We have a unique new County Council member in Marc Forlenza. He doesn’t just talk about it, he does what he says. He performs.

An example is Marc’s performance over the past decade as an officer of the Friday Harbor Power Squadron, the local member squadron of the United States Power Squadrons.

He has served as commander, executive officer, administrative officer, and currently serves as education officer. Of special note has been his interest in Power Squadron support to our community.

Several years ago, Marc became aware that the county had terminated the derelict vessel removal program because of lack of funds. Marc said, “That’s not right, I’ll fix it”. And he did.

He brought the issue to the attention of the Power Squadron and urged that if they donated at least $1,000, then he would seek additional funds from other local organizations to contribute to this most worthwhile community need.

With $6,000 raised, he encouraged Milene Henley (county auditor) and the county to match this in order to be eligible for state funding at 10 times the combined civic and county amount.

Have you noticed Friday Harbor recently? No more “Hong Kong Harbor”.

So far, over 60 vessels have been removed, disposed of, relocated to marinas, repaired, or registered instead of polluting our waterways and continuing to create navigation hazards. More are scheduled for removal.

Marc also initiated and has led the annual public flare-shoot activity over the past several years, which teaches boaters and others how to handle emergency flares and fire extinguishers.

Finally, Marc organized and has led the annual Power Squadron “boat float” for our Fourth of July parades to highlight the importance of boating safety and education.

Marc is a natural born leader. Let’s elect Marc Forlenza again to lead us for the next four years.

Fred/Carolyn Bowen

Friday Harbor

— Editor’s note: Fred Bowen is FH Power Squadron commander, Carolyn is a past commander.