14933_DBW-50thAnniversaryBook-PROOF

and PWC classes have been recognized nationally as models for other state training programs, and all of the law enforcement classes offered by the department are approved by Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST). Looking back on her time with Cal Boating, which she genuinely loved, Dolores is pleased that she had the chance to work with and train outstanding people who now carry on the programs she helped establish. She also takes pride in leaving a legacy and witnessing positive cultural change within the department. “I tried to be a supportive manager and give people the opportunity to be creative,” says Dolores. “I never said, ‘That’s not my job,’ and I was always striving for excellence.” Nevertheless, her position was demanding – constituents expected to see her out in public at events, school programs and association meetings – and required a considerable amount of travel. Dolores employs a water analogy to describe the secret of always maintaining her professionalism despite any problems going on behind the scenes. “When you see a duck on the water, it appears to be gliding smoothly on the surface as it swims along,” Dolores points out. “But underneath, its little legs are working overtime!” Dolores retired in December 2006 and immediately faced knee surgery in early 2007, but in her resilient style, she is recovering nicely. In fact, she recently enrolled in a course to train for a run/walk marathon in the fall. She “absolutely” loves boating with friends, and she still believes that the Cal Boating ethic is to provide the very best service to California boaters. “That has been our mission for 50 years,” notes Dolores, “and for 50 years, we’ve succeeded.”

(continued from page 24) Cal Boating’s highly acclaimed, free AquaSMART LIVE Puppet Show performs for K-6 classes throughout the state to augment the boating safety curriculum, including the need to wear life jackets. This free companion program to the AquaSMART series for elementary schools, which Dolores helped develop, became an immediate success when it was introduced in 2002 and now serves some 80 schools each year. The traveling puppet show is hosted by Splasher the Frog, the AquaSMART series mascot. The AquaSMART LIVE puppet show received the 2003 National Safe Boating Council’s Western Region Boating Education Advancement Award.

1992

1993

U S Fish andWildlife Service’s Clean Vessel Act program goes into effect, allowing for construction of new vessel sewage pumpout stations through Cal Boating grants, plus regional and statewide educational programs

More than 100 Cal Boating-funded

Cal Boating works with state Assemblymember Jackie Spier to require children under age 7 to wear a life jacket while on board vessels 26 feet or less while the boat is underway

pumpout facilities now exist statewide; the vast majority are free to the boating public “Pump your poop”

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50 Years: The Department of Boating and Waterways, 1957 to 2007