What does it mean to be a Coast Guard Community?
The U.S. Coast Guard defines a Coast Guard Community as a city, municipality or county that makes special efforts to acknowledge the professional work of the Coast Guard men and women assigned to its area. Coast Guard Communities regularly reach out to Coast Guard personnel and their families and make them feel “at home at their home away from home.” The community’s efforts illustrate a longstanding and enduring relationship, with an emphasis on considerations the community has made for the members of the Coast Guard family.
Although the community members of Cape May County have always supported, welcomed and honored our Coast Guard families since their first appearance here in 1918, in 2015, Cape May County was officially designated a Coast Guard Community. This designation was sought by the community through a rigorous application process, and was awarded after approval from the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Congress. To date, 21 cities have been designated by Congress as Coast Guard Communities.
Aside from textbook definitions, there is a much deeper meaning behind being a Coast Guard Community.
Being a Coast Guard Community means picking up the bill for Coast Guard men and women when we see them standing in line for coffee, just as a small “thank you” gesture. It means inviting Coast Guard recruits into our homes during the holiday season and sharing our holiday traditions as a part of Operation Fireside. It means flying Coast Guard flags on flag poles at businesses throughout Cape May County. It means welcoming new Coast Guard families with open arms, and giving Coast Guard spouses and children a community to lean on when duty calls.
For recruits, being a Coast Guard Community means going out in uniform on their first day of liberty and hearing, “Thank you for your service,” for the first time ever. It means weaving the culture of the Coast Guard into Cape May County, and taking the culture and hospitality of South Jersey with them for the rest of their career.
Coast Guard families live their daily lives among us, and being a Coast Guard Community means more than just acknowledging their presence. It means building and maintaining a special relationship with those who work to make our community a better place to live, a relationship some communities will never be fortunate enough to know.
“There is no other place like Cape May,” says Capt. Owen Gibbons, Commanding Officer of U.S. Coast Guard Training Center Cape May (TRACEN). “The connection between this area, its residents and the Coast Guard is deep and meaningful. As a service, we’ve been in this area for nearly 100 years, and in that time have established ourselves as an integral part of this community. As individuals who have the pleasure of being stationed in the area, we take a great deal of pride in being your neighbors and friends. We have vested interest in this community and strive to continue to build this relationship that has earned Cape May County the title of a ‘Coast Guard Community’.”
The strong relationship between the Coast Guard and Cape May County is reflected through many community efforts. A recent effort includes the placement of Coast Guard Community signs throughout Cape May County. Each municipality has welcomed our Coast Guard Community designation by installing signs that read “A Proud Coast Guard Community Member.” Many of the signs are placed at the entrances into each municipality, so visitors are aware of the County’s connection to the Coast Guard, and locals are constantly reminded. These signs have been generously donated by Cape May County.
Another showcase of this relationship is the annual Coast Guard Community Festival, presented by the Cape May County Coast Guard Community Foundation and held Saturday, May 5 through Sunday, May 6 this year.
“Working on the Coast Guard Community Festival has helped me appreciate the connection this community has with the Coast Guard,” says Susan Hoffman, Festival Director. “The people I’ve met all have a story about what the Coast Guard means to them. Many have served or had a family member who did. Some are business owners who count the Coast Guard personnel as valued customers. Others are members of the boating community who understand the role they play in keeping our waters safe. Whatever the connection, the appreciation and respect for our Coast Guard family runs deep.”
The Cape May County Coast Guard Community Foundation was formed in 2015 with a mission to honor Coast Guard personnel and their families for the extraordinary role they play in our nation and our community, and to celebrate and educate regarding the many deep connections that exist between the Coast Guard and Cape May County. The Foundation works to sustain the deep meaning behind being a Coast Guard Community, and support the designation through its activities.
“The level of community engagement with the Coast Guard that I’ve seen since I’ve started has been impressive,” says Mike Couch, who was appointed Executive Director of the Foundation in the fall of 2017, “from families opening their homes to recruits on Thanksgiving and Christmas, to a local brewery creating a beer honoring the Coast Guard motto, to chambers creating welcome bags for new Coast Guard personnel and their families making Cape May County their home. Our nonprofit is proud to celebrate the deep connections between our community and the Coast Guard with our annual festival, and we plan to focus on programs throughout the year that enhance our Coast Guard Community.”
Cape May County is a proud Coast Guard Community; a community that respects and embraces its Coast Guard personnel and their families, and will continue to grow and develop its bond with the Coast Guard for years to come.
What Cape May County knows now is only the beginning of what it means to be a Coast Guard Community.
