Gales Ferry couple receives Boating Educator of the Year award

On Oct. 1, the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators awarded Tom and Betty Scott of Gales Ferry with the NASBLA Boating Educator of the Year Award.

The award was presented in Anchorage, Alaska, at the 60th annual NASBLA conference. According to a banquet brochure, this award is sponsored by Fresh Air Educators and Kalkomey Enterprises Inc. The Boating Educator of the Year Award was launched by NASBLA in 2011 to recognize those who go above and beyond to engage students and boaters, raise awareness and make boating education initiatives relevant, thorough and exciting.

Tom and Betty Scott co-teach the state Safe Boating Class for Ledyard Parks and Recreation, generally in the fall and spring. The fall class starts the first week of November and is a four-night class at Ledyard Middle School. The CT Safe Boating Class focuses on boating safety and Connecticut boating regulations.

Those who successfully complete the class receive a diploma, which can be submitted to the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, along with the license fee, to obtain a state license. This license is valid for a lifetime.

According to their NASBLA biography, they have provided over 300 hours of knowledgeable safe boating instruction to Connecticut boaters as well as countless volunteer hours at volunteer events.

According to Betty, “Tom started the class 17 years ago in 2002 because the Boy Scouts needed to get their licensing for their boating merit badge and at the time it cost a lot of money and Tom felt a Boy Scout should not have to pay so much money for a merit badge.”

Betty was a Red Cross instructor and certified in first aid and CPR, while Tom was a boating expert. Together, they worked to become certified.

“They want either licensed teachers or trained instructors with boating knowledge,” Tom said. “Then you go through a program down at CT DEEP in Old Lyme and they teach you the program.”

Tom said a large percentage of boating accidents are alcohol related and a large percentage of boating deaths are from not wearing life jackets. “The two takeaways from the class are: 1) Don’t drink, and 2) wear a life jacket,” he said.

Montville resident represents at Radiocommunication Assembly in Egypt

A Montville business owner has been selected to attend the 2019 Radiocommunication Assembly and World Radiocommunication Conference in Egypt. The event runs through Nov. 22.

Joe Ciaudelli, president and founder of Rayvel, will serve as a member of the U.S. State Department delegation at the assembly and will represent the North American Broadcast Association at the conference. The events are hosted every four years to review new communication technologies and negotiate use of the radio frequencies that make them work, paving the way for interference-free wireless communication for broadcasting, global aviation, public safety and more.

"It doesn't matter if you access news, entertainment, or a live event via TV, computer, tablet, or a phone, if it has audio then inevitably wireless microphones were used to create that content or make the event possible," Ciaudelli said in a release, citing the 1,500 wireless microphones used in the Super Bowl as an example.

He attended the assembly and conference in Switzerland in 2015, and in 2017, the FCC adopted a proposal he made to maximize the number of channels that can operate in a given radio frequency. Most recently he is supporting a push to harmonize frequency bands locally and globally, allowing production crews to use their equipment anywhere without harmful interference.

Waterford writer publishes newest novel

Waterford resident and local author Jeff Turner has not let his retirement interfere with his professional writing ambitions. The former professor at Mitchell College recently published his fourth novel since retirement, "The Choices He Made, a tale of suspense and mystery."

Once known for his academic titles, Turner is also the author of "The Way Back," named as a finalist in the 2014 Readers' Favorite Best Fiction Category, and "The Lost Boys of the River Camp," selected as a featured title in the 2018 Connecticut Authors' Trail.

He is currently working on a new novel, a sequel to "The Lost Boys of the River Camp."

Jeff is a lifelong resident of Waterford, born and raised in the Quaker Hill section. He is married with three grown children, all of whom are educators in the public and private sector.

"The Choices He Made" is available at many bookstores or online at the Apple iTunes store, Amazon, Google Play or Barnes and Noble.

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