District Digest News Stories

Delnora asks music fans to wear life jackets at Corps Lakes

Nashville District Public Affairs
Published May 26, 2022
Singer and Songwriter Delnora Reed joins Park Ranger Ashley Webster (Left) and Sondra Carmen at Center Hill Lake’s Hurricane Bridge Recreation Area in Smithville, Tennessee, May 12, 2022, to partner with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to promote water safety. She said she is thankful for her life jacket when visiting Corps lakes. (USACE Photo by Lee Roberts)

Singer and Songwriter Delnora Reed joins Park Ranger Ashley Webster (Left) and Sondra Carmen at Center Hill Lake’s Hurricane Bridge Recreation Area in Smithville, Tennessee, May 12, 2022, to partner with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to promote water safety. She said she is thankful for her life jacket when visiting Corps lakes. (USACE Photo by Lee Roberts)

Singer and Songwriter Delnora Reed poses May 12, 2022, by the “Life Jackets Worn, Nobody Mourns” Campaign logo near the boat ramp at Hurricane Bridge Recreation Area in Smithville, Tennessee. Delnora filmed a water safety public service announcement in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. (USACE Photo by Misty Cunningham)

Singer and Songwriter Delnora Reed poses May 12, 2022, by the “Life Jackets Worn, Nobody Mourns” Campaign logo near the boat ramp at Hurricane Bridge Recreation Area in Smithville, Tennessee. Delnora filmed a water safety public service announcement in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. (USACE Photo by Misty Cunningham)

Singer and Songwriter Delnora Reed wants music fans to wear life jackets when visiting Corps Lakes to stay safe when recreating and boating. Delnora is partnering with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers by delivering this important public service announcement because she is personally thankful and grateful to wear a life jacket to stay safe when she recreates on the water. For more information about water safety, go to www.pleasewearit.com. For more about Delnora, go to www.delnora.com. (USACE Video by Lee Roberts. Misty Cunningham contributed.) #PleaseWearIt #ILoveThisLifeJacket #USACE

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (May 26, 2022) – In a public service announcement featuring her new song “Thankful,” singer and songwriter Delnora Reed is encouraging music fans to wear a life jacket when recreating and boating, which is the number one thing anyone can do to stay safe on the water.

Delnora is partnering with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ “Life Jackets Worn, Nobody Mourns” campaign because millions of visitors will visit Corps Lakes nationwide this summer, and many inexperienced boaters will take risks and be involved in accidents. People will jump off cliffs, attempt to swim long distances, recreate under the influence of alcohol, and lose track of young children, all bad ideas, she said.

Delnora recounts during her younger years when she went tubing and broke her foot when it hit a piece of debris in the water. Now, as a mother, she said water safety is near and dear, especially given her own experiences.

In the water safety PSA, Delnora shares that she is personally thankful and grateful for her life jacket and makes sure her husband and son also wear them because her family’s safety is paramount when visiting Corps Lakes.

“We live in between Cordell Hull Lake, Center Hill Lake and Dale Hollow Lake,” Delnora said. “That’s why I wanted to do this PSA. I know what a lot of people who listen to my music are doing this summer at Corps Lakes and I want them to be safe.”

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is one of the nation's leading federal providers of outdoor recreation with more than 400 lake and river projects in 43 states. Its Water Safety Program reports 154 fatalities at Corps Lakes in fiscal year 2021; 90 % of those were men. There were 55 fatalities related to swimming and 81 related to boating accidents. A total of 139 of the 154 people died from drowning and a whopping 147 of the people tragically lost were not wearing life jackets.

The National Operations Center for Water Safety in cooperation with the Corps of Engineers Natural Resources Education Foundation (The Corps Foundation) developed the “Life Jackets Worn, Nobody Mourns” campaign. The campaign targets adults, primarily adult males. Over the past 10 years (2012-2021) 88 % of USACE public recreation fatalities were male, 87 % were age 18 and older, and 89 % were not wearing life jackets.

“Don’t drink and drive a boat and wear your life jacket,” Delnora stressed.

Music is in Delnora’s bloodline. Her great-grandfather Henry Reed’s fiddle tunes are a centerpiece of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. Her independent efforts are more contemporary, and she has shared the stage with notable stars like Craig Morgan, Carl Jackson, Buddy Jewell, Stella Parton, Roy Clark Jr., and many more.

Delnora is based just outside of Nashville, Tennessee, and performs a signature blend of roots, country and folk music. Her most recent album is titled “Blank Page,” including the song “Thankful,” which is featured in the water safety PSA. She recently received her third consecutive nomination for Female Vocalist of the Year for the Inspirational Country Music Awards. In 2022, her album “Blank Page” hit number 1 on the ICMA charts.

The PSA can be viewed on the Defense Visual Information Distribution System website at

. Corps Lakes visitors are encouraged to visit www.pleasewearit.com for more information about water and boating safety. For more about Delnora, go to www.delnora.com.

(The public can obtain news, updates and information from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District on the district’s website at www.lrn.usace.army.mil, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/nashvillecorps and on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/nashvillecorps.)