The NSBC General Membership Meeting will be held in conjunction with the International Boating and Water Safety Summit in Albuquerque, NM at the Embassy Suites by Hilton on Monday, April 8, 2024 at 3:00 PM MDT. All NSBC members, and guests, are encouraged to attend. It’s a great opportunity to network in person and celebrate our shared mission to advance recreational boating safety. If you haven't yet, please register for IBWSS.
If you are an Admiral Club, Mariner Club, Crew Club, or Ex-Officio member and would like to provide an update during the General Membership Meeting, please complete the partner update form.
These updates will be included with the agenda in advance of the general membership meeting. Partners attending may be provided up to 3 minutes each to present during the meeting, if time permits. Please complete the partner update form no later than April 1, 2024.
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NSBC's Communications Director Yvonne Pentz passed the Certified Recreational Boating Professional (CRBP) exam on February 5, 2024 and was awarded her CRBP certification.
The CRBP certification, developed by National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA), is a voluntary credential for recreational boating professionals that encompasses knowledge, performance, and career achievements in specific program domains.
Yvonne Pentz, communications director of the National Safe Boating Council (NSBC), boasts nearly 20 years of experience in integrated communications and marketing, with 15 years dedicated to working in recreational boating safety. She focuses on delivering safety information to the boating public in a user-friendly and engaging format. Pentz facilitates grant management and implementation, collaborating with staff, partners, and contractors. Prior to joining the NSBC, she led a communications consultancy in Fort Collins, Colorado, and worked at Paul Werth Associates, a strategic communications firm in Columbus, Ohio.
Pentz is a recipient of Boating Industry’s Top 40 Under 40 and has received recognition for her recreational boating safety work from prestigious organizations such as the Academy of Interactive & Visual Arts’ Communicator Awards, Hermes Awards, PR Daily Nonprofit Awards, PRSA’s Bronze Anvil, and Telly Awards.
She graduated from Grove City College in Grove City, Pennsylvania, with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Sociology. Pentz currently resides in the Greater Cleveland, Ohio area with her husband and three children.
Sr. Elliot Dozeman swiftly cuts across the calm, blue water of Lake Michigan on his personal watercraft Turning into the channel, the now turbulent water flips the personal watercraft. Dozeman and his friend are stuck under the vessel in Holland’s crowded channel, struggling to escape from underneath. Luckily, they were both wearing life jackets, helping them stay afloat. “If I wasn’t wearing a life jacket, I wouldn’t have floated to the side and I don’t know what could have happened. I could have hit my head or still been stuck underneath,” Dozeman said.
The life jacket started as a cork vest in 1854, and some 170 years later, it is still constantly evolving and improving. Master Captain Jon Meyer has been working with boats his whole life. He trains captains and boat owners, and he does municipal water safety training. “Life jackets are an absolute necessity when near the water. During a boat accident, people often get the wind knocked out of them. Boats don’t have seat belts,” Capt. Meyer said.
Capt. Meyer shares that people under the age of 6 (or less than 90 lbs) must wear a life jacket while boating in Michigan. Drowning is the leading cause of death in boating accidents and almost 85% of people were NOT wearing a life jacket, according to the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary.
Join us at the upcoming International Boat and Water Safety Summit (IBWSS), where Sealite will be proudly exhibiting our wide range of products. Cathy Sonnentag, Sealite's business development manager for state and federal accounts, can’t wait to welcome you to this year’s conference.
Our commitment to providing safety on the waterway shines in our cutting-edge products:
SL-B1060 9-inch Regulatory Buoy
SL-15 Solar Marine Lantern
SL-60 Solar Marine Lantern
SL-70 Solar Marine Lantern
But wait, there’s more! We recently announced our website upgrade with an amazing new custom quote feature. The Sealite team is excited to demonstrate this seamless functionality first-hand during the event.
Calling all NSBC Instructors! Join the NSBC Instructor Network private Facebook group to chat with other instructors, ask questions, and share photos from your courses.
Reminder - we've made it easy for instructors to have everything they need to maintain their NSBC instructor certification. Explore NSBC instructor resources.
National Safe Boating Week
Resources Available
Whether you're planning outreach for the remainder of the year or getting a head start on next summer, boating educational assets are available from the Safe Boating Campaign. Browse Resources for logos, event toolkits, flyers, infographics, print ads, radio spots, and more.
Save the date for these events in 2024:
Wear Your Life Jacket at Work Day - May 17, 2024
National Safe Boating Week - May 18-24, 2024
Get a head start on planning by following our step-by-step guide for Wear Your Life Jacket at Work Day and National Safe Boating Week. The National Safe Boating Council is proud to partner with the U.S. Coast Guard on these annual outreach events.
Order youth activity books! Let's Go Boating and ABC's of Boating are colorful and fun books to educate primary and secondary school aged children on safe recreational boating. Shop now >>
Member-Only Discounts
NSBC members receive exclusive discounts from industry partners, such as Athletic Brewing Company, ExpertVoice, FELL Marine, Full Throttle, Mustang Survival, Onyx, Safe Lakes, Sirius Signal, and TowBoatU.S. Get discounts >>
Photo Library
Looking for boating photos to share in your marketing efforts? The NSBC offers a FREE photo library to promote boating and water safety with images. Browse the photo library >>
Sponsored by Sealite
Sealite, part of the SPX Aids to Navigation family (a division of SPX Technologies) is a technology leader in the design and manufacture of marine aids to navigation (AtoN) equipment including marine lighting, navigation buoys, marine floats, port entry lighting systems, lighthouse lighting equipment, and monitoring and control systems software. They are a global manufacturer of products that guide vessels safely into ports and harbors around the world. The Sealite team is dedicated to servicing the marine industry through the efficient design of solutions that withstand the toughest environments.
