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) presented Tamara Terry, the Marketing Manager for the Division of Wildlife in the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), with its prestigious NASBLA Award.
The NASBLA Award is the nonprofit organization’s oldest award. It is given in appreciation to an individual who has either given a lot of time and effort to the association to help achieve its objectives or who is acknowledged nationally, statewide or in their community for notable contributions to the betterment of boating.
Terry has been employed with the department since 1994, and until January 2016, served in its Division of Watercraft, most recently as Recreational Boating Accident Program Manager.
She served multiple years as a member of the Boating Accident Investigation, Reporting & Analysis Committee (BAIRAC); and when BAIRAC was combined with Boats & Associated Equipment to form the Engineering, Reporting & Analysis Committee (ERAC) in 2008, Terry brought along her data, research, and analytical skills to this fledgling group.
In May 2010, she was appointed as the third chairperson of ERAC. Terry led ERAC through six committee cycles.
During her years of service, presiding over a committee that produced dozens of products and launched The NASBLA Lighthouse, Terry demonstrated a strong commitment to collaborative efforts, both internal and external to NASBLA. Those efforts advance a better understanding of the underlying causes of boating accidents, and improve the quality, consistency, and completeness of the accident report data used in boating accident research and analyses
Most notable of the many projects under her watch was the Accident Reporting Terms and Definitions Project. Terry guided ERAC through a rigorous, open, consensus-based process that engaged members of the committee, Coast Guard subject matter experts and the states over a more than two-year period. It resulted in a set of revised, standardized terms and definitions for five major accident report categories, all subsequently approved by the NASBLA membership and now awaiting implementation.
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.