June 23, 2023, will mark the 84th birthday of the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary. Originally authorized in 1939 by the United States Congress as the Coast Guard’s “Volunteer Reserve,” the Coast Guard Auxiliary has grown and evolved over the past eight decades as an organization of enthusiastic volunteers dedicated to the promotion of recreational boating safety throughout the United States and its territories.

To observe and celebrate this event, Fountain Hills Mayor Ginny Dickey presented at the Town Council meeting this past Tuesday, June 20, a proclamation to Coast Guard Auxiliary’s Arizona Division Commander, Jon Dootson. The mayor’s proclamation established Friday, June 23, as Coast Guard Auxiliary Day in Fountain Hills.

At the Veterans Memorial in Fountain Park this Friday, June 23, the award-winning Coast Guard Auxiliary Band and the Arizona Division Color Guard will be on deck for a flag raising ceremony. The band will perform the national anthem along with a military service set as a tribute to all the branches of the military and conclude with Semper Paratus, the official march of the U.S. Coast Guard. This event is scheduled to take place at 8 a.m.

The Coast Guard has an active presence in Arizona through the Coast Guard Auxiliary, whose members patrol Arizona lakes and offer boating safety classes and vessel safety checks. Of note, this ceremony will mark the first time that the Auxiliary birthday has been publicly observed in Arizona and the second time there has been a uniformed ceremony to commemorate a Service birthday at the Veterans Memorial since its dedication in 2005.