District Public Education Office

Welcome to the District 7 Public Education Office. As is the case with the National Education Directorate, the District Program will focus on achieving the highest possible level of quality safe boating course offerings as well as the necessary development, training and support of flotilla instructors, FSO-PEs and SO-PEs. The targeted result of our collective efforts will be to diminish loss of life, personal injury and property damage related to boating accidents.

The purpose of the District Staff is to assist the flotilla instructors, flotilla Officers and division Officers in achieving these goals. The Seventh District is divided into six sectors, with each being assigned an Assistant District Staff Officer-PE (ADSO-PE). The current ADSOs are as follows:

FSOs should report promptly to their respective SO at the end of each month, who in turn should report in a timely manner to their ADSO. Great results can only be achieved with good communication

The District’s states and territories have varying course and testing standards, as well as reporting requirements when it comes to the NASBLA Safe Boating Courses. The ADSO-PEs work closely with their respective Auxiliary State Liaison Officers (SLOs) on state-related issues.

Instructors and Staff Officers should be familiar with the E-Directorate website and the wealth of information that resides there. How to get started as an FSO-PE, the full range of Public Education courses, offering virtual courses, electronically scheduling courses, and important tips on marketing your courses can all be found on the E-Directorate website.

Expanding course offerings both in number and topic is encouraged. Flotillas should collaborate with adjacent flotillas to share instructor expertise when not available at the home flotilla. It is important not to forget about youth courses, a greatly untapped frontier in our Safe Boating mission.

Success of our Public Education programs never occurs in a vacuum. Often the hardest part of the job is filling the classroom seats. Succes will often be linked to your collaboration with the vessel examiners, public affairs members, and marine partner visitors in your area. They are valuable resources and should not be overlooked. In return, your Public Education presentations should include mention of recruitment, vessel examinations, flotilla events and the like.

Lastly, remember to award your hard-working staff, let it be recognition at a meeting, the Auxiliary Public Education Service Award, or a nomination for the prestigious Maxim Award for Excellence in Education.

Helpful links are below:


A little bit about myself. In addition to being the DSO-PE, I am also the Branch Chief for the Auxiliary Flotilla Leadership Course and for the last two years have been the FSO-PE at my flotilla. Until my recent retirement, I was an assistant professor at Dartmouth Medical School for 20 years.

My interest in Public Education comes not just from a teaching background, but also from my maritime training and experience. I hold a USCG Captains License as a Master of Motor Vessels under 100 Tons with both a Towing and Unlimited (All Oceans) Radar Endorsement. I operate a 65-passenger sightseeing vessel in the summer conducting lighthouse tours. My initial reasons for joining the Auxiliary included sharing my knowledge and passion of safe boating and collision avoidance with both the public and auxiliary members.

Having received a master’s degree in leadership and management, the parallel journey into Leadership Training for Auxiliary members has been a rewarding and unexpected addition to my journey.

Thank you for all your efforts to help make the Auxiliary the premier Safe Boating provider in the nation.

Sean Hunt, DSO-PE