Boating Safety and Water Safety Makes For Smooth Sailing
By Sharon J. Alfred, Red Cross Editor and PR Volunteer

Did you know? Since 1914, the United States Power Squadrons (USPS) has been leading the way in teaching others about safe boating practices. And, the American Red Cross is the leader in teaching people about first aid and water safety. The way William (Bill) E. Husted sees it, both these organizations adhere to a theme of safety. Husted is a longtime member of the USPS, and a contributor of time and money to the American Red Cross. More recently, he began to take an active role in the Power of Two program.

A couple of years ago, the severe storm effects (particularly by Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne) in Stuart, Florida prompted Husted to take an increasing interest in humanitarian relief efforts. He says, "In most every situation in life that requires awareness - and particularly in disaster situations - accurate and reliable communications plays a significant role in the saving of lives and property." Retired from his PR firm, Husted has more time to devote to charitable activities that focus energies on disaster preparedness. His attentions are now divided between the USPS and the Red Cross chapter in Stuart, Florida. Husted presently chairs the USPS Government and Partner Relations Committee, and he participates on the Red Cross public affairs track coordinated by Sam Yates, the public information officer for the Martin County Chapter.

During a stop in Hobe Sound, Florida, Red Cross volunteers and staff cheer and hold up a banner in support of Steve Weagle's ride for raising awareness of the Red Cross' hurricane preparedness and other disaster relief programs. (Bill Husted, fourth from right, prepares to wave to the T.V. audience.) *Photo credit: Sam Yates, Public Information Officer, American Red Cross Martin County Chapter.*

Husted's most recent out-in-the-field volunteer stint with the American Red Cross involved him escorting Florida's Channel 5 (NBC) weatherman Steve Weagle. For seven years in a row, Weagle has biked through four counties on a week-long trek. Weagle's bike trek is supported by several American Red Cross chapters (the Martin County Chapter, the Greater West Palm Beach Area Chapter, and the North Treasure Coast Chapter) and Scripps Treasure Coast Publishing. Yates says, "We use the ride as a vehicle to showcase the many services the Red Cross provides to our residents during a disaster and year round." As Weagle does his broadcasts from out-of-the-office locations, often-time standing in front of a Red Cross Emergency Response Vehicle or in front of Red Cross volunteers holding up banners, Weagle talks and helps to raise funds for the Red Cross hurricane disaster preparedness campaign. Yates adds that people from the Martin County Chapter appear on talk shows to promote the ride and ask others to volunteer for the upcoming hurricane season.

Husted believes that communication is critically important because "good preparation is the key to how well people will survive before a catastrophe and paves the way for what happens later. The more prepared a population is, the better able they are to deal with the impending crisis ... and live through it." Husted is proud of his state's readiness to deal with major hurricane storm weather. When hurricane season begins, Florida has its emergency management people in place and ready to deal with the unexpected. Husted states, "We don't face hurricanes nonchalantly. We're very aware of how natural disasters can affect us."

Husted's awareness of safety is what chiefly motivates him to lend his time and talent to the Red Cross. Not surprisingly, he sees that the American Red Cross and USPS' mutual attention on safety creates organizational parallels that he believes naturally leads to the nautically-friendly supplement to the safety booklet that the Red Cross publishes - "When Help Is Delayed." This booklet instructs on how to administer first aid until the injured can be gotten to professional healthcare-givers.

Husted is quick to say that "first aid doesn't change," but the scene where an injury can occur and how it can happen does change. According to him, "additional and specific-to-the-situation information in first aid on the water, in addition to on land," amplifies "the importance of the first aid message to another segment of the population, in this case, mariners and those on the water." Husted has been coordinating this booklet publication with James Hagen (the director of Health and Safety at the Red Cross Martin County Chapter in Stuart, Florida). The USPS perspective adds a twist in the soon-to-be nautically-friendly safety booklet, Husted points out that the scenarios are extended beyond the hiker/camper occurrences to include those accidents most likely to befall someone out boating from one place to another; for instance, it poses situations where an unwary mariner steps on a sea urchin and tells how to treat such an injury.