Sturgeon Bay, Wis. (August 5, 2026) – On Monday, August 3, the recipients of the annual Door County Mariner Awards and Coast Guard Person of the Year Award were announced at the Door County Mariner Honors dinner at the Sturgeon Bay Yacht Club. Lieutenant Junior Grade (LTJG) Aaron Person, Coast Guard Cutter Mobile Bay, received the Coast Guard Person of the Year Award. Stewart Fett was recognized with the Mariner Award, while Amos Lovejoy and Steve McNeil both received a Posthumous Mariner Award.
The Coast Guard Person of the Year Award recognizes a local Coast Guard member who exemplifies the Guard’s core values of Honor, Respect and Devotion to Duty. The award is sponsored by the Sturgeon Bay Coast Guard City Committee and the Door County Maritime Museum. The winner is selected from nominees submitted by the USCGC Mobile Bay (WTGB 103), USCG Marine Safety Unit Sturgeon Bay and USCG Station Sturgeon Bay. The other CGPOY nominees were Chief Warrant Officer Sarah Jacobs, Marine Safety Unit Sturgeon Bay, and Seaman Joshua Hyler, Station Sturgeon Bay
CGPOY: Lieutenant Junior Grade (LTJG) Aaron Person
Lieutenant Junior Grade (LTJG) Aaron Person has been an integral member of the Mobile Bay crew through a year that saw an abnormally high transition of crew as well as an extended ice season, with some of the worst spring conditions than have been seen in over a decade. This was followed by a truncated Aids to Navigation season which needed completion prior to a scheduled drydock.
Through more than 120 days underway and countless hours on the bridge, LTJG Person led an entirely new to the Mobile Bay bridge crew through more than 30 individual certifications from helmsman through deck watch officer. Averaging more than 10 hours a day on the bridge, he was fully dedicated to ensuring every new member from the newest non-rate from boot camp to the seasoned members simply new to the 140 fleet had everything they needed to become fully certified members of the crew.
Holding a multitude of collateral duties, LTJG Person spent most of his time off the bridge ensuring the unit’s administrative needs were taken care of and that new members were getting to the training schools they needed.
He also stood by as the Operations Department Head for several months while the ship’s Operations Officer was on leave for the birth of their second child.
During that time, he planned and executed the cutter’s annual fall retrieve AtoN mission, prepping Green Bay and the entire Door Peninsula for winter navigation. Through the ice-breaking season, he conned the Mobile Bay through more than 80 days of icebreaking, including multiple close quarters direct assists of stuck vessels from Green Bay to Whitefish Bay.
Outside of work, LTJG Person has immersed himself into the Sturgeon Bay and Door County community, volunteering at multiple Lighthouse festivals and dedicating many hours to the Door County Maritime Museum’s move from their old storage facility to the new. On top of giving several days personally to the move, he coordinated multiple volunteer events to bring Mobile Bay crew members to assist with the movement of the priceless store of maritime history.
Presented by the Door County Maritime Museum and the Sturgeon Bay Yacht Club, the Mariner Award recognizes individuals who have had a significant, positive, lasting impact on the Door County maritime community. The Mariner Award is given to one living recipient and also posthumously to historical Door County maritime figures.
Mariner Award: Stewart Fett
◦ Stewart contributed to the success of Bay Shipbuilding in many ways.
◦ Early in his career, Stu worked in the Electrical Department as a Foreman and General Superintendent. In those roles, he supervised all electrical functions of the shipyard facility, repair work and most importantly, Bay’s new construction vessels.
◦ Most people will not realize his greatest accomplishment, that of spearheading the use of computer technology on vessels. Ships ‘of old’ ran on gauges and switches operated by experienced marine engineers. Today, with Stu’s guidance, ships operate on programs written specifically for the function and controlled by computers. This technology all was developed at Bay Ship by Stu Fett.
◦ From unmanned engine room operations to automated self-unloading systems to remote diagnostics, all have his fingerprint.
◦ If that wasn’t enough, Stu held a leading role in the testing and sea trials of the vessels repaired, repowered, rebuild and constructed here in Sturgeon Bay. He finished his career at Bay Ship as its Production Manager, supervising trades from all disciplines.
◦ Stewart and his wife Theresa are now dedicated Maritime Museum volunteers, serving as docents on the historic tugboat John Purves.
Posthumous Mariner Award: Amos Lovejoy
◦ One of the Peninsula’s earliest European settlers, Amos Lovejoy was a founder of both the local commercial fishing and boatbuilding industries.
◦ Immigrating from Canada in 1836, he briefly spent time along the Lake Michigan shore in the area now known as Sevastopol before migrating north to become one of the pioneers in the settlement of Rock, Washington, and Detroit Islands.
◦ A skilled boat builder and fisherman, he was a leader of the area’s commercial fishing industry in the days when anglers plied their trade in small, rugged wooden sailing vessels. Lovejoy is credited with construction of the first vessel completed in the Sturgeon Bay area.
Posthumous Mariner Award: Steve McNeil
• During his tenure as Sturgeon Bay’s City Administrator, Steve McNeil made preserving and celebrating our working waterfront one of his highest priorities. He understood fully the importance of Sturgeon Bay’s rich maritime heritage and strove to balance the needs and desires of the diverse constituents on the waterfront.
• He also recognized the vital role that the local Coast Guard units play, as well their benefit to the City’s economy. Steve served as a founding member of the Sturgeon Bay Coast Guard Committee, focused on meeting the needs of the Coast Guard men and women serving in the city. He co-authored the nomination package that led to Sturgeon Bay being recognized as an official US Coast Guard City, one of the smallest communities in the nation to be so honored.
• An active member at both the Door County Maritime Museum and the Sturgeon Bay Yacht Club, he also helped establish the Sturgeon Bay Maritime Week celebration.
The Mariner Honors dinner is just one of a series of events held during Sturgeon Bay Maritime Week: A Salute to the US Coast Guard. As one of 37 official U.S. Coast Guard Cities — and the only one in Wisconsin! — Sturgeon Bay celebrates each year with a week filled with events, ceremonies, visiting ships and fun!
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