Lifesaver Contest Reveals Dramatic Rescues
The National Drowning Prevention Alliance and USA Swimming Foundation invite the public to choose who will be honored at the annual National Drowning Prevention Symposium, set for March 7-10 in San Diego, Calif.
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, January 18, 2012– The public is invited to help select who will receive the 2011 “Lifesaver of the Year” award to be given by the National Drowning Prevention Alliance and USA Swimming Foundation. Ten finalists were selected after a two-month submission period that began in October.
The nominee who receives the most votes in January will receive an all-expense paid trip for two to San Diego, California where he or she will be honored at the 11th Annual National Drowning Prevention Symposium to be held March 7-10, 2012.
To vote, visit the NDPA Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/NationalDrowningPreventionAlliance and click the "Lifesaver of the Year” link on the left. Voters may cast one ballot per day through the end of the voting period.
For more information on the 11th Annual National Drowning Prevention Symposium, or to register, please visit http://www.NDPA.org.
The ten finalists represent a broad cross section of the country, including the states of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Maryland, Michigan, Oklahoma and Florida. The ten Lifesaver of the Year finalists are as follows:
Don Walsh of Spring Lake, NJ and Mike Hamilton of Somers Point, NJ
On May 31, 2011, Don Walsh and Mike Hamilton, two former lifeguards, rescued eight swimmers caught in a rip current on an unguarded Ocean City, N.J. beach. Riptides had pulled a father and his two sons far from shore. Walsh rescued the younger son as Hamilton, struggled to help the father and older son. After bringing the younger son to shore, Walsh borrowed a boogie board from a girl so he could take a flotation aid to help Hamilton with the rescue of the father and older boy. As Walsh and Hamilton brought the father and son to shore, the girl who had given Walsh her boogie board was swept up in the rip current and Walsh had to rescue her. Meanwhile, three other boys became trapped in the rip current and Walsh and Hamilton had to rescue them as well.
Walsh, 65, has trained Navy SEAL candidates since 1999. He is currently developing a children’s book about water safety. At the age of 60, Walsh swam around the Isle of Jersey in England, a distance of 41 miles.
Hamilton, 67, is the uncle of competitive surfer Bethany Hamilton, whose inspirational comeback story, after losing her arm in a shark attack, inspired the movie Soul Surfer. Both men participate in ocean swim competitions. In addition to their lifeguarding skills, Walsh credits their physical conditioning regimen for giving them the strength to perform this difficult rescue.
Robert F. Shields of Chepachet, Rhode Island
In 2008 it took responders more than six hours to recover a boy’s body after he drowned near a dam on the Blackstone River in Cumberland, Rhode Island. In response to that incident, Robert F. Shields, Coordinator of the Blackstone Valley Water Rescue Team, developed a rescue system to help prevent future tragedies. This paid off in 2009 when Shields’ team was able to rescue two kayakers who became trapped above the dam. More recently, Shields developed an ice safety public education program he called, DIPP (Drowning Incident Prevention Program) that has been presented to more than 3,000 students. Shields, a faculty member of Lifesaving Resources LLC, trains first responders in ice rescue, surface water rescue, and swiftwater rescue. He has been a volunteer firefighter since 1985 and a career Paramedic for Cumberland Rescue since 1989.
Mario Vittone of Bowie, Maryland
Mario Vittone’s article “Drowning Doesn’t Look Like Drowning,” based on studies done by Franchesco Pia, has improved public awareness and possibly saved hundreds of lives. The article has been translated into 14 languages and has been published in hundreds of publications. Public education is Vittone’s key mission. His blog is a rich source of information for the general public and professional rescuers alike. His bylined articles have been published in a wide variety of print and online media and he is frequently quoted by the media as a subject matter expert. Vittone is one of the United States Coast Guards’ leading experts on immersion hypothermia, drowning, sea survival, and safety at sea. In 2007, he was named as the Coast Guard Active Duty Enlisted Person of the Year.
Robert “Bob” Pratt of New Buffalo, Michigan
On August 28, 2011, Bob Pratt, chief executive of the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project, and one of his students rescued a boy who was caught in a rip current on Lake Michigan. About 30 minutes after teaching his “Surfboard Rescue Techniques” class, Pratt saw Nick Rymut, one of his class participants, trying to rescue the boy. Pratt sprinted into the water to assist and teach Rymut through the rescue.
Public safety education is a high priority for Pratt who has been interview by numerous media outlets in the region. Thanks in part to this notoriety, Pratt was invited to teach his “Surfboard Rescue Techniques Class” to 12 cities on the Great Lakes in 2012.
Donna Black of Bartlesville, Oklahoma
In June 2008, Donna Black, was teaching a class of lifeguards when she suddenly blew her whistle to clear the pool. She quickly pulled an unconscious woman onto the pool deck, cleared her airway and performed CPR until emergency medical services arrived. Eventually the woman began to breathe on her own and is now fully recovered. Black’s expertise, decisiveness, and commitment to drowning prevention not only saved that woman’s life; her actions taught the other lifeguards and the youth who were present, a valuable lesson about the need for attentiveness, quick response and well-honed response skills. They also learned, first hand, the tremendous responsibility a lifeguarding job entails.
Eric H. Lupton of Delray Beach, Florida
Eric H. Lupton is president of Life Saver Systems, Inc., a manufacturer of pool safety fencing based in Delray Beach, Florida. In 2011, Lupton launched the “Save a Life Program,” in which free pool fences (an estimated value of $2,000 each) are donated to eligible families across the country. In addition to the Save a Life Program, Lupton launched and maintains the “Pool Safety for Children” Facebook page which has more than 4,600 followers. Lupton frequently posts videos, articles, and safety tips on his Page. Lupton is also a Campaign Safety Leader for the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s Pool Safely Campaign.
What makes his accomplishments even more remarkable is that, as an infant, Lupton suffered a brain injury resulting from a lack of oxygen that left him permanently disabled and confined to a power wheelchair. Aware that many submersion-injured children suffer with similar—and often worse—disabilities, Lupton has spent his entire adult life advocating for child drowning prevention.
Joseph Gilmore Ragni of Scott Township, Pennsylvania
Joseph Ragni saved the life of an 8-year-old boy who had stopped breathing while swimming due to complications with his medication. Ragni, noticed the boy sinking, quickly pulled him from the water onto the pool deck and immediately began to perform CPR. Ragni, 16, who had been a lifeguard for only two months, was awarded a letter of commendation by the Township of Scott, Pennsylvania and has been celebrated as a local hero in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania region.
Natasha Taylor Harkey of Collomsville, Pennsylvania
While swimming in the ocean near Sandbridge, Va., Natasha Harkey, 15, heard a boy who was caught in a rip current screaming for help. She swam toward him, grabbed his hand and brought him safely back to shore. Seeing that the boy’s father and cousin were also struggling in the rip current, Harkey called for her family to help. Harkey’s stepfather, Jason Staggert, rushed into the ocean and Harkey followed him with a boogie board, but the rip current had pulled the distressed swimmers out of Harkey and Staggert’s reach. Meanwhile, Harkey’s aunt, Shelley Moore, called 911. Eventually lifeguards, with the help of nearby surfers, pulled the others out of danger.
Matt Morris of Kodiak, Alaska
Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Matt Morris, is an aviation maintenance technician with Air Station Kodiak in Alaska. On May 13, 2010, while attending a family reunion in Perdido Key, Florida, Morris and four family members got caught in a rip current while playing with a raft in the surf. Instead of swimming to shore, Morris swam out to help his family. Fortunately, Morris’ Coast Guard training kicked in and he was able to calm his family members and, using the raft for flotation, kick parallel to the rip current until they were free of it. He then guided them safely toward shore.
Patrick O’Brien of Narragansett, Rhode Island
On the night of September 26, 2011, Patrick O’Brien and other members of the Narragansett Rhode Island Police Department were dispatched to the mouth of Narrow River where it meets the Atlantic Ocean to respond to a report of someone yelling from the water. With no specialized equipment other than a life jacket and some rope, O’Brien removed his duty gear, entered the river and located he victim about 50-75 yards offshore in rapidly moving current. O’Brien pulled the victim to shore where he was treated by rescue personnel.
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ABOUT NATIONAL DROWNING PREVENTION ALLIANCE:
The National Drowning Prevention Alliance is a volunteer-driven 501(c) 3 nonprofit organization founded in 2004. NDPA members are dedicated to preventing drowning for all age groups in all bodies of water through public education, advocacy and strategic partnerships. The public is invited to join by visiting www.ndpa.org.
ABOUT USA SWIMMING FOUNDATION
The USA Swimming Foundation serves as the philanthropic arm of USA Swimming. Established in 2004, the Foundation works to strengthen the sport by saving lives and building champions. Whether we’re equipping our children with learn-to-swim skills, or providing financial support to our heroes on the U.S. National Team, the USA Swimming Foundation aims to provide the wonderful experience of Swimming to kids at all levels across the country. For more information visit www.swimfoundation.org.
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