P a ge 27 t opside V olume 79 , I s s u e 2
Public Events and COVID-19 , continued
All manner of hunting and outdoor wear was the de rigueur with camo being the most popular theme . Gregg and I were pretty busy with the many visits to our table till about 1400 hrs . Many coloring and activity books were passed to the younger ones who were accompanied by their parents . Surprisingly there were several requests for enlistment information for both the Gold Side and the Auxiliary . We took advantage of the opportunity to publicize the April 10 virtual Boating Safety Course being offered by Flotilla 19-04 with nine leads developed in this regard . oney
Adhering to CDC , State and Auxiliary COVID guidelines we both were certain to don masks for the entire event and used copious amounts of hand sanitizer . We avoided shaking hands and kept a good social distance by standing behind our tables for any discussions . At lunchtime we alternated taking our lunch in our cars .
In summary , not the usual water safety type event for me but we succeeded in reaching a more diverse cross section of folks . Anything that results in better recreational boating safety is time well spent .
On that same day D5NR held a virtual awards program in lieu of a spring D-Train and when Captain Theel , the sector commander , made his remarks he emphasized how impressively resilient he found auxiliarists to be in the face of the challenges posed by COVID-19 . Was the mission undertaken by Seda and Bollinger as simple as it would have been just 18 months prior ? No , but they adapted to the new requirements and got it done .