WHO IS GEORGE STANCIL? A Member Profile

His father named him George Herman, for Babe Ruth, but life threw him a curve that landed him in fields far from baseball.
Photo by Max LeFevre

A veteran of 20 years in the US Air Force, George joined Eastman Kodak in the 1970s and became an expert technician on satellite photography, travelling all over the world to help set up the photo processing labs needed by the aerospace industry.  A letter of commendation from the Strategic Air Command cites his contribution to critical missions within the national defense program.

After retirement and several years of Florida fishing,  joining Flotilla 96 was George’s first venture into the Coast Guard Auxiliary.  The year was 1984 and the recruiter was Betty Riddle’s husband, Tom.  Betty was one of his first flotilla commanders.  After years serving in other flotillas from Florida and Massachusetts, he’s now back to his roots in Flotilla 96.

At 81, George is no wimp.  He continues to inspect commercial fishing vessels-- climbing ladders, squeezing into engine rooms, checking bilge pumps, counting life jackets, schmoozing with the captains, and making life safer for the folks who earn their living on the water.  A fall from a greasy ladder earned him eight stitches, and he’s still at it.

An award presented to George at one of our Flotilla meetings in 2010 says he “eagerly tackled” the challenge of conducting 270 exams for commercial fishing vessels and uninspected passenger vessels from St. Petersburg south to Fort Myers Beach, saving the Coast Guard thousands of dollars in travel and administrative costs.  The man who came here to make the presentation was retired Coast Guard Captain Larry Yarboro, one of George’s many fans on the gold side.

From 1994 to 2000, George served more than 800 hours underway on forty-one footers from Coast Guard Station Fort Myers Beach, including more than 80 separate Search and Rescue missions.  After three years aboard the MARLIN, he has some stories to tell.

Awards! Awards! Awards!

At the Change of Watch on December 13, special awards went to Ronald and Nancy Cormier for 15 years of service.

VFC Dave Shuster, who was named “Auxiliarist of the Year” by Division 9, also received a Letter of Appreciation from FC Larry Urbanek. 

The Auxiliary Commandant’s Letter of Commendation went to Neil Arnal, Emily Harris,

Jim Mayer, Jim Samples, and Phillip Smith.

The Meritorious Team Commendation for installing the new Vessel Tracking System and adapting the existing radio room to accommodate the system went to Richard Traverse, Larry Bowers, and Merle Zeek.

Change of Watch

The Change of Watch festivities were emceed by own John Tyson, Seventh District Auxiliary Chief of Staff (elect).  Honored guests included Division Commander Lou Conti and FC George Bogdan of FL93.  From USCG Station Fort Myers Beach we welcomed CWO4 Jeffery Kerner, and from Marine Safety Detachment Fort Myers, the Commanding Officer LTJG Michael Novak. 

Collecting Broken Records

Our Program Visitors team reached a record under Staff Officer Michael DiPierro with 136 visits and services to marine dealers and seven new certified program visitors.  Mike charted new territory with partnerships with Bass Pro Shops, West Marine, and others.

How many Vessel Examinations does it take to set a record?  Our VE team under Staff Officer Neil Arnal performed 516 exams and added nine new Vessel Examiners to our rolls.

Flotilla 96 reached another milestone 

The Teams to Team Up With

Program Visitors:

Bernie Appelman    Jerry Lipps

Neil Arnal                  Mel Milstein

Michael DiPierro      Bob Morrison                       

Mike Dobrovic           Dick Sweere

Ned Herrmann         John Tyson

Vessel Examiners:

Randi Aldrich                       Jim Mayer       

Bernie Appelman    Mel Milstein

Neil Arnal                  Robert Morrison

Dan Beauchemin    Mike Murphy                        

Larry Bowers             Al Poyser

Richard Brant           Dave Shuster

Matt Chester             Grant Skaggs

Michael DiPierro      Phillip Smith

Mike Dobrovic           Richard Sweere

Sean Hanley              AllenThompson

Vince Lattuca           John Tyson

Max LeFevre             Larry Urbanek

                             Bill Willsey

Meet New Members

Kenneth Hayden

Ken says his military background influenced his decision to join the Coast Guard Auxiliary.  After a stint in the National Guard, he spent 20 years as a drill instructor with the Army Reserve’s 100^th Division.  After retiring, he went to work as the mail room supervisor for lawmakers at the Kentucky General Assembly in Frankfort, and then began enjoying winters in Florida.  He and his wife, Florence, have been living full-time in the Naples area for two years.

Laureano Santiago

The man behind the camera at many of our recent events is newcomer Laureano Santiago.  Laly was born and raised in Puerto Rico and began his military career with the 82^nd Airborne Division.  Later he served as Master Sergeant in a variety of assignments from interpreter for the Cuban Resettlement Program to Drill Sergeant and the Recruiting Command.  Since retiring in 1993 he has taught JROTC in Maryland and Florida, currently at Lely High School.  He is married to his high school sweetheart, Myrna Melendez

The Minutes In a Minute

November 17, 2010

After preliminaries, we welcomed the new commanding officer of STAFMB, CWO Jeffrey Kerner, who thanked the flotilla for their support.  In answering questions, Mr. Kerner said:

·         The new fuel tank is operational and holds 4,000 gallons of gas and 2,000 of diesel.

·         Operations officers at the station will try to coordinate their training with the flotilla when possible.

·         The station needs people to work with their morale officer in planning and fund raising.

·         They will use the auxiliary for responding to distress calls and will inform our flotilla when their units are alerted.

DSC John Tyson reported that Search Coordination and Rescue courses have been offered at several sites in the district.  John Marshall will offer the program for our flotilla.

Financial officer Allen Thompson reported that all but nine of our flotilla members have paid their dues for 2011.

Phill Smith distributed a new schedule of Public Education programs for 2011 and John Gaston announced plans for a survey of members to improve recruiting and retention.

Calendar of Meetings & Activities - January 2011

January 2011

Calendar of Meetings & Activities - February 2011

February 2011

Calendar of Meetings & Activities - March 2011

March 2011

Florilla 96 Officers & FSOs -2011

FC       Larry Urbanek           u.l.urbanek@comcast.net 
VFC    Dave Shuster           daveshuster1@mac.com       

SEC    Billy Willsey              brwduck@comcast.net                  

FN       Allen Thompson      allenthom@live.com                      

IS        Robert Morrison       morrisoncga96@comcast.net          

PA       Neil Arnal                  arnals@msn.com                           

HR      Ed Walters                 ecw34119@aol.com                      

MA      Jacqueline Alicea    jacqueline@elcoquicleaning.com   

CS      John Gaston             jggaston@comcast.net                  

PB       Emily Harris              eharris663@gmail.com                 

OP      Al Lazzaro                 flotilla96@yahoo.com                    

NS      Roberta Skaggs       bg96skaggs@embarqmail.com   

CM      Heidi La Quadra       heidilaq@yahoo.com                     

MS      Randi Aldrich             randi@randialdrich.com                

PE       Phill Smith                piasa@comcast.net                        

PV       Dan Beauchemin    danbeau17@yahoo.com              

MT       Jim Mayer                  jmayer@embarqmail.com             

General Meeting Minutes for November

U. S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

UNITED STATES COAST GUARD AUXILIARY

Flotilla 96

13531 Vanderbilt Drive

Naples, Florida 34110

General Meeting

17 November, 2010

General Members present: 23

Staff Officers present 11  

Staff Officers Aides present: 2

Guests Present: 4

Meeting called to order by VFC, Shuster at 1900 hrs.  Shuster also led the pledge of allegiance and a moment of silence in remembrance of our fallen armed services personnel.

A motion to approve the minutes of the October 20^th General meeting was offered by Jordan Pollack and after due second by FSO Jim Mayer, those minutes were approved by voice vote without dissent.

Swearing in of members

FC Urbanek and VFC Shuster performed the swearing in ceremony for new member Gus Karlsen.

PRESENTATIONS AND AWARDS

FC Urbanek presented our new District Captain West John Tyson

Special Guest

FC Urbanek introduced STAFMBCO Kerner who thanked the flotilla for its support and proceeded to answer questions concerning flotilla operations; i.e.

The new fuel tank is up and available with 4,000 of gas and 2,000 of diesel,

Their operations officers will try to coordinate training with the flotilla when possible,

They need someone to work with their morale officer in the area of fund-raising and planning,

They will be using the AUX for response to distress calls and will inform the flotilla when their units are alerted.

Our Upstairs Neighbor

This is our new upstairs neighbor, who moved in just before Christmas.  One witness to the move said he saw four ospreys working together to build the nest on our antenna stand.  This community effort yielded a satisfactory, if not beautiful, new home for a local family.

Flotilla Commander Larry Urbanek

I would like to start by wishing a Happy New Year and best wishes and good health to everyone.

We have the change of watch behind us and we can now concentrate on getting 2011 off to a good start. To begin with, I want to thank the 2010 staff officers for their many contributions and improvements.  The dramatic growth in our Vessel Examination effort showed what we can accomplish. We had 516 VSCs, an increase of 150, and the number of examiners increased by 12. Another area of improvement was in Program Visitation. The eight new program visitors helped to account for 100 additional contacts, a good start in this important area. Our Public Education hours stayed the same and the number of sessions was down. Still, we gained an instructor last year. In the operations area, the number of support missions was down a little but the number of safety missions was almost half of the prior year.

 Our 2011 staff officers have a lot of work ahead to continue to progress and regain some of the ground lost. I am sure we can make further progress and recapture lost opportunities,  but not without help from everyone. We have an ambitious year ahead of us and it can be successful. We urgently need more instructors and program visitors to help generate the revenue we need to fulfill our mission supporting the “gold side.”  Recruiting and public affairs are also areas that play a significant role in generating revenue.  Membership growth and public exposure of our mission are an absolute must.

Vice Flotilla Commander Dave Shuster

Let me begin by thanking all the staff officers who served last year.  Staff officers administer the various departments that enable the flotilla to provide the many programs to our members.  They also make it possible for Flotilla 96 to perform its missions in support of the Coast Guard.

However, many others are equally important to the success of the flotilla.  These are the members who make things happen.  They perform the VSCs, make the program visitations with our many safe boating partners, teach the classes, crew our patrols, verify ATONS, participate in trade shows and public speaking events, stuff envelopes, serve on committees, answer the phone and take the messages, stand radio watch, pick materials up – the list goes on.  These are the most important members in any flotilla.  They get the job done! 

We also need to thank the spouses and family members of our flotilla.  Every hour a member donates to the Auxiliary is one hour less spent with the family.  This is a big deal and should never be overlooked.  We owe the families of our members our gratitude and sincere thanks for their sacrifice.

It was my pleasure to work with all of our staff officers and members last year.  They're exceptional people with a wide variety of skills and a rich mix of personalities.  It was great fun.  It’s not often you can serve your country, learn new skills and at the same time make new friends.  Hard work has its benefits!  It was a privilege to work with each of you.

Robert Morrison, FSO-IS

Activity slacked off in December with four patrol missions and three radio entries, because of the cold weather we had. There were six vessel exams and fourteen marine dealer visit entered into Auxdata. For the month there were sixty-one entries from Member Activity 7029 forms, involving many more than last month. Most of those hours were from previous months because all hours had to be turned in for the yearend report.

STATISTIC OF THE MONTH:  As of December 31, Flotilla 96 has contributed 14784 total volunteer hours for the year of 2010, for recreational boating safety as reported on the 7029 form.  This does not include mission hours reported elsewhere, such as patrols, radio, VEs, public education programs, marine dealer visits, etc.

Ed Walters, FSO-HR

I am currently working with two new applicants.

John Garafola is a senior at FGCU majoring in Environmental Studies. His application is complete and will be submitted to Division for processing in the next few days. Drew Lethert is employed by a local marine dealer. I will meet again with Drew on January 6 to finalize his application.   It will also be submitted by next week.

I hope to have both attend our January meeting as guests and I will follow up to confirm.

Mentors will be needed for these new members.

Michael DiPierro, FSO-PV

December was a quiet month leading into the Christmas holiday. We conducted Visibility events over three Saturdays before Christmas at Bass Pro Shops, Ace Hardware and West Marine. Participation was good, we made many contacts. Thanks to the volunteers who stood station at these locations: Ned Herrmann, Bill Willsey, George Stancil, Kent Kolegue, Dave Shuster, Mike Murphy, John Tyson, Susan Roseberry, Bernie Appelman, Heidi Laquadra, Jerry Lipps, John Gaston and Ginny Russell. Great job to all!

We have made arrangements to begin monthly VSC’s at Bass Pro Shops in conjunction with their canoe and kayak seminars. In addition, we will be conducting educational sessions there every month.

We made 142 visits through mid-December and added six new partners.

Randi Aldrich, FSO-MS

I attended our division meeting on 11 December 2010. MST2 Anthony Booth (from Station Ft Myers) attended our meeting to talk about the increased push toward Marine Safety. He said their main target is pollution. The station is working toward offering HAZWOPER training for those who would like to take it locally – more to follow later. David Crockwell said, “This was the first time that a gold-side member personally addressed an SO table.”  It was an honor to see David Crockwell, our Division SO for Marine Safety, re-elected (second year) and sworn in as Vice Division Commander.

Please remember: if you are interested in becoming involved in the fast-growing area of Marine Safety, feel free to contact me via email at randi@randialdrich.com.

Al Lazzaro, FSO-OP

We had four safety patrols in December and six patrols are scheduled for January.

Coxswains and boat owners are advised to be extremely careful of the shoaling in Wiggins Pass.  The lowest point seems to be around the area of green number one.  Please plan your patrols accordingly.  Also, at this time of the year when the wind is out of the north, the water inside the canals and bays can be extremely shallow.  We have hundreds of crab traps in our AOR.  Each one is attached to a float, forty feet of line, and a pound of lead, so please try to avoid the areas with high concentrations of crab traps.

All members are invited to come to the meeting a few minutes early and sign up for patrols before the meeting starts. Also, members are able to sign up for patrols by emailing flotilla96@yahoo.com with the dates they wish to go.

Jim Mayer, FSO-MT

Boat Crew Training Program

The boat crew training program, scheduled to begin in late January, has been postponed until later in the year. The change is in response to 1) other training priorities, in particular coxswain training, public visitation and instructor training, and 2) the number of members interested in the class ---three. 

Coxswain Training Program

The classroom segment of Coxswain training is underway and continues until late January, when participants take an oral examination to qualify for on-water training. The training workshop for on-water instructors takes place in January. 

Neil Arnal, FSO-VE

The year 2010 was an outstanding year for Vessel Safety Checks for Flotilla 96.  Our Vessel Examiners were busy getting out and meeting the boating public at the local marinas and public launching ramps.  Total Vessel Safety Checks count was 516 for the year.  A big "thank you" to the Vessel Examiners who participated in making 2010 a successful year.  I would like to acknowledge our top five Vessel Examiners who put forth the extra effort to accomplish our goals for the VSC program for Flotilla 96.  A thank you to Mel Milstein, Bernie Appelman, John Tyson, George Stancil and Vincent Lattuca.  It was a great year to tell the boating public about the federal and state requirements and discuss any noted deficiencies.  It also proved to be a good time to promote our public education classes and answer questions about the Auxiliary.

Be Safe, Be Smart, Give Your Boat a Free Vessel Safety Check.

Michael Dobrovic, FSO-PA



Mike Dobrovic and Richard Sweere



Tom Rauschenberger, Club President


The USCG Auxiliary Flotilla 96 Wiggins Pass accepted an invitation to speak at the Optimist Club of Naples.  The meeting took place on Thursday 16 December, 2010 at the Wildside Cafe of Naples.  A team of auxiliary members delivered a short presentation about what we do to support the United States Coast Guard in promoting safe recreational boating. We distributed safe boating literature and answered questions about our duties and relationship with the United States Coast Guard, explaining that we are the Coast Guard’s direct link to the recreational boating public on safe boating practices and education. 

The article and photos of our members at the event were published in the Bonita Banner on Saturday 25 December 2010.  The article also was published online in the Naples Daily News with the photos.