As reported in a prior posting, the board established a study group to investigate our order processing system. V/C Hinders, V/C Sweet, V/C Alter, P/V/C
The order backlog has stabilized, but we will be facing another “spike” as we approach the Fall Governing Board.
We are definitely making progress and plan to continue doing so.Dave Hinders
National Secretary
The REACH2O program is not a USPS program but it may be of interest to those squadrons which have regular youth programs or are aware of such programs in their area.
REACH2O, is one of the most ambitious projects ever undertaken to harness the power of the youth community and it will need your help and participation. If you manufacture or sell products, conduct programs or provide services, educational training, need to deliver a message to the youth community, or operate a local youth program, then REACH2O is a project you need to embrace. You are a prime stakeholder in the outcome of the REACH2O project.
The National Youth Marine Alliance will dedicate the next 18-24 months in an intensive research project to collect, categorize and prepare for public access a comprehensive database of all youth water based programs in this country. All of the programs identified will be invited to receive a designation as a Goblue4kids network program. This effectively creates a communication vehicle to an estimated 7-10,000 youth programs at the local level.
REACH2O has been designed to offer a high return on investment through the employment of methods that will utilize the resources of the Allied Organizations, partners and related organizations. This essential infrastructure project would be cost prohibitive for any of the single participating organizations to undertake. It is labor intensive, requires an extensive network of partners which represent programs across a broad spectrum of water based activities and an investment of human resources that few individual organizations are prepared to commit. The NYMA is in a unique position to bring this project to a successful conclusion. REACH2O will significantly improve the interactions of national organizations with grass roots programs; will create a peer to peer network, and an access directory for the general public.
The process of data collection will be conducted in two phases. The first phase will call upon all Allied Organizations, Partners and interested parties to put forth any and all data which they have regarding the location, contact information, nature of program, and web addresses as applicable with respect to appropriate grass roots entities. Many organizations have this information readily available, however it is specific to their own area of influence and interest (i.e. BASS has a listing of youth fishing programs, US Sailing has a listing of community boating programs, American Canoe Assn has a listing of local youth paddle clubs, United States Power Squadrons have a list of all of their squadrons where youth can get education about boating, and so on). Once the initial phase of data collection is completed the programs will be entered in to a central database for sorting by geographic location.
The second phase of data collection is very labor intensive and may require personal contact with each entity to verify data, obtain narrative text, and properly classify the scope of services for youth. Once this data is successfully compiled it will be entered into a national relational database which may be accessed by the general public through an NYMA maintained web site. One very important point to note with the REACH2O project is the belief that water based programs should not be considered mutually exclusive in terms of motivating our youth to get involved with the various water based activities as a lifestyle. REACH2O is comprehensive in nature and seeks to identify all of the access routes whereby youth can be led to the water, such as fishing, water conservation programs, swimming, diving, water sports and community boating programs.
REACH2O Project Outcomes:
It is conservatively estimated that 7-10,000 water based programs with youth directed components exist across the nation. The direct result of REACH2O will be the successful identification, classification and establishment of each such program in the national database. The short and long term benefits of such a data resource will benefit a broad constituency. The following describes some benefit statements for various constituent groups:
The General Public: An on-line searchable database will aid parents, adult guardians and youth by providing accurate information on access points to water based recreation and education programs.
National Water Based Program & Service Providers: The NYMA, as an umbrella organization, will provide the necessary infrastructure to increase the capacity of member organizations, endorsing associations, and project partners. The successful completion of the REACH2O infrastructure project will offer these stakeholders a new resource to effectively reach the youth population and those that serve youth at the grass roots level.
Peer to Peer Relationship Building With Grass Roots Programs: The extraordinary value of identifying, classifying and maintaining accurate contact data for youth water based programs will be further realized through peer to peer networking. Current communications between program providers is ad hoc and benefits are limited. REACH2O effectively creates a network to increase the capacity of organizations by providing a shared platform for knowledge. This aspect of the REACH2O project will utilize state of the art web technology to create a functional social networking platform for the accessing of an on-line library of best practices, resources and a forum for direct dialogue between grass roots program providers as well as national organizations and agencies.
Marine Industry and Accessory Manufacturing Sector:
The development and implementation of the REACH2O project provides an extensive network for the marine industry and accessory manufacturing sector. Access to the youth market can have many benefits for the industry in terms of accurate and real-time research and development opportunities. Along with the Grow Boating national campaign to promote boating to the general public as a fun family lifestyle choice, manufacturers will increase their capacity to grow awareness through the REACH2O network. Understanding trends in the youth market as to “What’s Hot and What’s Not” can make all of the difference in appealing to this segment. Industry surveys, product testing , and consumer awareness will prove to be useful tools in the development of products and services to build upon the theme that boating is a fun family lifestyle choice.
Boating Safety Community:
How, where and when we introduce our nation’s youth to safety issues in and around boats and the water can have a lifetime of consequences. Cultivating good habits and safe practices will save lives in both the short and long terms.
1. Begin a dialogue within your organization and discuss how you may contribute source information on grass roots youth programs. The first project of the task force is to determine the best possible data collection methods.
2. Offer the names of other organizations that you feel could contribute data and would benefit from the overall implementation of REACH2O.
3. Share this information with any party you feel may have an interest.
4. If you have information on where kids can get connected then we need it. You may enter individual site or program information by visiting this page of our web site. http://www.goblue4kids.org/program_directorsForm.html If you have multiple sites we ask that you contact us directly so we can arrange a file import. (401) 935-6248
