February 28, 2006, Edgewater, MD: The American Boat & Yacht Council (ABYC) announced the recipients of its annual awards during its 2006 Annual Meeting and Reception held recently in Miami, FL. With the assistance of Rear Admiral Craig Bone, Director of Inspection and Compliance for the United States Coast Guard (USCG) and ABYC's Keynote Speaker for the event, these awards were presented to recognize the significant work of individuals and companies in furthering ABYC's core mission of boating safety.

The ABYC Service Award - Mr. Paul Michalczyk
This award is presented each year to an ABYC member who has served the Council over a long period of time, through active participation on committees, Boards or other volunteer venues, in a manner that materially benefits the goals of ABYC. This year's recipient has been an active ABYC member since 1989. He has not only served on multiple project technical committees (PTC's), but is the Chair of the Galvanic Isolator PTC and a member of the Technical Board. Paul is a contributor to and author of numerous articles on boat maintenance and electrical problems, which always includes highlights and comments regarding ABYC and our standards. In addition to all this, he has also generously volunteered on several occasions to represent ABYC as a speaker at various industry events.

C.T. Moyer Leadership Award - Mr. Tom Marhevko, VP of Engineering Standards, NMMA
This award was established to honor an individual that has provided outstanding leadership in support of ABYC, industry and the ABYC mission, and best exemplifies the leadership qualities of ABYC's Past President Skip Moyer. This year's recipient has worked closely with ABYC to bring industry concerns and comments to the ABYC process. He is a member of the ABYC Technical Board, the newly created Marine Industry Technical Education Council (MITEC), as well as several ABYC PTC's and ISO working groups. As a leader within the NMMA organization, he was instrumental in the development of the standards-certification partnership between ABYC and NMMA, which resulted in the "NMMA Certified Using ABYC Standards" label and accompanying agreement. Without Tom's assistance, certain tasks that before seemed impossible have now been accomplished, such as ABYC's industry-wide CO label and USCG accident mitigation meetings at NMMA events.

Lifelong Service Award - Mr. Hank Grilk
This award was created to recognize someone for their service to the marine industry and their profound contributions to boating safety, design and the advancement of recreational boating. Hank has been a member of ABYC for 21 years, is a past member of the Technical Board and has participated on numerous working groups and committees. He is the long standing Chairman of the Gas Detectors PTC and has been instrumental in developing and maintaining the all important standard for Marine Carbon Monoxide Detectors. He has over 30 years of General Corporate Management, Engineering Management and Design Engineering experience. He has been awarded 28 patents and published over 50 technical papers. He holds six Bachelor's degrees, and has personally developed many of the innovative electronics and electro-mechanical products that are in our marketplace today. From instrumentation to communications equipment to navigation systems to senders, sensors and detectors, Hank's business philosophies and profound contributions to the advancement of the marine industry have inevitably helped to produce improved and efficient products that have ultimately increased quality, safety and satisfaction for the recreational boater.

ABYC Foundation Bunzl Boating Safety Award
Also at the Annual Meeting, the ABYC Foundation presented the Bunzl Boating Safety Award to Zodiac of North America and the Zodiac Academy Flood Response Team for their crucial role and heroic actions in the rescue and relief efforts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. With Zodiac's support, this professional and dedicated rescue team answered our nation's call for help during one of it's worst natural disasters and saved countless lives in the Gulf region.

The Zodiac Academy Flood Response Team is the 16th recipient of the Bunzl Boating Safety Award, which is presented by the ABYC Foundation in recognition of singular acts of great personal sacrifice or heroism in the saving of life or vessel at sea, or for extraordinary contributions to the safety of the boating public. The award is named for Richard C. Bunzl in recognition of his contributions to the ABYC Foundation in support of boating safety. Richard's 30 years of volunteer service to the Coast Guard Auxiliary attests to his concern for and dedication to the safety of his fellow mariners.

About ABYC:
ABYC has been developing, writing and updating the safety standards for boat building and repair in the United States for over 50 years. ABYC is actively involved with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) as well as education and certification programs for marine technicians. These standards are available on CD-ROM, online (Web-STIR) and in printed form. Membership and general information can be requested by visiting the ABYC web site at www.abycinc.org.

About the ABYC Foundation:
The ABYC Foundation is a not-for-profit, 501(c)3 organization that was established in 1988 to raise funds and provide support for special projects, education and training programs, scholarships and other initiatives being undertaken by the American Boat & Yacht Council (ABYC). The Foundation's efforts on behalf of ABYC address marine excellence across the board, and are designed to promote and foster boating safety. For more information on the ABYC Foundation or to make a donation, please visit www.abycinc.org.

Editor's Note: High-resolution images are available of the C.T. Moyer Leadership, Lifelong Service and Bunzl Boating Safety award recipients in electronic format. Contact Caroline Chetelat (see first page).