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Lake Murray Hosts D/26 Spring Conference
in Downtown Columbia, 16-18 March
It was all green, kilts and bagpipes for the District 26 Spring
Conference welcome dinner in Columbia on 16 March 2018. And what a time we had!
It was a great celebration of St. Patrick's Day for members of Lake Murray Power
Squadron who hosted the D/26 Spring Conference 16-18 March 2018.
The Columbia Marriott provided a wonderful venue for our event,
which opened with registration at noon on Friday. By 1300, members had setup a
spectacular silent auction, which attracted much attention as it was located in
our hospitality room! Prize winners went away with such gems as a week-long stay
at a five-bedroom beach house, a day's free rental on a Lake Murray pontoon
boat, a signed basketball by University of South Carolina Head Women's
Basketball Coach Dawn Staley, snorkeling and scuba gear, and an assortment of
other nautical gifts.
Friday afternoon was filled with a variety of meetings and
workshops. The Administrative Officers' meeting featured Lake Murray's own P/R/C
David Allen discussing the proper usage of the new banding logo. Sessions also
were held for instructor recertification, vessel safety examiners, and coop
charting. Sgt. Steven Simpson of the S.C. Department of Natural Resources
updated us on state legislation and general boating safety statistics.
But the highlight of the day - and perhaps the entire weekend -
was the welcoming dinner. Kudos for the successful evening go to P/Cs Janice
Ayers and Elaine Price who orchestrated the event. Many enjoyed dressing for the
theme dinner, and took full advantage of the photo booth to memorialize the
occasion. However, the hit of the evening without a doubt was Mike Urquhart's
bagpipe performance. Offering a touch of levity to the musical performance was
Lake Murray Cdr RJ Becht, who donned an authentic Irish kilt and greeted D/26
members by throwing beads a la Mardis Gras.
Saturday featured more workshops, ranging from membership and
squadron revitalization to an overview of operations training. The day wrapped
up when the D/26 Conference convened Saturday afternoon. Lake Murray was
recognized with the Distinguished Communicator Award for both its website and
newsletter. Lake Murray also received the D/26 Boating Activities Award for
squadrons with 200 or more members - congratulations to all who left the dock to
go boating with us!
Click on the first thumbnail below to open a slide show of our
fun-filled weekend with boating colleagues from around the state.
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