Canadian Yachting October 2016 - 60

Interviewing National Officer Don Griffin THE PORT HOLE "We need to move into the online world" In this issue I decided that I would like to have an educational slant, so the obvious person to speak to at the National level was Don Griffin our National Educational Officer. Don has been a long time member of CPS-ECP and it all began way back in the fall of 1976. That summer he and his wife Rosemary purchased their first boat, a Tanzer 22 which was made in Ontario. Owning a boat also led to the discussion on "How do we go about this boating thing?". Don admits that at the time he knew nothing about boating so he and Rosemary enrolled in the 1976 Fall Boating Course put on by the local Capilano Squadron. Both graduated the following spring and took to the water in earnest. Residing in Vancouver does allow for a lot of interesting boating and Don and his family travelled about the area exploring many of the sites such as Puget Sound, Desolation Sound, many of the local Gulf Islands and even ventured into the waters of Washington State to the south at times. The vessel was well loved but after fourteen years they decided to sell as their growing family was now getting to be a difficult fit. Instead, a tent trailer became the vacation tool and many parts of Western Canada and the United States were explored over the next few years. However, like most families 60 Canadian Yachting the children became young adults and moved on and so did vacation plans. This led to their next boat purchase, a Beneteau 310, in 2005. With a larger boat and a bit more comfort the next few years saw many trips ranging from Olympia in Washington State in the south up to Powell River in the north. It was most rewarding and now that Don was retired from his work with BC Rail longer trips could be planned. After graduating from the Capilano Squadron's Boating Course in 1977 Don opted to become a member of the Squadron "as it was just the right thing to do". Once a member he was then asked to help in the proctoring of the Boating Course which he gladly did. This led to more involvement with the Squadron and in 1981 he joined the Squadron's Bridge as an Assistant Training Officer. For Don this was a logical extension of his talents, as in his position in BC Rail he was also involved in the training of personnel in the Track Operations part of the company. This entailed the development of student notes and making sure that everyone was operating in a safe and secure way through the ongoing training program at BC Rail. Don commented that, "It was a good fit with what I do", and working with the Squadron's Training Department was very enjoyable. For Don one of the greatest advantages of working at the Squadron level is all the wonderful friendships that have happened over the last forty years. As Don continued to serve on the Bridge his responsibilities also increased and he soon found himself the Training Officer and then the Executive Officer which eventually led to him becoming the Commander. This, of course, led to his exposure to the next level of CPS-ECP which was the District and Don happily became an Assistant District Training Officer. Over the next few years Don took on more responsibility and became the October 2016 by R. John Garside AP District Training Officer and eventually the District Commander. Today, Don, although our National Educational Officer, still finds time to be involved at his local Squadron and is the current Vancouver Island North District Liaison. When I asked Don when he felt drawn to serve at the National Level he said he was "not sure that I was ever drawn, but went there by default when I became the District Commander." Then after stepping down as District Commander he was approached to be a General Director, which he agreed to. During his time as a General Director he became involved with the external market survey that CPS-ECP was conducting at the time. There were three Directors involved in conducting the survey and one summer Don found himself the main contact. It was during this time that Don said to himself, "I could see there could be change, and I could do something about it." One of the things the survey revealed was that there always seemed to be a great deal of inertia in CPS-ECP and things always took a great deal of time to happen or change. Don felt, "Inertia can be overcome" and "We should act on it", and for this to happen, the way we work has to change. In the spring of 2014 our then Chief Commander Joe Gatfield asked Don to take over as the National Educational Officer. Don's thoughts at the time were "that this was my opportunity to have a meaningful impact on the future of CPS-ECP. And if I chose not to accept the position then I would have to go back to the Squadron level and accept whatever came down from above. I therefore accepted the nomination." To overcome this inertia that CPSECP has become burdened with Don has introduced new ways of motivation, the key he said was "to drive people with targets and realistic timetables. You have to have good team management as well

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Canadian Yachting October 2016