Conferences Offer Latest Life-Saving Info
Presentations Available to Help Prep for Busy Summer Season
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National Drowning Prevention Alliance Lifesaver of the Year Bob Pratt was the keynote speaker at the first GLWSC conferences in Cleveland and Grand Haven last month.
Are you ready for a safer summer?
Attendees of the Great lakes Water Safety Consortium's inaugural conferences learned the latest in wave and current science; how to talk to the media about water safety; and ways to avoid, escape, and safely save others from dangerous currents.
After dozens of presentations from a wide variety of experts from around the Great Lakes, compelling and heartbreaking stories from survivors and loved ones of victims, and recommendations on beach warnings & rescue equipment, attendees left the conferences fired up and ready to take action to make their local beaches safer this summer and year-round.
Download conference presentations from our Google Drive here.
Evaluations rated the registration process, venues, content, presenters and more, averaging 9.2 and 9.3 out of 10 in Cleveland and Grand Haven, respectively. Now we want to know what all Consortium members would like to see in future conferences.
Please take the 2-minute 2017 Conference Planning Survey here.
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Water Safety Superhero and Volunteer of the Year Awards Presented at Conferences
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Megan Dodson, from the National Weather Service, was presented with the GLWSC Volunteer of the Year award. Megan has been a water safety champion for many years, led the Conference Planning Committee, and was instrumental in getting the GLWSC started.
Megan appears in this excellent water safety story by Meteorologist Ed Russo.
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Our first Water Safety Superhero Award was presented to Melissa Zirkle. Since losing her beloved 13-year-old son, Jermaine, to a Lake Erie rip current, Melissa has teamed up with the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project to offer water safety classes and much more, in hopes of preventing further tragedies. A second Superhero Award was presented to Brandon Romero, who saved a father and son from drowning.
Watch this story from Fox8 in Cleveland about Melissa and her heroic efforts. |
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Fired Up About Flip, Float & Follow
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I'm still fired up about our amazing conferences.
Thanks once more to all who took the time to attend, and to everyone, please tell us what would get you to attend next year in our 2-minute survey.
As I said in my closing remarks, ask yourself, "what ELSE can you do and what MORE can you do this year to end drowning?" We are a community of BEST practice, and after hearing from so many experts in person or reviewing their slides here, none of us should go back to doing things the same as before and expect better results. We need to learn from one another.
We are committed to ending drowning year-round, so we need to keep working together year-round to make a difference. Drowning is preventable, and by relentlessly communicating our key messages (like "stay dry when waves are high," "steer clear of the pier," and "flip, float & follow") and recommending consistent beach warnings, rescue equipment, and training materials, we can maximize our collective efforts and make a real difference.
Please let us know what Committees you're interested in via the conference follow-up survey. We also need a Treasurer for our new Board of Directors as we become an official 501c3 non-profit, so let me know if you know anyone who might be interested in that opportunity.
Special thanks to Megan Dodson, Kirk Lombardy, and Bob Dukesherer for leading our excellent conference planning teams and thank YOU for being part of this new collaborative endeavor to #EndDrowning in the Great Lakes.
In the coming months, the Leadership Council and committee chairs will look for more innovative techniques and technologies to make us as effective as possible - and make being part of the GLWSC a valuable and compelling experience for each of you.
Finally, please let me know of any water safety special events happening around the Great Lakes, like the Beach Survival Challenge on June 18, and contact me anytime with questions or suggestions for making the Consortium better.
Jamie
Jamie Racklyeft
Executive Director, Great Lakes Water Safety Consortium
Rip Current Survivor
jracklye@glwsc.org
P.S. Here are links to some of our many resources, including more photos from our Conferences, and some recent media coverage...
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