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111!■ in null •■■|~iirlrnrTriTHURSDAY, NOV. 20, 2014*NEWSFOUNTAIN VALLEY VIEW7withSpfllJmembers recognized for teaching watersafety abroad.BY LAYLAN CONNELLYSTAFF WRITERSurfer Nate Halberson couldn’t help but stop and ask about the shiny medals hanging from the necks of three people standing near the boardwalk in Huntington Beach.When he heard how the group working with the International Surf Lifesaving Association was given the President’s Volunteer Service Award from the White House, he was impressed.“Even today, there was a really strong south current and it was pretty dangerous. Even for someone who is experienced like me, you can get swept away,” said Halberson of Lomita. “I take lifeguarding very seriously; I think we need them.”Lifeguards here knowr what they are doing, but in other countries they definitely need the training, he said. I’m really proud of you guys,” he told the guards.training.So far, volunteers have made 220 rescues while inAWARDRECIPIENTS• Olin Patterson:Gold medal• Henry Reyes: Gold medal• William Koon: Silver medal• Raquel Lizarraqa: Silver medal• Michael Lopez: Bronze medaldrownings than on both coasts,” said co-founder Olin Patterson, who received a gold medal for his“That means thewrorld to us, to serve our own country.”rson, a former seasonal Huntington Beach li-ana venegas, staff photographer feguard, now does market-international Surf Lifesavinq Association members, from left, Raquel Lizarraqa, Henry lor an outdoor retailercompany, but still finds thetime to go on a few tripseach year to give back.“It’s an incredible cultural experience,” he said.It’s not the first time 18-Reyes and Olin Patterson, hold up their President's Volunteer Service Awards.BY THE NUMBERSNumber of hours spent in each country training200Number of volunteersISLA gets each year220 Number of lives savedwhile on training missions22 Total projects to datesince 2009Five gold, silver and More information: islasurf.orgbronze medals came in the© I DID YOU KNOW?The President's Council on Service and Civic Participation was established in 2003 to recognize the contributions volunteers make in communities and encourage more people to serve. The Council created the President's Volunteer Service Award program as a way to thank and honor Americans who, by their demonstrated commitment and example, inspire others to engage in volunteer service.A gold medal requirs 500 hours of service in a one-year period, 400 for silver and 100 for bronze.LA has interacted with the White House.About a year and a half ago, a few members were guarding, it will be throughcountries doing training.“That’s not counting the lifeguards we’ve trained and how many people they’ve saved,” Reyes said.Reyes said they could always use more people with lifeguarding experience to go on trips to help, but they also welcome assistance from people with other skills like photography or fundraising backgrounds.Each year, the group holds a 5K run to raise money to help with the trips.Lizarraga, for example, has no lifeguarding background, but has skills in marketing from her day job at Cerritos City College. She came across the group while doing a school project, and has since dedicated hundreds of hours each year helping out the organization.“It should matter to everybody when the drowning statistics are so high,” she said. “If there’s something I can do about it, I’m going to do something about it. If 1can’t do it through life-invited to Washington to speak with members of Congress about Global Drowning Tracker, soft-social media and raising themail for the volunteers withISLAan organizationbased in Huntington Beach - two weeks ago, along with a congratulatory letter signed by President Barack Obama.“It’s just such an honor. We all have careers outside of this, and this is just something we do in addition to that. It’s nice to get recognition - we’re really makinglong period. “It’s nice to see the president and the White House see drowning as an issue and give us the awards.”Since the organization started in 2009, more than 200 volunteers mostly from around the United States have jumped on board to travel to at-risk locations toteach waters safetv skills,%» 'provide equipment andworld, in places including Nicaragua, Mexico, Chileniques such as how to pull someone from the water or and Peru. A project last how to brace a victim’sawareness.Reyes didn’t know they had been nominated for the ware that Koon, co-founder awards until they were con-mHenry Reyes and others de- taeted by the White House* iveloped to help track with inquires about theirdrownings wo rid wi d e.They were really inter-urnservice and timecardsshowing how many hoursan impact,” said Raquel Li- train lifeguards.zarraga, vice president of development, who earned a silver award for 400 hours of volunteering in a year-The goal is simple: to reduce the number of drownings.They’ve been around theeluding silver medal recipient and Huntington Beach State seasonal lifeguard William Koon, toAfrica to teach lifesavingskills to local lifeguards in Uganda.Some of the lifeguards from the developing countries have little skill even when it comes to the basics of swimming.The training group works on lifesaving teeh-cord injury.week sent volunteers, in- neck in the case of a spinal ested in what we’re doing they put in.He said the group celebrated when they receivedThe group is run by volunteers who pay their own way on trips, and there are about eight trips held through the year. The group recently taught a course in the United States, with volunteers going to the Great Lakes.“The Great Lakes haveand our program. It was an amazing experience,” said Reyes, who received a goldmedal.They caught the attention of the Princess of Monaco Foundation, and got to meet Princess Charlenetheir medals by wearing them out to a local bar. People around them wanted to know what the medals were all about.“It gave us another op-when she was in Orange portunitv to talk about ourCounty in April.Her organization sendsorganization,” he said.more coastline than the rescue boards to places 18-East and West coasts com- LA teaches, along with ad-bined, and there’s more ditional equipment for theirCONTACT THE WRITER:Iconnellyf ocreqtster.com
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Fountain Valley View
Fountain Valley, California, US
Thu, Nov 20, 2014
Page 7
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Mike M.
USA 14 Apr 2022
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