NASBLA Names Arizona’s Kim Jackson the 2022 National Boating Educator of the Year
The 2022 National Pamela S. Dillon Boating Educator of the Year award was presented to Kim Jackson, with the Arizona Game and Fish Department, on Thursday, September 29, at the awards ceremony during the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators’ (NASBLA) Annual Conference held in Manchester, New Hampshire.
Generously sponsored by Kalkomey Enterprises, Inc., the Pamela S. Dillon Boating Educator of the Year award was launched by NASBLA in 2011 to recognize those who go above and beyond to engage students and boaters, raise awareness, and make boating education initiatives relevant, thorough and exciting.
Kim Jackson is an innovative and dedicated Boating Safety Education Manager with the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD). She tirelessly works with partner agencies and the public to promote life jacket wear, and significantly contributes to making boating and paddlesports safer for everyone. Jackson has developed partnerships throughout Arizona that have been instrumental in furthering the safety of the recreational boating community within the state.
Additionally, Jackson serves on local and national committees regularly. She is the 2022-2023 NASBLA Paddlesports Committee Chair, a member of the NASBLA Education & Outreach Committee, participates in the Colorado River Law Enforcement Association Conference, is a board member for the Drowning Prevention Coalition of Arizona, and is called on regularly by partners and other state agencies for her extensive boating safety knowledge and expertise.
Each year, Jackson trains hundreds of AZGFD staff and members of the public in boating and paddlesports safety. In 2021, Jackson and her team engaged over 20,000 Arizonans at 30 events statewide. She continues to find innovative approaches and engaging outreach opportunities to talk with the public about life jacket wear. In addition to this, Jackson spearheads life jacket exchanges that are held throughout Arizona each year, where old life jackets are turned in for new ones. In 2021, AZGFD exchanged more than 1,200 life jackets.
Jackson is a wealth of information and is an asset to the Arizona Game and Fish Department. Her dedication and commitment to boating safety education is remarkable and she truly is a leader in this field.
The National Association of State Boating Law Administrators congratulates Kim Jackson on receiving the National Pamela S. Dillon Boating Educator of the Year award in recognition of her exceptional career and impact on recreational boating safety. To learn more about NASBLA's awards program, visit www.nasbla.org/awards.
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The National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA) is a national nonprofit, 501(c)3 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. We offer a variety of resources, including training, model acts, education standards, publications and more. Through a national network of thousands of professional educators, law enforcement officers and volunteers, we affect the lives of nearly 85 million American boaters.