WASHINGTON - GeorgiaChron -- The 2024 ReadyCommunities Partnership (RCP) National Service Award was presented on Friday at the Reedville Fishermen's Museum to honor Smith Point Sea Rescue (SPSR) for fifty years of all-volunteer service rescuing people and property in peril on the Chesapeake Bay and other waterways of Virginia's Northern Neck and Maryland.  Hon. Rob Wittman of Virginia's First Congressional District, presented the award to acknowledge SPSR's passion for community service with several boats and several dozen volunteers at the ready and remarked, "Smith Point Sea Rescue is a pillar of volunteerism and a true lifeline for boaters and fishermen on the Chesapeake Bay.  I'm proud to present this award and thank Smith Point Sea Rescue for their incredible service to our community and for being an inspiration to us all."

SPSR President Pete Ortiz accepted the award and remarked, "We are probably best known for the April 1, 2023 rescue of eight individuals after their boat sank in frigid waters of the Chesapeake.  While that rescue was significant, other lesser-publicized rescues have been extremely rewarding such as seeing the look of relief on the faces of a family on a small boat hindered by engine problems or saving a sailboat from drifting ashore during a storm."

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Co-hosted by Reedville's (Blue Star) Fishermen's Museum Executive Director, Shauna McCranie, and ReadyCommunities Partnership National Director, Dr. Rosalie J. Wyatt, MBA, the award ceremony was also attended by volunteer sea rescue members donned in corporate yellow shirts and red jackets as listed below, along with Dan and Jeanne Hickey of Smith Point Marina, and Northumberland Emergency Services Chief Calvin Balderson who remarked about SPSR's collaborative role.  District Director for Rob Wittman, Joe Schumacher also attended as did Dexter Lewis for Virginia Delegate, District 67, Hillary Pugh Kent.  During her opening remarks, Rosalie J. Wyatt, PhD said, "Smith Point Sea Rescue is an excellent example of the fulfillment of a community-wide mutual mission and its importance to resiliency."

According to Hingley (2024, Cooperative Living), SPSR is the "last remining all-volunteer sea rescue unit on the Chesapeake Bay" with several boats in operation and several dozen volunteers.  In 1974, the community-based Smith Point Sea Rescue team was founded in response to a crisis on the water and since then has served continuously under the motto "To be there when needed."  SPSR's sustained success can also be attributed to the SPSR duty roster, camaraderie and commitment to excellence.

Additional attendees included Lancaster County Sheriff Patrick McCranie, Beach Beton, Russ and Marguerite and Bertino, Skip Campbell, Joe Cooper, Jim and Darlene Dabbs, Ray and Anne Dabney, Robert and Debbie Gwaltney, Dewayne and Allie Leslie, Mark Meservey, Cathy Ortiz, Rick and Kendra Simpson, Brent and Stacey Stansbury, Don Stone, Bill Turville, Glenn Warner, Jim and Joan Watkins, Rip Witkowski, and a designee for editor Robert Mason of the Rappahannock Record.  Local reception foodstuffs were sourced from Fawn's, A Delectables Café of Reedville.

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Since 2007, the RCP National Service and Sacrifice Awards have acknowledged individuals and organizations for their extraordinary service and contributions to the resiliency of America's strategic communities. These awards were established to recognize volunteers, responders, and organizations for their leadership, heroism, service, collaboration, partnerships, innovation, technology, and response and containment skills to save lives and maintain community resiliency in the first 72 hours of a large-scale crisis. Overall, these awards help support community development through collaboration and foster a culture of resiliency for economic and national security.

ReadyCommunities Partnership is a non-profit and non-partisan initiative and project of the Corporate Crisis Response Officers Association and the Community Institute for Preparedness, Response, and Recovery.  For additional information, please visit http://www.ccroa.org or email drrjwyatt@ccroa.org/ or mail Dr. R.J. Wyatt, CCROA, 1390 Chain Bridge Road, 490, McLean, VA  22101.  © CCROA 2024, All rights reserved.