Egan Maritime & Nantucket Cottage Hospital Present the 20th Annual Lifesavers Recognition Day 2024
Wednesday, September 11, 2024: 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Nantucket’s history is filled with stories of heroic, lifesaving efforts made by everyday citizens and those who went above and beyond the call of duty. Egan Maritime Institute and Nantucket Cottage Hospital honor that tradition annually and recognize the following modern-day lifesavers at our Lifesavers Recognition Day.
This summer has been nothing short of busy on the waterfront. The Lifesaving Recognition Day Committee, which is chaired by Jessica Guff, the president of the Nantucket Shipwreck & Lifesaving Museum Advisory Committee, and includes the Executive Director of the Egan Maritime Institute, the President of the Nantucket Cottage Hospital, the Executive Director of the Nantucket Cottage Hospital Foundation, the Fire Chief, the Police Chief, the Nantucket Harbor Master, and the Master Chief Brant Point would like to formally recognize the Town of Nantucket Lifeguards' outstanding performance during the 2024 Summer Season. All lifeguards are invited to join us at this ceremony so we can thank them in person.
The following individuals will be receiving the Lifesavers Recognition Day Lifesaving Award. This prestigious award is given to a citizen who rescues or endeavors to rescue any other person from drowning, shipwreck, or other perils of the water.
Seth Engelbourg
Erin O’Brien
Tyler Herrick
Kevin Johnson, Gaven Norton, Alex Horan, Brad Gebhardt, Chase Bomiesler, Turner Garland, and Jackson Roberts.
"As a community and a committee, we are grateful for the hard work of all our professional lifesavers and heroic citizens. Each year, we hope that we will meet and find ourselves unable to come up with anyone to nominate for the Lifesaving Award, as that means there were no accidents on the water," shares Jessica Guff. “While this might be a lofty goal, we all would like to implore community members to listen to the warnings of first responders, especially the Harbor Master’s office and lifeguards. Accidents happen, but it is essential to know your limits while swimming and avoid putting yourself and others in danger."
In addition, the committee will award CNN’s Kaitlan Collins the Maurice Gibbs Commendation Award. This award is named after Maurice Gibbs. It honors a person who contributed significantly to saving and preserving lives for the people and the Town of the Country of Nantucket.
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 to
2024 Ceremony Photos
2024 Honorees
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.
Tracy Falconer Thanks the Town of Nantucket Lifeguards
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.
Recipient #1: 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.
Recipient #2: 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.
Recipient #3: Tyler Herrick
The committee nominates 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.
Recipient #4 Kevin Johnson, Lifeguard Supervisor, assisted by Gaven Norton, Alex Horan, Brad Gebhardt, Chase Bomiesler, Turner Garland, Jackson Roberts.
The committee recognizes Kevin, Gaven, Chase, Alex, Turner, Jackson, 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.
Recipient: 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 and 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.