New officers installed for Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 12-09

Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 12-09 held its 2017 Christmas dinner at Cripple Creek Golf & Country Club Dec. 12. Master of Ceremonies was Flotilla Commander Dick Stevenson. In all, 22 members and guests were present.

Following dinner, BMCS Jim Pond and BM1 Alex Donahue swore in 2018 officers CS John Ballantyne, FC Roy Zimmerman, VFC Ernest Stevens, PV James LaValley, PE Andy Smith and HR/IS Richard Stevenson. All of the flotilla staff officers were acknowledged in appreciation for their past contributions.

In appreciation for the association developed between the Coast Guard and the Auxiliary Flotilla 12-09 distinguished by friendship and team partnership, Stevenson acknowledged all active-duty guests in attendance. They were BM2 Joscelyn Greenwell, BM3 Reece Raxter, BM1 Alex Donahue and BMCS Jim Pond.

PE Andy Smith was presented his 20-year service award, and Ernie Stevens received the Service Performance Award for Public Education and also theFlotilla 12-09 Auxiliarist of the Year award.

The U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary is the uniformed, all-volunteer component of the United States Coast Guard. The Auxiliary has grown to over 32,000 members who daily support the Coast Guard in all its non-military and non-law-enforcement missions. Auxiliary members conduct safety patrols on local waterways, assist in search and rescue, teach boating safety classes, conduct free vessel safety checks for the public, and provide boating safety literature to dealers, along with many other activities related to recreational boating safety. Membership in the Auxiliary is open to those 17 years of age and older.

The next Flotilla 12-09 meeting will be at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 9, at U.S. Coast Guard Station Indian River. For more information, contact Flotilla Commander Richard Stevenson at 302-645-7296 or Vice Commander Roy Zimmerman at 302-947-2952.