George Birdwell Named TWRA Boating Officer of the Year

NASHVILLE --- George Birdwell has received the honor of being named the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) Boating Officer of the Year. Birdwell is a boating officer in TWRA’s Area 43 and was selected among other TWRA Law Enforcement officers to become the state recipient.           

 

“It’s always a difficult situation when one officer is selected out of a group of officers that have all gone above and beyond the duty of ensuring Tennessee waters are safe and enjoyable for our Tennessee’s recreational boaters” said Darren Rider, Boating Division Chief. “All these officers are to be commended for their professionalism and efforts they displayed this year.”

 

Also honored as TWRA area selections were: Clay Riley – Area 13; Brad Bagwell – Area 21; Johnny Poston – Area 31; Russell Vandergriff – Area 32; Brandon Wear – Area 33 and Rick Roberts – Area 41. These officers were selected for their efforts in law enforcement, education; outreach, accident investigation and training.

 

“All these officers had a fantastic year, but George really excelled in all aspects of his job,” said Rider.

 

Birdwell is a boating officer whose assigned work area in East Tennessee includes seven counties and four large reservoirs. He inspected 405 vessels for compliance and issued 21 court citations and six warnings. Birdwell also conducted eight Boating Under the Influence investigations and made three BUI arrests and was responsible for the recovery of three stolen boats. Birdwell was the lead investigator on one fatal boat accident and three property damage accidents but also assisted in four other fatal accidents, 10 serious injury accidents and 13 property damage accidents.

 

Birdwell incorporated boating safety education into the driver’s education curriculum for the high school students in the city of Greeneville that reached 250 students. He appeared on television six times and performed 19 public outreach programs with his award winning BUI simulator to stress boating safety. 

 

Birdwell serves as an investigation instructor for the agency where he is instrumental in training the agency’s newly hired officers. His instruction includes the following courses: Emergency Vessel Operations Course (EVOC); Close Quarter Boating Handling (CQBH); BUI and Boating Accident.   

---TWRA---