The next time you see Chief Petty Officer Emily Hand in the community, give her a Bravo Zulu after she was named the Coast Guard Person of the Year earlier this week. Hand was among the honorees at this year’s Door County Mariner Honors dinner hosted by the Door County Maritime Museum at the Sturgeon Bay Yacht Club. Hand recently celebrated her second anniversary at Station Sturgeon Bay as she runs its day-to-day operations. In 2024, she led the station through an unprecedented recruiting shortage that required the U.S. Coast Guard to shift its personnel and close the seasonal Washington Island Station. Hand’s community involvement with non-profits like Safe Waters and Big Brothers Big Sisters was also recognized. The event honored David Hunt and the late Edward T. "Shuff" Willman as its Mariner Award winners. A Sturgeon Bay native, Hunt became the Chief Engineer of the steamer Wilfred Sykes in 1985 and remained there for more than a decade before joining the American Bureau of Shipping as a Senior Surveyor in 1996, where he would stay before retiring in 2013. Willman was the vice president of marketing and co-owner of Palmer Johnson Yachts with Mike Kelsey, Jr., and Bill Parson from 1961 until he passed in 1989. He also raced sailboats, completing more than 40 Chicago-Mackinac Races. The event was part of Sturgeon Bay Maritime Week, which included several events throughout the city to celebrate its connection with the U.S. Coast Guard.