DBW-50thAnnBook-PROOF

BR E A K I NG B A R R I E R S

Marty Mercado is a very strong, determined individual. As the first woman director of Cal Boating, she took on a job that had only been held by men for nearly 20 years and rose to the top of the boating management field – an arena long thought to be a man’s world. Marty had worked in state service since she was a teenager, getting hired right out of high school at the Department of Motor Vehicles and later gaining valuable experience at the Departments of Highways and Social Welfare. In 1974, she was serving as executive secretary to the Secretary of the California Resources Agency when Governor Jerry Brown opened the doors of state government management positions to women and minorities and appointed her to the lead Cal Boating post. “My new job was certainly a challenge,” recalls Marty, “because I was a Latina woman, and many of the people involved with the department and with boating were retired Navy and Coast Guard personnel – all men – who were quite skeptical of having a woman in charge.” Marty came on board at Cal Boating in November 1974, first serving as acting director in order to learn the ropes and build up her self- confidence, and then becoming director in early 1975. She and some of the other minority Brown appointees formed a support group to help each other transition into their new positions at some of the top levels

Marty Mercado Director, 1975–1982

...1993

The national States Organization for Boating Access (SOBA) presents first William H. Ivers Award to Bill Satow, former Cal Boating assistant director, one of key SOBA organizers.

Cal Boating conducts highly successful pilot program in Sacramento County to loan life jackets to the public. Later, Cal Boating partners with local fire stations to continue the program.

Annual Boating Safety Poster Contest begins. Open to all California students grades K-8, the contest combines art and water safety education. Nine winning posters, one for each grade level, are chosen for Cal Boating’s official calendar. Students depict aquatic safety themes, promoting the idea of safety around the water.

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