Return to Flotilla 15-8's Home Page.

The Central Arkansas Flotilla was established on July 7, 1980 as part of Division 15 in the Second Western Region. On January 1, 1997 the Division and Flotilla became part of the 8th Western Rivers Region. Walt Clark was the first Flotilla Commander and David Barlow the first Flotilla Vice Commander. Other original members of the flotilla were Bill Wiggins Dorothy Clark, William and Betty Cooke, Harry and Mary Jo Jeter, Dwayne and Molly Cory, and Buddy Overton.

At the time the flotilla was established there was Flotilla 15-4 in Little Rock that kept operating until sometime between 1986-1990 . A Flotilla 15-1 in North Little Rock had also existed but appears to have been disestablished in early 1980. According to information that I had received from Bob Donaldson some time ago, there was an Auxiliary station in North Little Rock on the riverbank about 100 yards upstream of the I-30 bridge. This first station may have been donated by Auxiliarists, but it is possible, but not certain that it was later moved to the I-430 boat ramp site.

However, not long after the formation of 15-8 a 12x16’ mobile home, acquired from what is now the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management, was placed at the I-430 boat ramp in 1982. A barge was donated for use as a dock and the crew of the USCG Cutter Muskingum removed several trees from the area and secured the barge. The dedication of that trailer as an Auxiliary station on May 22, 1982 was a major event with numerous Coast Guard and Auxiliary leaders in attendance, along with the USCG Cutter Dogwood. Until its disestablishment in __ Flotilla 15-4 also utilized this station as a meeting place.

The flotilla kept this station at the I-430 boat ramp, despite it being flooded three times , until a fire destroyed it on August 8, 2005. After this disaster the flotilla met at the American Legion headquarters building and the American Red Cross in Little Rock until the unit obtained a double-wide mobile home that had been purchased by the federal government after Hurricane Katrina and had been kept in storage at the Hope Airport. This building was installed at the site of the old station in July, 2007 and remained there until it was moved to the current site in the RV park owned by the city of North Little Rock between the I-30 and Clinton bridge in August, 2012.

For many years the station had a disabled 3” naval gun that had been given to the flotilla when a Naval Reserve center in Little Rock was moved to North Little Rock in the late 1980s with the understanding that it might someday go to a naval museum. Army engineers poured a concrete pad for the gun and moved it to the station site at the I-430 boat ramp. The flotilla donated this gun to the Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum in North Little Rock in 2007.

In February 2007 the flotilla’s name was changed from Maumelle Rivers Flotilla to the Central Arkansas Flotilla.

The Flotilla has won a raft of awards over the years, including the Commodore’s Honor Flotilla Award in 1985, 1991, 1994 and the Commodore’s Award in 2016 and 2017. A team from the flotilla won the District’s Search and Rescue Competition and represented the Auxiliary at the International Search and Rescue Competition in Nova Scotia, Canada in 2005 where they won the award for SAR Planning. Individual members have probably won hundreds of awards over the years, but one of the more prominent was in 2013 when Greg Deen was named the 8th Western Region Auxiliarist of the Year. Terry McKee, Sr. earned the 8th Western Rivers Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004.

One of the memorable missions that the flotilla participated in were the rescue of missing boaters by Richard Lawrence and Michael Cole in 1992. After completing an exhausting schedule of weekend safety patrols, they responded to a rescue call from the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department asking for assistance in locating three missing men. Beginning their rescue effort well after nightfall they scoured the search area near Toad Suck for several hours without success. Just after the night time search was suspended, and after trailering their vessel, a last-minute call revealed that the overdue boaters had launched in a different direction than first reported. In addition, they were told that one of the missing boaters was on medication and may be in danger of going into diabetic shock. They redeployed their boat to the new search area 30 miles downstream to near Wrightsville. They successfully located the three boaters on an isolated river island. Working feverishly over the next three hours, they braved hazardous currents, darkness, and unmarked river shallows to successfully recover all personnel safely and without injury. For these actions they earned the Coast Guard Award of Operational Merit.

In 2009 a barge being pushed by the towboat Concordia was grounded on the river and the flotilla was asked to check out the site, which Bill Van Cleve and Frank Wilson did. Then they were asked to transport two active-duty Coast Guardsmen to the scene and they did so after Jerry Geddes replaced Frank Wilson as crew. The USCGC Muskingum was proceeding upriver to the scene but lost power and had to anchor in the river and the Auxiliary crew was informed that a major storm was approaching from the west. They quickly left the accident scene and delivered the Coast Guardsmen back to their vehicle before proceeding to where they had launched the boat. The storm hit with winds estimated up to 50 mph while Van Cleve and Geddes were trailering the boat, which was only done with great difficulty, soaking both members. The storm also blew the Muskingum onto the rocks and they later had to be pulled to a safer location by the Concordia.

Other noteworthy missions were providing escorts to barges upon which equipment belonging to the 101st Airborne Division was being transported to Fort Chaffee in 1989 ,boats to enforce a safety zone during the demolition of the bridge over the Ouachita River at Calion in 1993 , assisting in maintaining the safety zone on the Arkansas River before and during the dedication of the Clinton Library and escorting the USS Razorback into Little Rock in 2004 , searching for three days for a small plane that crashed into the Arkansas River near the airport in January, 2005 , the Off Shore Power Boat Race on Greer’s Ferry Lake in 2007 , and innumerable safety zone patrols for fireworks shows on the Arkansas River.

The flotilla had a “station vessel” as early as 1996. The flotilla received a donated __ ‘ pontoon boat in ___
In the past the flotilla regularly monitored radio traffic on the river in the central Arkansas area using large fixed antennas placed at the station sites. Harlyn Tucker was recognized for his commitment to the communications program with a plaque in the current station’s radio room, which was named in honor of John Donar, another strong participant in this activity.

The first flotilla newsletter was apparently entitled “Nautical Notes” and in 1988 was edited by Carol Eubanks.

Requests for direct support of the Coast Guard from the Auxiliary have increased over the years. One of the more traditional missions was what used to be known as the Career Counselor and then the Academy Introduction Mission, in which Ilda Calvert and Michael Strobel participated for many years. Members such as John Donar and Richard Lawrence often taught Team Coordination Training at active duty units.

Following the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, Bob Donaldson, Frank Wilson, and Blake Sasse deployed to various Coast Guard command centers. Donaldson worked in public affairs while Wilson and Sasse served in documentation units. Michael Strobel, Bill Van Cleve, and Blake Sasse served as members of the Sector Lower Mississippi Disaster Assistance Response Team for several years and Sasse deployed with that team for a short period after flooding in Memphis in 2011. Sasse also served as an in-port watchstander on the USCGC Kanawha in Memphis and for several years would relieve on of the active-duty Coast Guardsmen from a 24-hour watch about once a month from 2007-2010. Bob Evans, a current member of the flotilla, has served as a cook at dozens of Coast Guard units, including large cutters at sea.

Public education has been a critical component of the flotilla’s activities over the years and many members have been recognized for their efforts in this mission. John Donar (2007), Greg Deen (2013), and Pauline McKee earned the Arkansas Boating Education Instructor of the Year Award from the Arkansas Wildlife Federation.

In August, 2009 the flotilla voted to approve forming a detachment in Monroe, Louisiana. The volunteers in that area were primarily focused on the Auxiliary aviation program. Unfortunately, despite several years of effort, including multiple trips to Monroe by flotilla members, the detachment never quite recruited enough people to start a flotilla. As of 2020, while they are no longer trying to form a unit, several members are still active but are now associated with the Memphis flotilla.

The SARS-CoV2 pandemic that began in 2020 had a significant impact on the flotilla as in-person meetings and many operations were prohibited for a significant period of time in order to protect the membership. While patrols were resumed under some restrictions in 2021, flotilla meetings were held electronically until January 2023. The overall curtailment of activities caused significant difficulties in recruiting new members and in member retention. This left the flotilla with only 33 members at the start of 2023, a loss of about 10-15 from where we stood before the outbreak.

Many flotilla members have gone on to elected office at higher levels in the Auxiliary. Among Division 15 Commanders (formerly Division Captains) from 15-8 are Walt Clark, William Cooke, John Stidham, Richard Lawrence, Mel Otts, Bob Donaldson, John Donar, Phil Hunkins, and Zach Taylor. Richard Lawrence and John Donar served as Rear Commodore (now District Captain), and Richard Lawrence was elected to serve as the 8th Western Rivers Region District Commodore.

The flotilla also has had several members serve as District Staff Officers including Frank Wilson (Navigation Systems), Michael Strobel (State Liaison Officer), Richard Lawrence (Emergency Management, Legal/Parliamentarian, Communications), John Donar (Chief Qualification Examiner, Communications, Public Education), Bob Donaldson (Public Affairs), Zach Taylor (Auxiliary Scout Coordinator), Blake Sasse (Auxiliary Sector Coordinator), and Bill North, DSO-SR. Assistant District Staff Officers have included Misty Jezierski (Marine Safety), Christine Cooke (Marine Safety), Lauren Heil (Communications), Phil Hunkins (Information Services), Pauline McKee (Materials, Public Education), Terry McKee (Materials), Robert Traylor (Publications), Bill North (Secretary-Records).

At the national level Richard Lawrence served as the Chief Counsel for the Coast Guard Auxiliary, Bob Donaldson was Branch Chief for Public Affairs, and Stu Soffer was the National Marketing Groups special events manager.