Who we are:

Flotilla 88 originally derived its name from a small central Illinois town, famous for a large and very productive Amish community.  Our meetings are held at 1900 hours on the fourth Wednesday of every month, and their location rotates among  the North Fire Station in Arthur,  the Lutheran Church in Sullivan and in Charleston, Illinois, at the Coles County Airport..

There are currently nineteen members, including a past Commodore, an AUXOP member, six coxswains and ten crew members. Our members are from Arthur, Atwood, Charleston, Decatur, Mattoon, Neoga, Sullivan and Woodstock.  Flotilla 88 has four qualified instructors who share the teaching of the boating skills and seamanship classes, and five vessel examiners. In addition, there are seven trained facilitators of the Team Coordination Training.

Our Flotilla Commander is Tim Waddell and our Vice-Flotilla Commander is Gloria "Suzy" Waddell.  For a complete list of the elected and appointed officers that have been sworn in for duty in 2003, and pictures of our Change of Watch double click in this blue area..

What we do:

Many of the activities conducted by Flotilla 88 take place on Lake Shelbyville, a sizable lake reservoir with over 220 miles of shoreline operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.  Lake Shelbyville is fed by five rivers, and attracts a numerous recreational boating public.  All four cornerstones of the USCG Auxiliary--Public Education, Courtesy Marine Examinations, Search and Rescue Patrols and Fellowship have been successfully achieved in the general area.

	Public Affairs is another significant thrust of the Arthur Flotilla, which has been blessed with good, dedicated FSO-PA.  Rita Barron was always instrumental in securing good-sized Public Education classes, and our current officer, Suzy Waddell is aggressively promoting the Auxiliary, arranging appearances in local parades and other gatherings, where we are able to distribute pertinent materials regarding boating safety.
	Christmas 1998 saw one of our patrol boats decorated for the holiday. The children, as well as the adults, enjoyed our version of Santa Claus, who would shout safe boating slogans as he rode in the parade.
The Blessing of the Fleet             Lake Shelbyville    Father John Sohm, Celebrant
Our activities have been featured in area journals and newspapers, as well as other media, like radio and television.  It is gratifying to hear spectators at the various events express their surprise at seeing United States Coast Guard representation at parades such as Eastern Illinois University's Homecoming, where our "operational facility" was within sight of Governor Jim Edgar, the President of the University, and many other dignitaries.  The enthusiastic crowd took all the publications we had ordered for this purpose, and we were all out of coloring books and Federal Requirements booklets before we had reached the half-way mark of the parade route.
	Judging by the amount of candy that lies unclaimed along the parade route, it is safe to assume that kids and grownups alike prefer to receive the educational materials that we cheerfully hand out.  You don't see many of our coloring books or pamphlets going to waste.  Parades are a wonderful opportunity to show the people that the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary is active in the area.
	Of all the many activities the Arthur Flotilla does, the one that brings the most satisfaction to all involved, facility owners, crew and coxswains, is perhaps the Search and Rescue Patrol.  This entails giving up some weekends and spending them, sometimes in the heat of the day, in full uniform, at the beck and call of boaters who may have run out of gas, whose vessel became disabled or who, for whatever reason, are in need of assistance.  Our FSO-OP, Tim Waddell coordinates the crew and operational facilities and procures U.S. government orders. Our vessels are made aware of emergencies in a variety of ways: every now and then, another boater will relay a search and rescue opportunity; other times, the marine radio relays a request for help. Most of the time, however, our mission is accomplished by maintaining a watchful eye as we comb the waters of our patrol zones looking for possible boaters in distress.
There is no better reward than the gratitude expressed by families after they have been towed to a place of safety.  The moment one frees the tow line and heads once again for open water, looking for the next challenge, one realizes why the Coast Guard Auxiliary is so well received by the boating public. Flotilla 88 regularly conducts Search and Rescue patrols during weekends, when recreational boating traffic is greatest, and for the past two years we have had three operational facilities at our disposal.
Another major cornerstone of the Auxiliary in general, and Flotilla 88 in particular, is the Vessel Safety Check Program.  Qualified Auxiliarists provide this service at no charge to the public.  This is a particularly appropriate opportunity to discuss boating safety and the reasons for federal and state requirements.

Twenty minutes are the average time it takes to conduct a safety check of vessel and equipment, and boats that comply with Federal, State and Coast Guard Auxiliary requirements get an attractive decal.

	Undoubtedly, Flotilla 88's most significant contribution to the goals of the United States Coast Guard is the regular offering of Boating Safely and Boating Skills and Seamanship courses.  Besides augmenting the visibility of our organization, our courses enable us to meet prospective members and, more importantly, through our graduates we can disseminate our message to many others.
Another initiative that no other flotilla in our district has  undertaken is the adoption of a two-mile stretch near the lake where we do most of our patrols.  The following pictures are from the first trash pick up.

                               For futher information, e-mail Flotilla 88 to the following: waddell@one-eleven.net