Boat safety, free ice cream equals happy holiday
Ice cream and the July 4th holiday go hand-in-hand. That is especially true in Arkansas, where over the past six years through a partnership with Sonic the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission has given out about 60,000 certificates for ice cream cones. Sounds like a sweet deal, right? “We thought so,” said Stephanie Weatherington, boating law administrator for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. “We tried to come up with something to promote wearing a lifejacket, not only for kids, but everybody.”
So, it was a busy July 4th holiday for AGFC officers who were spread out across the station distributing certificates for ice cream cones to youth found wearing their lifejacket or do other things to demonstrate safe boating.
For Weatherington, who has been in her current position for 15 years, these “special” tickets entitled youth who receive them a small ice cream cone from their local Sonic restaurant. It was love at first lick, you might say. “We have done cookies in the past (from other fast-food restaurants), but Sonic got wind of what we were doing and one of its district representatives contacted me and told me they’d like to partner with us. He asked me, ‘What can we do, and how many (certificates) do you need.’ I asked him if they could do 10,000. He said, ‘no problem” and we were off and running.”
That was six years ago and the program’s popularity continues to grow.
“Now, most of the boaters in Arkansas are aware of the program,” Weatherington said. “They know about it. They actually flag us down. They want our officers to come check them. The kids want their citation. We’ve been known to give the parents a (ice cream) citation, too, if they are wearing their lifejacket.”
AGFC officers gave out countless ice cream certificates since the extended 4th of July holiday began on June 30. Maybe the lure of an ice cream cone played a part in Arkansas having a fatality-free holiday.
“The 4th was great, no major accidents,” Weatherington said.
Through the 4th of July holiday Arkansas had reported 22 boating accidents with three fatalities. In Tennessee, there have been 12 fatalities, including two on July 4; almost twice the number from this time in 2017 (seven). Injury numbers in Tennessee are down from 27 to 20. No figures were available for Mississippi.
“The 4th of July holiday is typically the most dangerous weekend on the water for us because there are so many people out,” Weatherington said. “We can’t stress enough – be safe, have a good time, but watch for boats around you and don’t drink alcohol while on the water.”
Betsy Woods, a long-time friend of Weatherington who serves as Tennessee’s boating coordinator, said Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency law enforcement officers “also give out free small cones from McDonalds to children under 13 on boats ‘caught’ wearing their lifejackets.” However, Woods said, McDonalds hired new marketing firms within the last year. Thus, free cones were only available this year in Middle Tennessee, she said. She hopes to expand the program in 2019.
According to the U.S. Coast Guard, there were almost 12 million registered boating vessels in the U.S. in 2016. The number of registered vessels grew steadily from 8.58 million in 1980, reaching peaks of 12.88 million in 2001 and 12.94 million in 2005, before gradually starting to decline.
In 2016, the Coast Guard counted 4,463 accidents that involved 701 deaths, 2,903 injuries and approximately $49 million of damage to property as a result of recreational boating accidents. The most fatalities ever reported in one year since 1997 was 758 in 2011.
“None of the victims we have had this year were wearing lifejackets,” Weatherington said. “Sadly, it is the same story every year. I grit my teeth and want to get through it (4th of July holiday). We want people to go out and have a great time, but we want them to have a great time year-after-year, making great memories . . . and not bad memories.”
It is important, Weatherington said, that everyone wears a lifejacket. Even people who think they can swim well can fall victim to drowning if they are tossed overboard far from shore or fall into the water unconscious.
“Some don’t believe they need one (lifejacket) because they can swim,” said Weatherington, who has been with the AGFC for 23 years. “Others may wear one that has dry rot or is not the right size. The important thing about riding in a boat is to wear a lifejacket.”
Got an item or note? E-mail Larry Rea at lroutdoors@att.net or go to his web site at lroutdoors.com; listen to Larry Rea on Outdoors with Larry Rea on Saturday mornings from 6-7:30 on ESPN 790-AM and 1520-AM and 95.3 in Brownsville, Tenn., and 6:30-8 on News/Talk 101.5 in Jackson, Tenn.