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AABL Memorial Committee

Years ago, as a young lifeguard, I was assigned to the 29th street lifeguard station, where I worked for the better part of the season. It was truly a local beach back then, frequented by African American Galvestonians. That spot on the beach was truly a community center. I knew lots of the regulars and was usually given lunch by someone.

Some days, at the end of my shift, a few of the local guys would sit waiting on a bench and take over as unofficial lifeguards into the evening hours. I’d often check in with them and let them know any issues or people to watch before leaving. Normally, someone would stop by the next morning to let me know how the “evening watch” went. I even met some old timers who had been lifeguards on that same beach decades ago.

I was 18 and living more than thinking, but gradually, the layers of the untold history woven into our beaches, much of it involving African Americans, started to sink in. But it wasn’t until my wife, Dr. Carol Bunch-Davis, took an interest and started doing research on the history of black lifeguards in Galveston, that I realized that the beach I worked during those years had been designated, and segregated, as a beach for black people since the 1920’s.

Today, we’ve pulled together the African American Beach Lifeguard (A.A.B.L.) Memorial Committee that has been working on some really cool stuff, chaired by David Mitchell. The Beach Patrol, NIA Cultural Center, Old Central Cultural Center, Visit Galveston, The Historical Foundation, Galveston Lifeguarding Inc., City of Galveston, and others have been working on a multi-staged project. Phase 1 was submission of an application for an “Undertold Story” state marker on the same spot of the seawall that the “Evening Watch” sat. This just received final approval from the County after being OK’d by the Corp of Engineers, and we plan to install it sometime next year!

Phase two will be a database that profiles African American Lifeguards and black beach history. We’re looking for families and friends who can record stories of these heroes and will seek grant funding to hire a researcher to uncover this rich part of our island’s history.

Phase three will be a large, sculptural monument to these lifeguards on the north side of the seawall. The idea is that there will be a way to point your phone at either project and access the database, and this will be part of a much larger cultural tour of the island.

Galveston Lifeguarding Inc. has pledged $5,000 as a match for the $10,000 total we need to pay for the marker base and honorariums for the 3 artists who will be chosen to develop mockups for the monument.  The community will vote for the final design for the big sculpture. We’re looking for donations to get this first part going.

This group has been wonderful to be part of. It’s a microcosm of good things beginning to happen on the island.

It’s amazing to see what we can do when we work together.

GMR Rescue

“Beach Patrol, car in the water 8 mile road bayside. Occupants possibly trapped inside”.

This call dropped a few years back. A call we dread, particularly at night. Supervisor/Officer Austin Kirwin, now our Lieutenant, happened to be near the radio and asked if the “on call” supervisor wanted assistance, which she wisely accepted. Water calls at night can be pretty scary no matter how well trained you are. Each of our year-round staff members has been there multiple times, and is quick to help each other out.

The 911 dispatcher followed protocol and dispatched the lifeguards first, then all the other emergency responders. In a water emergency it doesn’t make sense to have a police officer or paramedic arriving first and waiting a long time until a lifeguard gets there to enter the water. Life threatening events typically develop much faster in water than on land.

Once Beach Patrol was on the way the dispatcher called the rest of the “Galveston Marine Response” group which, for this call, included police, fire, EMS, and Jamaica Beach Fire Rescue. While on the way they all switched to the shared “Marine Response” channel and coordinated their resources. When the Fire Department arrived they set up lights and located the vehicle. Police blocked off the area and EMS staged for a potential medical emergency.

Austin arrived to find the car still floating after blasting off the end of the road. It was about 70 yards from the shore and a man in a white shirt was sitting cross legged on the roof. Austin grabbed his rescue board and a tube and got there quickly. Upon arrival he first asked if there was anyone else in the car. The man said there wasn’t. After a short conversation to assess the mental status of the man and a quick look inside the car, Austin was able to get him onto the rescue board and paddled him to safety, where he was checked out by EMS and Fire. He was later transported by EMS to the emergency room.  The man didn’t remember how he ended up on top of the now barely floating car. Once he had completed the rescue, Austin went back out to the car to recheck for other victims.

The Police Dive team was assembling, and a police officer and lifeguard supervisor went with Jamaica Beach Fire Rescue in their boat to join Austin in checking the vehicle. They found nothing and towed the bobbing vehicle close enough for a wrecker to hook up to it. The headlights were still on as divers began double checking for victims.

As the island slept, the Galveston Marine Response worked seamlessly to rescue yet another person from a near catastrophe. Each of these groups operates on a tight budget, but they still find a way to make rescues like this happen. Austin didn’t have to respond to that call, but he and the men and women of each of the GMR participating agencies know that their efforts make a huge difference.

Late Summer Tricks

“Good Morning. Ma’am, do you mind hopping down out of our lifeguard tower?”

“Why?”

“The towers are there for the lifeguards and we prefer other people don’t sit in them.

“That’s ridiculous.”

“There’s a sign right next to where you’re sitting saying ‘no trespassing’, so it would be the same as sitting in someone else’s house and refusing to leave.”

“Well then I guess I’ll leave. But I’m leaving the beach in that case. It’s too hot out here!”

Late in the summer it seems that people just get frayed. There are more complaints, arguments, fights, and weird things happening than earlier in the season. It’s like the veneer of civility gets burned away by the heat and sun and all the raw emotions people usually have tamped down come boiling to the surface. It can be a challenge, but if I have my head right it can be wildly entertaining. I especially like it when people seem to feel that they have their own little bubble of rules that differ from everyone else.

“Excuse me sir, do you mind putting your dog on a leash?”

“Why?”

“Galveston has a city ordinance requiring dogs to wear leashes. Also, there have been instances where dogs have been off a leash and…..” (you get the idea)

Then it goes into a whole list of reasons that all generally have the same theme that this particular case should be exempt from the rules. Some of the best ones are: “he’s really friendly and loves people”, “she just likes chasing birds and hardly ever bites anyone”, “I have him for protection”, or, my personal all-time favorite, “my dog is on a verbal leash”.

The other common technique that can be fun is the “stall technique”. We open with something along the lines of, “Hey, I’m sorry but you can’t use a tent or tarp in this area. You can, however, use it on the other side of those blue poles” And from there it goes a little something like this:

“What?”

“Can you please move your tarp to the other side of those blue poles?”

“I have to move my tarp?”

“Yes”

“Where?”

“To the other side of the blue poles”

“So…. I can’t have my tarp here?”

After it runs on for a while like that, they realize that even if you keep asking the response is the same. Then they might move it. Or if you’re lucky they might go into the previous technique and point out that they need shade more than other people because…..

End of summer grumbling aside, we got through the weekend pretty well. Despite the very large crowds the water was calm until Monday. We moved around 8,000 people from dangerous areas, made a couple of rescues, and a number of enforcement actions. Busy, but not as overwhelming as it could have been with rough water.

It’s been a busy, hot summer and I don’t think any of my staff minded ending the high season with a whimper as opposed to a bang!

Labor Day Advisory

With Labor Day upon us we’re expecting several hundred thousand people to be on the island this weekend. That’s a lot of chances to have something go wrong.

Over the past couple of weeks there have been several rescues that we’ve had to make by the rock jetties despite our best efforts to keep people far enough away to avoid trouble. There have also been a couple of incidents involving young children in area pools. Most or all of these incidents happened at least partly due to momentary lapses in judgment.

People do things when on vacation or out recreating that they would never do in their normal life. Parents who no doubt are very attentive to their children lose them repeatedly at our large beach parks. We have had up to 60 lost kids in a single day at Stewart Beach alone. People who are not generally risk takers swim far from shore and/or pay no attention to warning signs, flags, or lifeguard instructions. Are the parents bad parents? Are the people ignoring safety messages intentionally? Not in my opinion.

All of us get in a different mindset when we’re away from our routine and when we do something fun. We throw caution to the wind and immerse ourselves in the sea and sand and fun. This is good to a point and that point is sometimes the shoreline. Water is not our natural element. Things can go wrong quickly in the water so it only takes a momentary lapse of judgment or seconds of inattention for things to break bad.

But is doesn’t have to be that way. Taking a moment to observe your surroundings at the beach or pool does a lot. Asking someone who is knowledgeable, like a lifeguard, what to watch for before getting wet means that you greatly reduce your chances of an accident.

When you go out this weekend to enjoy any type of water remember to take a minute to be aware of your surroundings and potential risk. You also want to remember the basics like not swimming alone, staying hydrated, protecting yourself from the sun, observing signs and flags, feet first first time, alcohol and water don’t mix, and non-swimmers  and children should wear lifejackets. At the beach, you should also avoid swimming in areas where rip currents are likely, like near piers and jetties. These are protected by lifeguards and clearly marked with bilingual, iconic signage. And please don’t swim or wade in the San Luis Pass or Houston Ship Channel.

Choose to swim in areas protected by lifeguards. In beaches guarded by United States Lifesaving Association lifeguards, like Galveston with has an “Advanced Level” agency, your chances of drowning are 1 in 18 million.

But above all, YOU are responsible for the safety of both yourself and your family. Lifeguards provide an extra layer of protection in case your safety net lapses temporarily.

Enjoy the Labor Day weekend. You deserve it. See you on the beach!

Colombo

I’ve written before about Leroy Colombo, the most well-known lifeguard to come from our island, but someone so larger than life deserves multiple visits.

We all know that he was formerly credited in the Guinness Book of World Records with saving 907 lives, the most of any lifeguard in recorded history. Most also know that he was stricken with spinal meningitis at age 7 which left him deaf and without the use of his legs. With the help of his brothers he started swimming to rehab and eventually became a champion distance swimmer. As a champion swimmer and the first hearing impaired lifeguard he is a real testament to the human spirit’s ability to overcome adversary.

But it wasn’t until much later in life that he was considered a hero. As with almost all lifeguards it isn’t a career that leads very often to accolades. He did reportedly get a tip for saving a woman’s false teeth and for saving a poodle. And he got a couple of cans of beer once for saving a young girl from drowning. But there were hundreds saved without any type of recognition, even though he is said to have nearly drowned 16 times while making rescues.

He made his first rescue at 12, and by the time he turned 18 in 1923 he tried out for Galveston’s prestigious “Surf and Toboggan Club”. To do so he had to swim 3 hours without stopping. He officially became a Galveston lifeguard that year as well. We continue this tradition today with our “night swim”, the final physical challenge for the incoming lifeguards. All the staff joins them in completing a tough course involving lifeguard skills including swimming, rescue board paddling, running, climbing, and even some knowledge based activities, which can also be as long as 3 hours.

He followed the tradition of the Hawaiian “Waterman” (which included women) in that he lived in a way that was close to the ocean and practiced many of the disciplines related to the surf environment. In fact he was one of the first people in Galveston to practice the sport of surfing. His close childhood friend and fellow lifeguard, Ducky Prendergast, told me stories of how they used to overinflate long surf mats so they were rigid enough to surf on. We were fortunate to receive a wooden surfboard that he owned that eventually will be a focus point in a Lifeguard museum here on the island.

He exemplified the “Lifeguards for Life” motto of the United States Lifesaving Association. Even after he retired at 62 due to a heart condition, he kept swimming for the remainder of his life. That level of commitment doesn’t end just because the flesh wears out or the job is no longer an option. He’s a real role model for those who carry on with the tradition.

Hopefully those of us who share his love of the ocean and commitment to serving others through lifesaving will inspire future generations. He has certainly done this for us.

2023 USLA National Results

The best of the best went head-to-head for 4 days in Virginia Beach last week. The United States Lifesaving Association National Lifeguard Championships had over 800 Junior Guards, Open Lifeguards, and Age Groupers who battled it out over a long, 4-day competition.

All of the Lifesaving Sport events simulate some facet of open water rescue. Some are directly related like the 400-meter swim, run-swim-run, 2K beach run, rescue board race, and the swim and rescue board rescue. The more grueling ones combine different events, like the American Iron Person, which involves a 300-meter swim, 600-meter rescue board paddle, and 1000-meter row in a 1–2-person surf boat. Same for International Iron Person which substitutes a surf ski (long, skinny, ultra-fast kayak) for the surf boat. Most of the events mirror the international standard, but a couple of races are specific to USA lifesaving history. The surf boat race is a nod to our past since most of us use jet skis these days. Same for the Landline race where a swimmer swims 300 meters out dragging a long line behind them to make contact with a “victim” which two other people drag to shore by pulling the line in with repeated sprints.

Galveston made its mark both with our Junior Lifeguard team and the adult lifeguard teams.

In one long, grueling day our Juniors went at it, and in typical lifeguarding fashion they and their adult counterparts made friends with the competition. They compared notes about beaches, programs, and rescue techniques, and had a great time. Some of our more significant finishes were:

Maddy Scott- 2nd in distance run, 3rd swim rescue, 9th paddle relay, 10th run-swim-run

Zoey Scott- 1st distance run, 7th rescue board, 6th swim rescue, 6th paddle relay, 5th run-swim-run, 3rd iron guard (run-swim-paddle), 6th distance swim

Ryan Pryor- 8th distance run, 7th beach flags, 9th swim rescue, 3rd paddle relay

Houston Pryor- 8th distance run, 4th paddle relay

Caroline Livanec- 8th beach flags, 4th paddle relay

Abby Hart- 4th paddle relay

For the next three days the big guards were up. We ended up with an overall 6th place in the mid-sized teams category, which was impressive with only 8 competitors and most of the points being made in age group events. Jacque Emmert was our standout, raking in points on both age group and open events. Standout performances included:

Mac Livanec- semifinals in open Surf Ski (big deal!)

Jeff Mullins- 4th in American Ironman and 16th in mixed open row

Peter Davis- 2nd American Ironman, 3rd Surfski, semis in open Surfski, 4th Beach Flags, 4th International Ironman, 5th Rescue Board, 6th Run-Swim-Run

Jacque Emmert- 9th open American Ironwoman, 9th open Single Surfboat, 2nd Surf Swim, 2nd Run-Swim-Run, 3rd Rescue Board Race, 5th Surfski, 2nd American Ironwomen, 4th 2k Beach Run, and a GOLD medal in the International Ironwoman

Congrats to our athletes and kudos for all the blood, sweat, and  training that went into preparing. And a special thank you to our guards who stayed home and kept our beaches safe during a busy, busy weekend!

De-stress Training

The golden orange early morning light slanted across the surface as the bow of the surf ski sliced through glassy, emerald water. The only sounds a mile and a half from shore were from paddles dipping into the water and rhythmic breathing, punctuated by the occasional bird sound. 15 minutes into an hour and a half training session and I was in the zone, when an unexpected wet blowing sound just off to the side startled me. This ended up being one of the best paddles of the summer.

A dolphin had broken the surface off to the right side and as I saw its tail slip beneath the surface, I realized how clear the water was. I was able to track it under the front of the boat and see it moving off to the left, along with several other shapes that were swimming in tandem. Another surfaced, then another, and I realized they were all over. It was a pod of around twenty bottle nosed dolphins. I adjusted course to track with the group and for the next 10 minutes saw them play, come up beside me and look at me with curious, all too human eyes, and jump in the air. Eventually they drifted off and I resumed my course farther offshore.

In what is arguably the busiest beach and hottest season Galveston has seen, the demands on our staff are many. They have risen to the occasion and have done the hard work of keeping people from danger day in and day out. To do this we’ve had to find balance. Physical balance includes daily exercise, staying hydrated/healthy, and being self-aware enough to realize when you shouldn’t push too hard or shouldn’t take that extra shift. But equally important is the need to maintain psychological balance and build things into your routine to counteract the stress that being constantly on the watch for ways to keep people from hurting themselves brings. We’ve tried to build that into our routine as an agency by allowing time for daily training, providing formal leadership/resiliency training, and encouraging social time outside of work. In fact, last Friday our non-profit lifesaving association hosted a very nice dinner and awards banquet for the whole staff with the help of a generous donation from the Sasser family (thank you!). It was really cool to see the crew relaxing with friends and co-workers outside of work. Special congrats to our 2023 Lifeguard of the Year, Josh Schmidt, who was chosen by his peers and whose name is now memorialized on the lifeguard of the year plaque that hangs in our Headquarters!

Back to my personal de-stress routine, once I’d reached a turnaround point about 4 miles offshore, I took a few minutes to swim around in the abnormally crystal-clear water before heading back. On the way I was again startled by a 6-foot Spinner Shark jumping/spinning about 5 feet above the water and reconnected with the big dolphin pod before returning to shore refreshed and ready to start another day on the beach.

Lucero in action!

The Galveston Police Department dispatcher called to let us know to be on the lookout for a woman who reportedly was on the way to Galveston to commit suicide on the beach, likely either Stewart Beach or East Beach.

Supervisor/Officer Michael Lucero was just starting his shift and, recognizing the urgency of the call, decided to go directly out to East Beach to see if anyone matching the description was in the area. He notified our dispatch that he’d be on the way to check, and about four or five minutes later called in to say that he’d located someone matching the person and vehicle description and requested backup. Dispatch responded saying that Police and EMS were enroute.  About two minutes later he called again saying he was struggling with the person and asked that we send the closest Beach Patrol unit to assist until EMS and the Galveston Police Department arrived. Shortly afterwards, Beach Patrol Lieutenant Austin Kirwin called in that he was on location and that Lucero had everything under control.

Michael later told me that he was afraid the woman was actively committing suicide.  When he approached the passenger side of the car, he noticed the bottle of alcohol she was drinking.  She tried to drive off, but he quickly reached into the car and took her keys. She then grabbed a big container of pills and started trying to cram them into her mouth. He grabbed the container and, as they struggled for it, he made a quick call on the radio for assistance. By the time Lt. Kirwin arrived Michael had both the keys and the pills and was standing by the car. Police, EMS, and Fire showed up shortly afterwards and she was taken to the hospital for evaluation.

There are so many ways the woman could have lost her life that day. Had Michael Lucero decided to quickly check in at headquarters before checking the park, had he not proactively entered the car and grabbed the keys, or reacted slower in recognizing that she was about to take the pills, the situation could have gone a much different way.

Michael has been a full time Beach Patrol Supervisor for 5 years and chose to go through the law enforcement academy a couple of years ago to enhance his capabilities on the beach. He says, “I chose to work for Beach Patrol because I grew up competitive swimming my whole life, and in high school all my friends from my swim team worked here in the summer. So, during my Senior year of high school I decided to come down and try out, and I’ve been here ever since.”

The Beach Patrol and the millions that visit our beaches are lucky to have someone like Michael and his fellow guards and responders from Police, Fire, and EMS looking out for them when they visit.

Michael recently qualified to represent Galveston at the United States Lifesaving Association National Championships in Virginia Beach, Va. Wish him luck!

Beachfest – Junior Lifeguard Program

The end of the Junior Lifeguard Program is here and is a big deal for us. Last Thursday the kids went to Matagorda for a full day on that beautiful, deserted beach. Today is “Beachfest”, which is a day of competition where the kids compete in a run, swim, paddle race, run-swim-run, swim rescue, paddle rescue, and beach flags. It’s always a good time and many of the parents come down to cheer, hang out, and enjoy beach BBQ. It’s so cool to see how far the younger kids come in only 6 weeks. I love the 10-11 year old age group paddle race where some of the smaller kids look like they’re paddling boats! The conditions are a little choppy so there will be a bit of a challenge. Its always a good time and I love the part at the end when we spend time story-swapping time under tarps eating great food.

Next Wednesday days the big guards compete in the Gulf Coast Championships of the United States Lifesaving Association in Port Aransas. There are 5 beach lifeguard organizations in the state of Texas and hopefully all will be present. Those who do well will represent “Team Texas” in the National Lifesaving Championships.

This is a four-day event involving both Junior Lifeguard events and Lifeguard events where the best of the best duel it out on the beach. It rotates beaches each year and this year we’ll be at one of my favorite beaches for competition, Virginia Beach. Not only is it a beautiful spot, but the community has done an amazing job of creating an admirable beach product that includes art, performance spaces, and well-maintained amenities. They have a good lifeguard program, police bicycle security program, and do a great job of keeping everything clean and hospitable. Galveston is my favorite beach, but I love visiting other venues to get ideas on how we can be even better.

Another thing we’re excited about is that since the Junior Guard program is over, we start our Community Beach Camps for non-profits that work with kids, prioritizing those that work with at risk youth. These camps are half day camps that are like mini Junior Guard sessions and are taught by our Junior Guard instructors. Kids get to experience a water safety seminar, learn about nutrition, hydration, and sun protection, and have a discussion about what a typical day is like for a lifeguard. Once the classroom portion is finished, they have an introduction to paddle boarding workshop.

Whether we’re talking about competition for young adults, Junior Guarding for teens and “tweens”, community camps for all ages, or our Spring School Water Safety Education Program, hundreds if not thousands of kids and young adults are getting at least some exposure to the beach environment and the values inherent in lifesaving and public safety each season. Our wonderful instructors are great role models, embody these values, and work very hard all season. I’m proud to work with them.

4th & Leadership

Planning for an event as large as a 5-day 4th of July weekend is quite a thing. We check equipment for the guards, Community Emergency Response (CERT) and the park security programs, and make sure the Survivor Support Network is ready to go. We make sure we schedule everyone including additional coverage for the towers, a boat in the water, additional patrols at the parks for lost children and other issues.

But there are some less tangible preparations that have to be made well in advance that have relate to team cohesion and initiative. With 32 miles of beach to cover, 70 miles of waterfront that we may respond to, night calls, and whatever craziness gets thrown at us, we have to be able to respond to multiple events simultaneously and all the parts have to be able to work autonomously or fold into small groups made up of various people and response groups that work a problem together.

For a couple of years, we’ve been working on these areas, and have an internal program that is peer led. So, lifeguards work with lifeguards to make sure all the elements are in place for how to deal with stress, a variety of people and situations, and to work as a cohesive unit. Team cohesion, leadership, and physical and emotional resilience are essential ingredients for making it all come together.

We have an amazing team of peer leaders that run workshops once a week and we have small modules that are included in our daily training as well. It’s really starting to pay off and has permeated throughout our organization. Bill Bower is one of our peer leaders. He described an exercise in the following communication to the staff:

“I wanted to share with everyone what went on in our Saturday workout. I see it as a major step forward for our class. When we arrived at headquarters, we were told there was no workout, to pick up her bags, and head to tower 17. What happened next was a textbook example of what we’re trying to teach. Captain Pryor gathered everyone around and explained that the majority of guards were not swimming the jetty correctly. He demonstrated complete ownership of the situation, acknowledging that if most people were doing it wrong then they probably hadn’t been correctly instructed on how to do it. This is exactly what we’re trying to teach the guards to do with beach patrons. He explained how Beach Patrol wanted them to do it and then the all-important reason why they should do it. This was something most of them had never heard before. He then took the group in the water and showed them exactly what needed to be done and led them through it. I think this interaction really hit home with them showing how a true leader uses extreme ownership to motivate and lead. It was one of the best examples of leadership I’ve ever seen, and I plan to reference it in our future discussions.”