Restaurant Chain Teams up with Coast Guard Auxiliary on Promoting the Wear of Life Jackets



June 13, 2005 -- Coast Guard Auxiliarists in three states are teaming with a regional restaurant chain to save lives of boaters this summer. Members of the Auxiliary in parts of Illinois, Iowa and Missouri are passing out Coast Guard Auxiliary Panda Awards and coupons for Hardees menu items to children wearing their life jackets. The coupons are redeemable at any Hardees nationwide.

Auxiliarists will be passing out the items on safety patrols across rivers, lakes, and steams in central and southern Illinois, eastern Iowa, and eastern Missouri, according to Christopher Ware, Commander of Flotilla 88 in the Auxiliary's 8th Western Rivers Region.

"Many boating deaths and injuries across the nation can be prevented if all the victims had been wearing life jackets," says Ware.

Coast Guard statistics reveal that there were 703 recreational boating fatalities on the water in 2003. Of those fatalities, 86 percent were not wearing life jackets. Overall, fatal accident data show more than 400 lives could be saved annually if all boaters wear their life jackets.

"These fatalities serve as a tragic reminder of the life-saving value of personal flotation devices (PFD)," says Ware.

Hardees has more than 2,000 outlets, mainly in the South and Midwest.

The United States Coast Guard Auxiliary is composed of uniformed, non-military volunteer's who assist the Coast Guard in all of its varied missions, except for military and direct law enforcement. These men and women can be found on the nation's waterways, in the air, in classrooms and on the dock, performing Maritime Domain Awareness patrols, safety patrols, vessel safety checks and public education.

The United States Coast Guard Auxiliary was founded in 1939 by an Act of Congress as the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve and re-designated as the Auxiliary in 1941. Its 30,000 members donate millions of hours annually in support of Coast Guard missions.

The release is available at: http://www.auxpa.org/releases/rbs/061305.html

Contact: Aux. Wayne Spivak
Division Chief - External Communications
Public Affairs Department
United States Coast Guard Auxiliary
http://www.auxpa.org
516-353-9155
e-mail protected from spam bots





Restaurant Chain Teams up with Coast Guard Auxiliary on Promoting the Wear of Life Jackets