The Sea Tow Foundation is showcasing the winners of the 2023 National Boating Safety Awards via individualized blog posts that answer specific questions posted to each winning company.

Boat Safe Chicago won the 2023 National Boating Safety Award in two categories: Top Community Boating Education Program and Top Social Media Influencer.

1. What inspired your company to promote boating safety? Was this the first time doing so or has there been previous boating safety promotions?

    

   Boat Safe Chicago prioritizes guest safety as charter captains, so it seemed obvious that we would start to teach responsible boating to the community. We know that anyone can go online and get a boater safety card, but we felt a call to teach on-water boating safety including close-quarters maneuvering, emergency procedures, and other responsible boating practices.

    

2. What does winning this award mean for your company?
   
   

   The award was significant because it validated our team’s efforts, and the national recognition brought meaningful benefits. We used the awards as a stepping stone to grow our safety training businesses, Boat Safe Chicago and launched our new company, Boat Safe Great Lakes.
   
   

3. What was a key takeaway you received as a result of working on this project or campaign?

    

   On-water training works! We started training all new and returning Carefree Boat Club members in Chicago and Wisconsin in April of 2023, and we recently found out that they went from several claims a year to having ZERO claims in 2023.  The results were so impressive that several Carefree Boat Clubs in Michigan have started using our training for their members.
   
   

4. Is your company working on any future boating safety projects or campaigns? If so, is there anything you can share about what you’re planning to do?
   
   

The public needs on-water training! No one wakes up and says, “I am going to really destroy my boat today.” We need to continue working together to make our waterways safer for everyone!