Randy Johnson

–   Award for Top Volunteer Dedicated to Safe Boating   –

Nothing Fulfills Like Giving Back­

When does Randy Johnson sleep, anyway? With a list of volunteer activities the length of his arm, it’s difficult to imagine when he could find the time!

Randy is a very active volunteer with:

-          the Canadian Power and Sail Squadrons (CPS)

-          the Pointe au Baril Islanders’ Association

-          the Marine Patrol

-          the Ojibway Club

… and every minute he gives to these organizations is devoted to promoting safe boating.

He joined the CPS in 1999, and two years later became Assistant Training Officer for the bridge of Brant Squadron. He has been their Training Officer since 2005. For the past eight years, he has been delivering Boating, Boat Pro, Marine Maintenance, VHF and Pleasure Craft Operator Card (PCOC) training courses there.

That takes care of his spring months but, just because his students have graduated, Randy’s work is not yet done. He teaches boating safety and promotes Canadian Power and Sail Squadrons education throughout the summer months.

In addition to serving on the bridge and delivering courses during the training season, Randy provides PCOC and VHF seminars to cottagers and boaters in the Pointe au Baril area, where he happens to have a cottage. There’s still no rest for Randy.

As Boating Safety and Fire Safety chair of the Pointe au Baril Islanders’ Association (PaBIA) since 2005, Randy gets his feet wet teaching boating safety with the Pointe au Baril Islanders’ Association, its Marine Patrol, and at the Ojibway Club. He also delivers boat handling seminars and on-water coaching at the historic Ojibway Club.

The Ojibway Club is a not-for-profit community organization offering recreational programs for youth between the ages of five and 14 years and adults at the historic Ojibway Hotel.

Reaching out to boaters by advertising in the Pointe au Baril Islanders’ Association (PaBIA) website and in its yearbooks, Randy has been delivering PCOC seminars at the Ojibway Club in Pointe au Baril since 2008. He has handed out PCOCs and CPS memberships to some 228 candidates over that period. Speaking of yearbooks, the 2012-2013 PaBIA yearbook proudly proclaims Randy as the resident expert on boat handling.

In addition to running the Boat Pro/PCOC and VHF seminars, Randy conducts boat handling seminars and on-water coaching aboard cottagers’ own boats. He has had 13 participants over the past three years.

Each summer, the Pointe au Baril Islanders’ Association hires university students to operate its Marine Patrol. The Marine Patrol monitors boaters safe boating behavior, takes lake water quality samples on behalf of the Medical Officer of Health, and monitors the condition of crown owned land to ensure that boaters and campers don’t abuse the properties removes garbage from waters and shorelines when observed on patrol. Each spring since 2006, Randy has trained and qualified those new Marine Patrol hires in boating safety and ensures that they all earn PCOCs and become qualified VHF operators.

Lastly, not content with his own considerable efforts to spread the word about safe boating, Randy regularly arranges for the Canadian Coast Guard to conduct boating safety workshops, at the Pointe au Baril light station, for Ojibway campers.

Let’s hope that Randy’s resting up now, at least. It looks like he has another big year coming up!

Top Volunteer Dedicated to Boating Safety, Randy Johnson, receives his award from Ted Rankine (CSBC).