Life jacket event in Monticello to promote boating safety Ma

Kentucky will join an international effort to set aworld record for most life jackets worn and life jackets inflated. The eventseeks to heighten awareness of the different types of life jackets available.

The effort, scheduled for May 16 at Conley Bottom Resorton Lake Cumberland, is part of the Ready, Set, Wear It! campaign sponsored bythe National Safe Boating Council. This one-day event is part ofthe yearlong Wear It! campaign to promote boating safety and voluntary,consistent wear of life jackets.
“Keepingpeople safe on the water by reminding individuals to always wear a life jacketis our biggest goal with the ‘Ready, Set, Wear It!’ campaign,” said ZachCampbell, boating education coordinator for the Kentucky Department of Fish andWildlife Resources.
U.S.Coast Guard statistics show that drowning was the reported cause of death inthree-fourths of recreational boating fatalities in 2013. Eighty-four percentof those who drowned were not wearing life jackets.
Ready,Set, Wear It! will usher in National Safe Boating Week, which runs from May 16-22.
Thelocal event will take place at 10 a.m. (Eastern time) May 16 at Conley BottomResort Marina in Monticello. While a limited number of life jackets will beavailable, participants are encouraged to bring their own.
Headliningthe series is the “I Got Caught Wearing My Life Jacket and the Ready Set WearIt” event being held at the marina from 10 to 11:30 a.m., featuring variousboating-related activities. All participants will be entered in a raffle to winprizes at the end of the event.
Thisfamily-friendly, free event is sponsored by Conley Bottom Marina, Kentucky Fishand Wildlife and McDonald’s restaurants of Central and Southeastern Kentucky.
Thefirst 50 people to show up will receive free McDonald’s food vouchers. Kids canalso meet Ronald McDonald.
Lastyear, nearly 7,000 participants gathered at 175 events held around the world toset a new record for the number of participants who inflated their inflatablelife jacket or wore an inherently buoyant life jacket.
Formore information, go online to [I][URL="http://www.readysetwearit.com"]www.readysetwearit.com[/URL][/I].