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My Coast Guard
Commentary | Dec. 30, 2020

Coast Guard member receives new award from NASBLA

By By Petty Officer 2nd Class Brian McCrum, MyCG Writer

The National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA) presented a new award to U.S. Coast Guard officer Lt. Derek Wallin in Washington, D.C., Dec. 15, 2020.

The “Chair Award,” short for the “Chair of the Organization,” was created in order to recognize individuals who dedicated their service and contributions to the NASBLA community.A Coast Guard Station Ft. Lauderdale boat crew escorts the cruise ship Zaandam to Port Everglades April 2, 2020. The Coast Guard has been assisting in escorting cruise ships and cruise ship tenders in and out of the Ports of Miami and Everglades. U.S. Coast Guard photo.

NASBLA represents the recreational boating authorities of all 50 states and U.S. territories, and works to develop public policy for recreational boating safety through training, education standards, published resources, and more.

When Wallin was the commanding officer of Coast Guard Station Ft. Lauderdale, he was also the Coast Guard’s field representative for four years on NASBLA’s Boat Operations and Training (BOAT) program advisory board. During that time, he collaborated with 18 additional Coast Guard stations to help train more than 420 marine patrol officers to national standards and made essential revisions to the BOAT program manual.

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. (Mar. 10, 2002)--An aerial view of Coast Guard Station Ft. Lauderdale. USCG photo by Auxiliarist Pamela BednarikHe also helped develop boat operations training videos for maritime law enforcement and first responders to be used in the future.

“Having the opportunity to serve as the NASBLA field representative was such a gratifying experience,” said Wallin. “I was lucky enough to work with true maritime professionals. The credit for this award really goes to all the station and MSST crews volunteering to instruct NASBLA classes and building those lasting relationships with their local agencies.”  

Wallin’s collaborative leadership with NASBLA helped improve training standards and showcase the impact of an individual to improve boating safety on a national scale.