Please note that PRE-REGISTRATION is CLOSED. Anyone who wishes to attend will now need to check in at the door.
Nantucket’s history is filled with stories of heroic lifesaving efforts by everyday citizens and those who went above and beyond the call of duty. Honoring that tradition, Egan Maritime will recognize modern-day lifesavers Wednesday, September 11, 2024 during the annual Lifesavers Recognition Day ceremony at the Nantucket Shipwreck & Lifesaving Museum.
Price: Free, but registration required
This event is supported by Egan Maritime Institute and the Nantucket Cottage Hospital, both nonprofits that work tirelessly to help our Island community. To ensure this event continues in perpetuity, we depend on generous donors to help cover the costs associated with honoring Nantucket Lifesavers. If you are compelled to support this event, please click here.
2024 Recipients
Recognition of the Town of Nantucket Lifeguards, Represented by the Nantucket Lifeguard Supervisors: Kevin Johnson, Justin Roethke, and Ethan Coggins.
The committee would like to formally recognize the Town of Nantucket Lifeguards' outstanding performance during the 2024 Summer Season. Despite facing significant and unprecedented challenges, they have safeguarded 304,609 patrons and performed 64 open-water rescues, 16 assists, and 63 medical emergencies (as of 8/20/2024). Their leadership, mental toughness, expertise, and poise under pressure have made Nantucket's waters safer and saved countless lives. We salute their dedication and commitment to their duty.
The committee would like to thank the Nantucket Current and Nantucket Inquirer and Mirror for reporting many of the above incidents. Most of the information regarding each incident is available online at www.nantucketcurrent.com and www.ack.net. The Town of Nantucket Police Department, Fire Department, and Nantucket Cottage Hospital provided important details as well.
Lifesaving Award:
Lifesaving Award – This recognition may be awarded to anyone who rescues or endeavors to rescue any other person from drowning, shipwreck, or other perils of the water. The rescue attempt must either occur in waters within the Town or County of Nantucket, Massachusetts, or, in the case of a resident of the Town or County of Nantucket, within the waters of the United States or subject to the jurisdiction thereof.
Seth Engelbourg
The committee recognizes Seth and his friends for their heroic work on the evening of July 14th. They arrived at a beach and noticed two girls out in the water. They quickly called 911, jumped in the water, and were able to get the girls to shore. The lifeguards arrived, got them out of the water, and took over. The water was rough that evening, and the riptide could have quickly taken the girls out to sea.
Erin O’Brien
The committee wishes to award Erin O’Brien a Lifesaving Award for her lifesaving work on August 4th, when she saved the life of an elderly swimmer. Erin is a former Town of Nantucket Lifeguard who put her skills to the test and was able to save this woman from a powerful rip-tide. We are deeply grateful for her selfless act and her dedication to water safety.
Tyler Herrick
The committee recognizes Tyler Herrick for his heroic efforts and assistance at Nobadeer Beach on August 6th. The water was hazardous that day, and the lifeguards were in and out of the water multiple times. Tyler spent the afternoon assisting them and ensuring the safety of all swimmers. Herrick made several water rescues on that day. The first one was a mother and son. Herrick said the boy was no older than 12 or 13 years old, and when he approached them, the mom was choking on water, and the boy was starting to panic. His second rescue was a group of college-aged girls, all swimmers; they had been swept far out to sea by the rip current and were struggling to catch their breath. His last save was a former swim team member who, like the others, had been swept too far to sea and needed assistance swimming back. Tyler not only helped keep everyone safe, but he also took the time to educate the swimmers on how to swim with a strong current safely and helped them understand how important it is to follow the lifeguard’s instructions when the rip is so strong.
Kevin Johnson, Lifeguard Supervisor and Gaven Norton, Alex Horan, Brad Gebhardt, Chase Bomiesler, Turner Garland, Jackson Roberts.
The committee recognizes Kevin, Gaven, Chase, Alex, Jackson, Turner, and Brad for their lifesaving actions, saving two swimmers caught in a rip current rescued from the Nobadeer Beach surf on Sunday, August 18th. In what could have been a very tragic accident, these surfers were able to assist the Nantucket Lifeguards in bringing two swimmers who were over 200 yards out to sea in hazardous conditions. With Hurricane Ernesto passing east of the island, Nantucket Harbormaster Sheila Lucey had closed all south shore beaches to swimming Saturday and Sunday due to the heavy surf and rip currents, and the rescue occurred as lifeguards were warning people to stay out of the water.
Maurice Gibbs Commendation Award
This recognition may be awarded to any person or organization that, through efforts above and beyond the normal scope of their mission, has made a significant contribution to the saving or preservation of lives for the people of the Town and County of Nantucket, Massachusetts or to the people of the United States overall.
Kaitlan Collins
Kaitlan came to the aid of an elderly man on Broad Street late on July 30th. She was on Broad Street when she witnessed an elderly man fall off his bike. Kaitlan helped this man treat his injured leg, but she distracted him while waiting for the paramedics to arrive. She was calm, relaxed, and collected during this incident and formed a friendship with the man she assisted.
Photo by Evan Mann
We understand that plans change! Because we are a small non-profit, cancellations make it challenging for us to manage program enrollment. Tickets to all EMI programs are fully refundable up to three days before the scheduled program. Tickets are non-refundable if you cancel within 72 hours of the scheduled program. Tickets are eligible for an exchange before the date and time of the scheduled program. If you wish to reschedule, please contact us at egan@eganmaritime.org
While EMI intends to provide all programming as scheduled, occasionally, we have to cancel or reschedule for unforeseen circumstances. In the event of a cancellation by us, we will make every effort to provide a ticket exchange at an amenable date and time to both parties and if we cannot, we will refund the purchase and credit the original payment method.