Dan Connors began his relationship with safety as a teenager when he became a Life Guard and swim coach in Manchester, NH. He joined the US Coast Guard in the fall of 1974. He served on two Coast Guard Cutters and the Search & Rescue (SAR) Station at Woods Hole. He served as a Rescue Boat Coxswain for the next eight years finishing at Portsmouth NH as a BM2 reservist.
He worked with Mercy Ships since 1984 as a Ship’s Boatswain, managing the safety equipment, cargo equipment, and all rescue equipment on the vessel. He managed up to 54 people at various times during his tenure. He was a charter member and manager of the Safety Committee on board the ship (4 yrs). After moving to Texas with Mercy Ships as Ship Liaison; he researched, purchased, received, packed, and shipped (internationally and domestically) supplies to various company vessels. He became a HAZMAT certified shipper and forklift instructor to compliment his responsibilities.
He then served as the Assistant Safety Manager and assisted with the implementation of the Ship Safety Management Program dictated by the International Maritime Organization. Dan designed and developed the STCW Basic Safety Training course and it was approved by the US Coast Guard in 2000. He has been the Lead Instructor for this program since its inception. He is certified Red Cross CPR/First Aid/AED instructor with this course.
Dan is a Chief Warrant Officer 4 in the Navy Reserve. He has consistently been involved with training and safety for the Assault Craft unit (training, boats & safety) and a Security Unit (Training, Safety, Weapons, Executive leadership). He currently is a Civil Affairs Team Officer in Charge with MCAST, Long Island, NY
He holds a 200 Ton Master Mariner license, Master’s Degree Industrial Safety, BS in Business, AS in Fire Administration, and AS Computer Science (electronics). He is an adjunct instructor for Kilgore College Workplace Development and an American Heart Association CPR/First Aid/AED instructor.