The Grand Haven Chapter of the United States Coast Guard Chief Petty Officers Association (CPOA) received its charter on March 20, 2010.  The Grand Haven Chapter is a 501(c)(19) not-for-profit volunteer organization, and is comprised of active duty, reserve, retired and honorary Coast Guard Chief Petty Officers.  Membership in the Chapter is open to all sister service men or women having successfully held the rank of Chief Petty Officer (Navy),  Sergeant First Class (Army), Gunnery Sergeant (Marine Corps), or Master Sergeant (Air Force).  There are 50 Chiefs currently enrolled on our Chapter roster, and we continue to grow.

            During the past year, the Grand Haven CPOA Chapter involved itself with several community service projects and initiatives within the Tri-Cities area.  We collaborated with the U.S. Marine Corps during the annual Toys for Tots campaign, provided Thanksgiving dinners to junior crew members at every Coast Guard station from Charlevoix, MI to Michigan City, IN and we adopted Escanaba Park and a band of highway under the Adopt-A-Highway program.  We provided local funeral representatives to those who had passed- Coast Guard and civilians alike- and paid for funeral luncheons using our general funds.  Our plans for this year are to extend our relationship with Indian Trails Camp, and explore the Flags Across America program in the Tri-Cities area.  We hold several fund raisers every year and support Hospice of North Ottawa with a portion of the proceeds.  We recently finished restoring the 41 Foot Utility Boat Monument that is now welcoming everyone to the City of Grand Haven.