Meet the Team
The River School has offered travel courses in the Pittsburgh and Huntington areas. By opening a branch office equipped with a radar simulator, we can offer mariners in the Ohio River Valley a full range of license preparatory and Coast Guard approved courses as well as custom training programs.
Lindsay Coleman
REGISTRAR
Registrar and generally the center of activity around the School. If you need information about licenses or Coast Guard applications and evaluations, Lindsay is the one to ask for.
Capt. Anthony Morris
LEAD INSTRUCTOR - TANKERMAN COURSES
Capt Anthony has more than 40 years experience in the Inland industry, both afloat and ashore. A most knowledgeable instructor, Anthony enjoys working with our students.
Keith Alexander
CHIEF INSTRUCTOR
A retired Coast Guard Chief Boatswains Mate, Keith’s service on a river buoy tender gives him a strong foundation for working with our students. His easy going manner and depth of knowledge make learning complicated subjects fun and interesting.
Capt. Kevin Mullen
INSTRUCTOR - Louisville, KYHe is our Louisville, KY “branch.” A true “hawse pipe” sailor, Captain Kevin came up through the ranks to obtain a First Class Pilot license. He’s one of a very few licensed people qualified to operate a steam-powered, stern paddle wheel packet boat. His professional resume’ includes service as the Senior Master on the Belle of Louisville.
Bill Kline
RIVER SCHOOL PRESIDENTThe River School’s president. Bill has a bit of salt water in his blood having served more than 20 years as a sea-going officer in the Coast Guard. He’s been involved with training mariners and rivermen for over 30 years. Bill teaches our radar courses as well as taking care of business.
WHAT WE OFFER
STATISTICS
Application Assistance
One of the most difficult tasks in obtaining a license is dealing with the Coast Guard paperwork. We can help! We’ve helped thousands of rivermen and inland mariners navigate the rocks, bends, and bars of the application process.
We provide a complete application package including all of the forms required for the license sought. Advice and assistance in completing the package is available via our toll-free phone number or email. Upon receipt, we review the package for completeness and contact you for any missing or incomplete information. Your pre-screened application package is then delivered to the Coast Guard REC in Memphis for processing. (Note: The Coast Guard provides express service for your application once we have prescreened it. This means a quicker turn-around for your license transaction.)
Professional Books & Videos
Training Courses
The River School offers a variety of courses, both those required by Coast Guard regulations and others for individual professional development. Our courses are all transportable making them convenient and cost effective. Our instructors are professionals with service in the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Merchant Marine and the river industry. All are highly qualified in their field and are experienced, proven training professionals.
Training courses offered by The River School include licensing, maritime security, radar, tankerman, and personal survival and river rescue.
THE WORK OF THE RIVER SCHOOL TODAY
Application assistance, training courses, books and videos
In 1972 the Coast Guard established new requirements for licensing mariners who operate towboats on Western Rivers. The new rule introduced a series of examinations which must be successfully completed to qualify for an Operator Uninspected Towing Vessels (OUTV) license. Captain Billy Hutto and his wife Betty co-founded The River School to assist them in preparing to meet the academic requirements of the new license. From the very beginning, The River School focused on providing individual rivermen with personal support in dealing with regulations, applications, and examinations.
That tradition of support continues to this day. The past three decades have seen significant changes in the towing industry and Coast Guard licensing regulations. New requirements have been created for radar observer and tankerman endorsements. A new towing license has been implemented with a new entry level Steersman license. At each step of the way, the staff of The River School has been there, supporting rivermen and women.
The changes in the regulatory landscape have also changed The River School. While license preparation remains an important part of our business, we have broadened the range of services we provide. We’re more than just license prep!
U.S. Domestic Towing Industry
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers maintains 12,000 miles of navigable rivers, inland and intracoastal channels with 191 locks and dam sites. The domestic towing industry includes about 5,500 towing vessels in the “fleet”, employs more than 33,000 people and supports more than 500,000 additional jobs generating more than $100 billion in economic activities.
All of the investment in equipment and infrastructure (and the associated jobs) go for naught unless we can continue to recruit and train the professionals who “stand between the sticks” navigating the waterways.
REJECTED
Renewal Applications
