OCTOBER 07, 2021: The winners of the 2021
Operation Dry Water (ODW) awards were announced on Tuesday, September 28, at the awards ceremony during the NASBLA Annual Conference held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The ODW Officer of the Year, Top Agencies and Media Award winners were recognized for their hard work and dedication to boating under the influence prevention and the Operation Dry Water campaign. The
Operation Dry Water Awards Program recognizes law enforcement officers and agencies that are making a positive impact on boating under the influence (BUI) enforcement and outreach within their communities.
The
2021 Operation Dry Water Officer of the Year is Officer Josh Landrum from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency
(TWRA). Over the Operation Dry Water weekend, Officer Josh Landrum made eight arrests for boating under the influence. He worked each day of the 2021 Operation Dry Water weekend, logging more than 15 hours per day. Throughout the three-day weekend, Officer Landrum checked 77 vessels, contacted 122 boaters and issued 27 citations. Prior to Operation Dry Water weekend, Officer Landrum had already arrested 11 operators for BUI since the end of May 2021. This past year, Officer Landrum was the lead investigator for seven boating incidents and assisted district officers with many others. Officer Landrum devotes an enormous amount of his time to the agency, the public, and to boating safety in one way or another. He started his ODW informational awareness campaign off early this year by volunteering to have a speaking role in the newest
TWRA Operation Dry Water public service announcement. This video was shared with news outlets and on social media statewide to get the message out about the dangers of boating under the influence and TWRA’s role in the Operation Dry Water weekend. NASBLA would like to personally thank Officer Josh Landrum for his passion for BUI detection and prevention and his willingness to go the extra mile to ensure that boaters on the water are safe.
The
2021 Operation Dry Water Top Agency awards are based on officer participation and BUI arrests during the Operation Dry Water weekend and is broken down into three categories – small, medium and large. This year’s
Small Category Top Agency is awarded to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department from the state of California. This award was presented to Deputy Eric Blackard. Over the course of the three-day heightened enforcement weekend, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department deployed three officers who made 17 boating under the influence arrests. NASBLA would like to recognize and thank the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department and its officers for their continued support and commitment to removing impaired boaters from the water.
This year’s
Medium Category Top Agency Award is given to the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office in the state of Idaho. This award was presented to Sergeant Ryan Miller and Deputy Jonathan Traw. During the three-day Operation Dry Water weekend, the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office deployed 16 officers who made 11 boating under the influence arrests. NASBLA would like to thank the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office for their commitment to keeping our waterways safe by actively and thoroughly addressing boating under the influence throughout Idaho.
The
Large Category Top Agency is awarded to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. This award was presented to the
Wisconsin BLA, Lieutenant Darren Kuhn. Over the course of the Operation Dry Water weekend, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources deployed 111 officers who made 43 arrests for boating under the influence. NASBLA’s thanks goes out to the Wisconsin DNR for their participation in the campaign and dedication to BUI prevention and enforcement.
The final Operation Dry Water award presented at the Annual Conference was the
Media Award. This award recognizes an agency that used media outreach platforms to promote awareness of the Operation Dry Water campaign and to make a difference in recreational boating safety by educating boaters and raising awareness about the dangers of boating under the influence on our nation’s waterways. The
2021 Operation Dry Water Media Award winner is the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC).
This award was presented to Lieutenant Forrest Orr and North Carolina BLA, Major Ben Meyer. Utilizing an integrated communications plan, this group promoted awareness of the Operation Dry Water campaign and made a difference in recreational boating safety by educating boaters and raising awareness about the dangers of boating under the influence. They contacted multiple television, radio, and news agencies to get the word out about this important initiative, and shared video and educational messages through the agency’s e-newsletter and social media platforms. At the statewide media event held at Lake Norman, representatives helped to answer the media’s questions and guided them to officers for interviews to help tell the story of law enforcement’s efforts. Members of this team documented every aspect of the NCWRC Law Enforcement Division’s role in their efforts during the ODW weekend. They enhanced officers’ use of vessels and aircraft to help keep North Carolina’s waterways safe. NASBLA is pleased to recognize the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission for their efforts in educating boaters on the hazards associated with boating under the influence.
NASBLA would like to thank all of the award winners for their year-round passion for BUI detection and prevention. Our partners’ willingness to ensure that boaters are safe on the water is what makes this campaign successful. Thank you to all of the agencies and partners involved in this year’s Operation Dry Water campaign, we appreciate all that you do throughout the year to help put a stop to boating under the influence.
The 2022 Operation Dry Water heightened awareness and enforcement weekend will take place nationwide, July 1 – 3, 2022.
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Operation Dry Water (ODW) is a year-round boating under the influence awareness and enforcement campaign with the mission of reducing the number of alcohol- and drug-related accidents and fatalities through increased recreational boater awareness and by fostering a stronger and more visible deterrent to alcohol use on the water.
Operation Dry Water was launched in 2009 by the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA) in partnership with the U.S. Coast Guard. Operation Dry Water is produced under a grant from the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund, administered by the U.S. Coast Guard and is a product of the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators.
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