I purchased a new 21' Party Barge this year and was surfing the web looking for ANY information regarding pontoon boats, boating supplies, etc. I happened upon an ad (or article) about BOASTY in (I think) Pontoon and DeckBoat magazine. They had electronic versions of some of their back issues online. I surfed to the BOASTY web site and started reading about it. I liked what I read. I liked it alot! I waited until I knew I had a slip for the season and then signed up. I checked back every day to see if anyone had signed up for a ride....nobody....I went back and read the entire site again to see if I had done somethng wrong. Nope, everything was alright but nobody was signing up.Well that started me thinking,.....I remembered BOASTY was a pretty new endeavour, maybe the word just wasn't getting out all the way down to MY local area.
I drive past a VFW hall every day on my way to and from work. I buy my POW-MIA flag from them because quite frankly, it's the best price around. Mine was tattered from the winter weather so I stopped by to pick up a new one. As I was leaving, all of a sudden, BOASTY popped up in my head. I turned around and asked the gal that had just sold me the flag if I could leave a message for the post commander. She gave me a couple of phone numbers. I called one as soon as I got home and spoke to the Vice-Commander. I asked him if he had heard about BOASTY, he said "no". I knew from reading on the BOASTY site that there had been advertising in publications that the post should have received.
I knew that if I wanted to actually get some vets out on my boat I was going to have to be proactive in the effort. While I had the Vice-Commander on the phone, I briefly explained what BOASTY was all about. He thought it sounded like a real nice thing to do for vets. I asked him if there was any way that I could come and explain to him how to sign up. He replied that there was a post meeting THAT NIGHT and I was more than welcome to make a small presentation at the end of the meeting.
I printed out some pages from the BOASTY web site and made the presentation. All in attendance were pleased to hear about such a program. One of the vets in attendance jumped at the chance.
His story is available on this web site here -> http://www.boasty.org/index.cfm?hot=cp&cpid=1196 note: Our boating trip with Lee was the DAY AFTER he was run off the road. See video in link above.
What was the point of all of this?
Ok, you signed up as a HOST. There is a reason that you signed up. I'm guesing that your reasons and my reasons are pretty much the same. But it's a real bummer if you throw a party and nobody RSVP's. If you have signed up for a date and nobody has signed up as a guest, do yourself a favor and make a few phone calls. Call the local VFW, AMVETS, DAV or Public Affairs office of a local Military Base. Get the word out in your local area. It'll cost you a few phone calls and maybe a few hours of time, maybe.
If you read about Lee, (in the link above) read the newspaper article, and watched the Video, (from the links on that page) you will see why I am so glad that I turned around that afternoon and asked that gal one simple question. I could have just continued walking out instead and I would have never met Lee. Someone I will NEVER forget.
Pick up the phone, you will be glad you did.
Dave (just a host like you) from N.E. Ohio
p.s. Lee has now become a voice supporting BOASTY within the organizations he belongs to. With his help, I am sure I will get to meet many more unforgettable people. I am looking forward to new friendships.
p.s.s. One thing I thought I might mention. Branden, the guy who started this whole thing tries to call vfw posts, army bases health and welfare offices, military personel, recruiting offices, national guard & reserve posts, among anyone else he can find to get the word out to people who want to participate and has done so successfully for a few other boaters, but he still needs our help! He does so much but like I said, on a local level we can do so much more to extend the reach of his message and make it our own! The other thing is he want's us to take ownership of BOASTY in our own areas! There are others just like me across the country who are also taking it to the streets and giving BOASTY a face to face presentation which one man alone just cannot do. So will you help? Just think what another person can do!
