CLEVELAND – A Coast Guardsman assigned to Coast Guard Station Marblehead, Ohio, was named the 2014 Boating Officer of the Year for the state of Ohio by the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators, Thursday.
Petty Officer 3rd Class Kyle Love, a Tipp City, Ohio, native, earned the distinction for his contributions to recreational boating safety while assigned to the station.
Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Kyle Love, a boarding officer at Coast Guard Station Marblehead, Ohio, is the 2014 Ohio Boating Officer of the Year according to the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators. U.S. Coast Guard photo courtesy of Station Marblehead
Love graduated from the Coast Guard’s Maritime Law Enforcement Academy in April 2013, and immediately began leading Coast Guard boarding teams onto vessels operating in the western basin of Lake Erie to enforce federal laws and regulations.
During the boating season, he led more than 100 vessel inspections and successfully identified and removed 21 intoxicated boat operators from the water.
“His efforts to build each case to support successful prosecution made the water safer for boaters, swimmers, and fishermen,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Phillip Null, the operations petty officer at Coast Guard Station Marblehead.
“He saved lives in two ways: by responding to distress and taking unsafe boaters off the water.”
Of the 21 intoxicated boaters removed from the water by Love, four had prior convictions for driving under the influence and were charged with federal offenses.
Love also responded to more than 40 search and rescue cases in the past year.
In June, Love transferred to St. Petersburg, Florida, where he is assigned to the Coast Guard Cutter Venturous.
