Mar 28, 2022

The National Safe Boating Council (NSBC) has announced the International Boating and Water Safety Summit (IBWSS) Communication Award recipients recognizing Freedom Boat Club for its Boat Safe. Have Fun. Initiative as the Community Impact award winner. The awards represent an annual celebration of the creative ways boating and water safety advocates are communicating with the public about safety on and in the water.

“We are honored to be recognized for our commitment to safety and applaud the National Safe Boating Council for raising awareness of boating and water safety among our community through this initiative,” said Cecil Cohn, Freedom Boat Club Network president.  “This award represents our longstanding commitment of creating robust, hands-on training programs and making safety a top priority among our passionate community of 70,000+ members.”

Freedom’s Boat Safe. Have Fun. initiative was established in 2004 and has grown year-over-year in enhancements and exposure. As part of the initiative, each member of Freedom Boat Club is required to complete a four hour on-water new member orientation taught by a National Safe Boating Council certified instructor. The course is focused on boating safety with hands-on experience and each member has unlimited access to on-water training with a certified captain at Freedom’s 330+ locations as part of their membership. Today, more than 70,000 members and an estimated 200,000 guests of members have been exposed to Freedom’s best-in-class safety protocols.

“We were impressed with the number of leaders in the boating community doing extensive outreach all over the country. This year brought particularly strong and creative awareness initiatives that made a significant impact,” said Peg Phillips, executive director of the NSBC.

The annual IBWSS Communication Awards were presented at the 2022 International Boating and Water Safety Summit in Washington D.C. To view the full list of award winners, click here.