Why should you Join?
Why should I Join?
Come for the Boating Education...
Stay for the FriendsSM
Why should you join the Berea Power Squadron? Very good question! The best answer is: "because we have so much fun!" Every member of the Berea Squadron gets a unique experience from their membership. The United States Power Squadron has three primary objectives:
friendship and camaraderie
community service
continuing education
Some of our members join to concentrate on one specific objective, and some of our members try to do it all! Your individual experience is based on how you wish to participate. Once you get involved you can pick and choose the activities that interest you. There are no minimum hours that you are required to work when you join. There is no requirement that you participate in our activities. Some of our members have joined simply to support our organization with their dues. Your level of participation is entirely up to you!
The vast majority of our members find participation in our activities extremely rewarding and have made friendships that will last a lifetime. This is the best reason to join United States Power Squadrons!
Friendship and Camaraderie
The Berea Power Squadron is a year round social organization. Members participate in our numerous social activities including our Cruises and Picnics. We try to have a cruise at least once a month. In the summer the destinations are usually on Lake Erie, to locations that allow us to bring our boats. In the winter the activities include holiday parties, pot-luck dinners, bowling, and many other choices. In addition to the cruises and picnics, we get together once a month, from September through June for regular business meetings at the Berea Elks Hall. After the meeting we adjourn to the basement of the Elks hall where there is a bar. In this bar, we socialize and discuss the future of the squadron.
Community Service
The United States Power Squadrons is an active safety advocate within the recreational boating community. We host many education opportunities. Some of these classes teach basic boating skills such as boat handling, the basic required safety equipment, recommended safety equipment, and knot tying. Some of the classes are more advanced and teach topics such as navigation, reading charts, and GPS skills. We have a Vessel Safety Inspection program where one of our members is invited to board a vessel and check all of the safety equipment aboard that vessel. Upon successful completion of the Safety Check the vessel may display a decal and the boat owner can feel confident the proper safety equipment is available in case of an emergency.
Continuing Education
The Power Squadron prides itself on it's continuing education program made available to our members. We teach a multitude of courses on subjects such as navigation using radar and GPS, navigation using a sextant and the stars, engine maintenance, weather, marine electronics, and many many more! We feel that an educated boater is a safe boater. Our members find our classes informative and most importantly, they also find the classes practical when out on the water.
Additional Benefits
The Berea Power Squadron has many additional benefits available to our members. We have a monthly newsletter called the Mooring Post that is full of information about the Berea Power Squadron. Once you become a member, there is likely a discount available on your boat insurance. We also partner with an insurance company that specializes in insuring boats. They are very competitive with their rates, and give a discount when you pass many of our classes. Members can get discounts on dues in other organizations such as Boat U.S. and SeaTow. Our Members get discounts at various retail stores such as West Marine, Weems & Plath, and Dell Computers. For a full list of benefits, visit the USPS National website member benefits page. Some marina's give discounts for docking and fuel purchases. There are many other benefits!!
Participation
As you can see there are a multitude of programs and activities in which you can participate and appreciate. There are no minimum hours of service that you must contribute to maintain your membership. Some maintain their membership just to support our organization and our mission. Some members only join Berea Power Squadron to take advantage of the insurance discount. You are welcome to pick and choose the activities that suit your own schedule and desires. Many of our members take advantage of select parts of the organization and many of our members try to do it all! We have members that only come to social events, some that like to teach, some that enjoy doing vessel safety inspections.
What part or our organization intrests you?