and Federal boating safety literature. You can help by giving us space in your venue to display boating safety literature, and a bulletin board where we may post flyers for our upcoming boating safety classes. And many of our partners — particularly marine dealers — invite us in for special events, where we can support the boating public one-on-one, or provide us space for teaching one of our many courses. Our partners typically include marine dealerships, repair facilities, sporting goods stores, bait shops, and boat rental outfits. But other “interested businesses” desiring to participate in promoting boating safety, such as medical facilities, various professional offices, restaurants/fast food establishments, hotels, motels, and resorts together with transportation facilities, have partnered with us. Nationwide, we have tens of thousands of partners.

Our Ambassador to You – the “Program Visitor”

Key to our dealer/partner outreach program is a cadre of trained Auxiliarists who visit you on a regular basis to drop off or restock boating safety literature displays, or to discuss upcoming special events with you. We call these members “Program Visitors”, short for “Recreational Boating Safety Dealer/Partner Program” Visitors, and they are our ambassadors to you. Whether or not you run a bait shop, an insurance agency, a marina, or a branch of one of the world’s largest marine chandleries, our Program Visitor is your friend in the Auxiliary, and a bridge to the United States Coast Guard.

What Literature is Available?

We distribute – always at no charge – the latest Federal and State boating safety brochures, booklets, and handouts. And we provide you with a distinctive literature easel to hold it. A partial list of available literature can be found elsewhere on this Web site (look under “Available Literature” to the left).

How Do I Sign Up?

There’s nothing to sign; just contact us and we’ll do the rest. Simply select “Join the Program” to the left, click on a program visitor near you, and complete the 1-minute inquiry form. We’ll do the rest, and will be in contact with you before long.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT OF RECREATIONAL BOATING SAFETY!