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50 Years: The Department of Boating and Waterways, 1957 to 2007
E X PA ND I NG S A F E T Y
A ND E DUC A T I ON P R O GR A M S
Dolores Farrell
Boating Operations Division Chief,
1995-2006
Dolores Farrell came to work at Cal Boating in May 1993 as a
manager in the Operations Division. She brought with her a wealth
of experience and expertise from her job at the Department of
Justice Crime Prevention Center, where she had been instrumental
in developing the School Law Enforcement Partnership Program.
Fittingly, she was initially hired at Cal Boating to work in children’s
education, but her responsibilities quickly expanded to include
programs for both minorities and disabled individuals, and later
law enforcement.
Her ability to successfully wear so many hats paid off in 1995, when
Dolores was appointed division chief for Boating Operations. Dolores
was the division’s first female manager, and because she did not have
boating expertise at the time, acceptance was difficult. But she handled
her new challenges with customary aplomb. “It was very hard to
be a woman manager at the time,” recalls Dolores. “I overcame the
resistance to my being in that position by doing everything the very
best I could.”
One of the first things Dolores discovered was that the Operations
Division did not have a line item budget. She quickly went to work to
Mid-
1980s
Cal Boating’s William Ivers, Bill Satow and
Bill Curry, along with representatives of
Michigan and other boating industry
leaders, establish national States
Organization for Boating Access (SOBA)
to focus on boating facilities providing
public access to waterways; first meeting
held in 1987.
1984
“Wallop-Breaux” Aquatic Resources Trust Fund
established by Congress. Federal funds from
fishing and boating taxes become available
to states for boating safety, education, law
enforcement, and access programs. Although the
fund’s name has changed, Cal Boating receives
$6.043 million from this source annually.