SEATTLE, Wash. (Sept. 14, 2016) – During its 57th annual meeting, held in Seattle Wash., Sept. 11-14, 2016, the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA) recognized Officer Sarah Genzman with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources as the regional Boating Educator of the Year, as selected by the Southern Caucus States.
Generously sponsored by BoaterExam.com, the Boating Educator of the Year Award was launched by NASBLA in 2011 to recognize those who go above to engage students and boaters, raise awareness, and make boating education initiatives relevant, thorough and exciting.
Officer Sarah Genzman is a State Watercraft Officer Education Specialist. She has been in this position since 2013 and has been a commissioned officer with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources since 2005. In her current position as an Education Specialist she is responsible for conducting statewide boating education programs, skill development, boating constituent outreach and coordination, search and rescue as well as marine law enforcement and investigative functions. She is assigned to Ohio’s Northwest District Unit A, which encompasses 10 counties in the Western Basin of Lake Erie and Maumee River watershed.
During 2015, she coordinated and/or participated in 119 boating education related events and completed 237 boater vessel safety inspections
During 2015 she planned and coordinated the First Annual Paddle Palooza Festival at Maumee Bay State Park, hosted numerous Ready, Set, Wear It events to raise awareness of life jacket wear, boating safety in general, and to be a part of a world record, has coordinated monthly social media submissions, instructed at the Women in the Outdoors hosted by the National Wild Turkey Federation, and instructed at the first and second annual Ohio Outdoor Women’s Adventure Program.
Currently she plays an active role in planning for the Ohio Outdoor Women’s Adventure Program to be held in her home park in August of 2016. The annual event is a weekend program for women that include a variety of outdoor workshops on canoeing, kayaking, stand up paddle boarding, trailering, launching/loading, powerboating basics and more. During 2015, she spearheaded an effort to construct and place into service two Personal Flotation Device Loaner Stations at Maumee Bay State Park. Each station was stocked with various types and sizes of life jackets that could be utilized by both boaters and swimmers alike.
The National Association of State Boating Law Administrators is a national nonprofit organization that works to develop public policy for recreational boating safety. NASBLA represents the recreational boating authorities of all 50 states and the U.S. territories. NASBLA offers a variety of resources, including training, model acts, education standards and publications. Through a national network of thousands of professional educators, law enforcement officers and volunteers, the organization affects the lives of over 76 million American boaters. To learn more about how NASBLA continues to make the waterways safe, secure and enjoyable, visit http://www.nasbla.org.