Thursday, September 06, 2007

Heroes Save a Young Life


On September 4, 2007 the Alexandria Fire & Rescue Department gave awards to a life guard and pool manager from Cameron Run Regional Park for their role in saving the life of a seven year old girl. The two heroes were, Colin Veditz the life guard that identified that the girl was in trouble and Amanda Lindsay who was the pool manager that assisted with the first aid.

The event happened in June when a young girl lost consciousness in a shallow pool, due to a medical condition. Colin and Amanda acted quickly, pulling her from the pool and brining her back to consciousness before the EMTs arrived. The City Fire and Rescue officials remarked that Amanda and Colin’s good training and quick response made their jobs easy and probably save the life of this girl.

NVRPA life guards and pool managers receive considerably more training than most life guard, and are regularly audited for safety related indicators like scan times, equipment readiness, and professionalism. The National Aquatic Safety Company (NASCO) ranked all of NVRPA’s five water parks as “World Class” after its most recent audit.

No job is more important than saving lives. We were honored to have heroes like Amanda and Colin, and all the other skilled aquatic safety staff that helped keeps our patrons safe.

Amanda Linsay has worked summer for NVRPA since 2002. She holds Bachelors and Masters Degrees from James Madison University in Education and is a special education teacher for the Fairfax County School System.

Colin Veditz was a first time life guard this year, and said it was the best job he has ever had. He is a rising sophomore at West Virginia University in the field of Management Information Systems.

DC Reflections on Pohick Bay


On the DC Reflections blog there is a great post about kayaking at Pohick Bay and the Great Blue Heron, Bald Eagles, and Red Winged Blackbirds he encounter on a short but memorable paddle in the Pohick Bay Marsh. I find a paddle in the Marsh at Pohick Bay for an hour or two is one of the most relaxing thinks I can do. In a very short time you reconnect with nature. I encourage you to read this post that so well conveys the experience of paddling in this area.