bucket & buoy spring 2013

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Save the Date!

the

Bucket Buoy The official newsletter of the JBLC

Social Media Do you tweet? Follow the Bucket Buoy on twitter @BucketBuoy #getwiththeprogram #lifeguards4life Facebook Group: Jones Beach Lifeguards: Lifeguards for life. www.freejblc.net

A message from your lifeguard President

Rehire Swim Saturday May 11th

CPR/FA/Training Coming in the mail!

JB Invitational Tuesday July 16

Well, after a very long and traumatic off-season, we seem to be on track to get back to the beaches! Sandy devastated our parks and homes. It is still affecting us, and it shows how difficult it is to prepare for natural disasters. Our parks and beaches have long been neglected and perhaps now, with the influx of money for reconstruction and replenishment, we might be on a positive path towards the future. Many of our parks have been totally or partially closed to the public, but we have been informed that everything is set to open for the 2013 season. We shall see.

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SPRING 2013 THE BUCKET BUOY

New lifeguard shacks are being built at Jones Beach, and three of the four shacks at Robert Moses are to be replaced. Sand is being pumped from Fire Island Inlet, as well as the Captree Boat Basin area, and placed on the beaches. The boardwalk at Jones Beach is being reconstructed, and the traffic circle at Robert Moses will be paved along with the stretch of Ocean Parkway from Gilgo to Cedar Beach. By now everyone should have received his or her re-hire paperwork. The rehire tests will again be held at Suffolk County Community College in Brentwood. The change of venue from Nassau CC to Suffolk CC is viewed as a very positive move, and I wish to thank Parks for making this change. The faster, deeper pool and a real running track are appreciated. We have had very few meetings with Management over the winter. The only thing new is the addition of First Aid and Oxygen administration to our training schedule. We proposed having diving masks and snorkels available to lifeguards in the event they are needed for a submersion, and we have been told they will be provided. We also have proposed setting up a Task Force of lifeguards to meet with local first responders, police, and operations to coordinate 911 calls and protocol for disaster and submersions (or fake submersions). We have decided to distribute our 2013 Union T-shirts after the beaches have all opened. Last year we distributed them at the re-hire tests and it ended up being a lot of work for Tom Darnaud. Tom works very hard every year to design, print and distribute our T-shirts, please take the time to thank him for his yearly efforts. Many of our members seem to have not signed up to become part of the NYS Retirement System. One of the real benefits we have is being part of the retirement plan, and it is exceedingly short sighted to not join. You will find information at: http://www.osc.state.ny.us/retire/index.php We also have a full range of benefits and discounts through NYSUT. Please take that time to check out their web site: http://www.nysut.org/cps/rde/xchg/nysut/hs.xsl/49.htm Beach Representative elections are held each year over the 4th of July period. Nominations and voting for these positions are held at each beach or pool, and a simple majority vote is all that is needed to be elected. Please consider becoming a beach representative or an alternate. It is very important to keep our democratic traditions alive and to keep your constituents fully informed. This year we will be having Executive Board elections. These are two year terms and voting will be by mail, supervised by UUP. You will need to have signed up as a voting member to receive your ballot. Please make sure you have signed a card. Our membership committee will be trying to insure that all our members have signed up. I hope everyone returning this year has a wonderful exciting summer. I’ll see you on the beaches. Tom Donovan President, JBLC

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Bruce Petersen: Lifeguard, Legend & Extraordinary Human Being.

They don’t really come much bigger than Bruce. Standing 6 feet 5 inches tall his height wasn’t just a reflection of his physical size, but also of the size of his heart. If you had the pleasure of knowing Bruce Petersen then you know the kind of man he was. He could always put a smile on your face & make you feel good about yourself. Bruce was not your average man. He was a member of the Hempstead Golf and Country Club for 55 years. He was a Junior Club Champion, Club Champion, and Senior Club Champion. He played Basketball for the University of Maryland. He loved the great outdoors, especially his home up in Lake Placid, NY. He also was a lifeguard at Jones Beach for almost 40 years. Bruce worked pretty much every field at Jones Beach, but was known for his love of West End II. Throughout his career as a JB Lifeguard, he acted not just as a mentor but also a friend to all he would come in contact with. The amount of lives he has touched and saved in his almost 40 years on the beach is something we should all proud of. History says if you want to be a known as “a legend” you must do legendary things. Well “Brucie Boy”…you have forever left your mark with us and YOU ARE a lifeguard legend in our book. We will never forget you, your love and passion for the beach, lifesaving and most importantly the parking lot! Thank for you all your years of service & rest well my friend. We will miss you dearly. Services will take place on Friday April 19th at 5pm at the First Presbyterian Church of Oyster Bay 60 East Main Street. A “Celebration of his Life” will commence at the Nassau Country Club in Glen Cove. Proper attire required.

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Jones Beach Invitational Lifeguard Tournament Tuesday July 16th 2013.

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tryout for our “A” team on July 6th at 9am EBHO. Following the competition is the Union Party at a location TBA. All competitors and guests are welcome. More information can be found on our Facebook page “Jones Beach Invitational Lifeguard Tournament”. Don’t miss out on this awesome event…start forming your teams now! Here is the line up of events for this year:

2 mile Beach Run/Run-Swim-Run/Distance Paddle/Landline Rescue/Distance Swim/4x100 Soft Sand Relay/Swim-Paddle-Run Relay/Rescue Race /Beach Flags.

Who will bring home the “George Marth

Championship Cup” for 2013?

Junior Lifeguard Program Our Junior Lifeguard Program will once again in be in full swing for summer 2013! We are always looking for more instructors to come on down and lend a hand. Give back to the kids & share your knowledge of lifesaving! We meet every Sunday morning at 7:45am at the East Bathhouse at JB June 30th-August 4th. Email Jr. Lifeguard Director Scott Riegel at [email protected] with any questions.

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The 2nd annual Jones Beach Invitational Lifeguard Tournament will be taking place on Tuesday, July 16th 2013 at the EBHO. Last years tournament was a huge success and we are looking forward to making it bigger and better for 2013. This tournament is in replacement of the traditional lifeguard races. It is open to all lifeguards who want to compete in teams of 8. Last year we had teams from Tobay Beach Patrol, Fire Island Ocean Rescue, Long Beach Patrol, & 4 teams representing the JBLC. This year we plan on having several more beach patrols with us and would like to get as many JBLC teams as possible! We will be hosting a

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New Training for 2013 8 hours on the clock: CPR/AED/First Aid/O2

New York State Parks and Recreation are implementing some new training for all lifeguards for the 2013 season. In years past, we would choose from any of JBLC “7/11” CPR/AED refresher classes, show up & get recertified. LISP have taken a look at our CPR

recertification process and decided to make some changes of their own. Here is how it will work for the 2013 season and moving forward.

All lifeguards will have the opportunity to sit in an 8-hour class WHILE IN PAY STATUS prior to the start of full

opening. Instead of just getting recertified in CPR/AED you will now be getting 2 new additional certifications. Those new certifications will be in American Red Cross Basic First Aid & Oxygen Administration.

If you already hold these certifications and they are valid, you do no not have to take them with state parks. You may also opt to get it all on your own. As in the past, you will not be able to work unless your credentials are up to date and on file by 7/11/13. Lastly…. please remember that if you hold a 2 year CPR certification, it is only valid for 1 year for lifeguarding so you MUST take this course. Dates, times and locations will be arriving in the mail by next week. Please make sure to RSVP and send in your $37 ASAP!

BE PART OF THE WATER RESCUE TEAM JULY 14TH, 2013!

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Treasurers Report-March 2013 Jones Beach Lifeguard Corps

As of March 21, 2013 the Jones Beach Lifeguard

Corp chapter of the New York State Lifeguard Corp (NYSLC) has an approximate balance of $9,500.00. History shows that we have enough funds to operate throughout the summer of 2013. Traditionally our biggest expenses in the summer are:

1. Union stipends and beach representative payments. 2. Union t-shirts. 3. Union, race and Christmas party 4. Union office and administration costs. 5. Food and drink for beach representative meetings. 6. JBLC Invitational Tournament and party. 7. Charity and miscellaneous expenses.

The money for these expenses, before becoming a member of UUP was paid for by fundraising

endeavors. Now, these funds are provided by the NYSLC as reimbursement from dues collected bi-monthly. $15,000.00 is our reimbursement annually from the NYSLC, a division of UUP.

On a separate note, I have become chairman of the Membership committee. All lifeguards in the JBLC should know that if they are not a registered member of the NYSLC they would not be eligible to vote in this years JBLC local election. Also, only registered member will be able to participate in the ratification of any agreement between the JBLC (NYSLC) and NYS regarding the negotiation pertaining to ongoing raise and retro. If you have any questions weather you are or aren’t a registered member of NYSLC please contact me at [email protected] or call at (516) 652-2927. Your future is in your hands. Be proactive, it’s worth it. Lets have a safe and fun summer! Robert Cornacchia Treasurer of the Jones Beach Lifeguard Corps

F6 lifeguards on the main stand circa 2011

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New York State Lifeguard Corp UPDATE

Negotiations continue between NY State and the NYSLC. Arty Shertzer, President for Stonybrook University-United University Professions (UUP), is our lead negotiator, and has been working closely with Jaime Dangler, Vice President for Academics UUP. Jaime is the lead negotiator for UUP, New York States' third largest Union. Her experience in negotiating with the State has been a success, as UUP has a tentative contract in place. She is in direct continuous communication with the States' lead negotiator to help speed along our talks. The most recent negotiations framed out our direction for the future, as we proceed in what finally appears to be a positive direction. The State is well aware of the beginning of lifeguard season, and the goal on both sides is to resolve our long outstanding issues before we staff our bathing facilities. We have continued to fight for fair and equal treatment for our members. The State is currently negotiating other contracts, and this puts a burden on scheduling our negotiations. We are waiting for the State to come back to us with a concrete proposal for us to consider. When we have substantive information to share, that will not compromise our ability to settle, we will share it. We ask for your continued support and patience in this challenging time. Our belief that the experience of Jaime Dangler, Art Shertzer, and their success in the past, will enable us to move beyond this last hurdle. We will alert the Jones Beach Lifeguard Corps Beach Reps, and our NYSLC Executive Board as soon as we have information to share. "In solidarity we have strength." Bruce Meirowitz

President NYSLC

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Rehire Paperwork DUE! April 19th! REHIRE TEST MAY 11TH 10AM *All swims are at Suffolk Community College MAY 18TH 1PM Brentwood Campus MAY 23RD 4PM MAY 31ST 3PM JUNE 5TH 3PM CAPTAIN/LTS MEETING MAY 16TH LIFEGUARD DRAFT JUNE 8TH NEW HIRE JUNE 9TH FULL OPENING- JUNE 29TH LONG BEACH INVITATIONAL JULY 3RD JUNIOR LIFEGUARD TOURNAMENT JULY 9TH COMPETITION TEAM TRYOUTS JULY 6TH 9AM EBHO JB INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT JULY 16TH 10AM EBHO USLA REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS JULY 10th REHOBOTH, DE. ALL WOMENS TOURNAMENT JULY 31ST SANDY POINT, NJ USLA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS AUGUST 7-9 MANHATTAN BEACH, CA.

Lifeguards Needed I am proud to announce that once again the Jones Beach Lifeguard Corp will be staffing lifeguards for 2 premier triathlon events this season. The NYC Olympic distance triathlon takes place on Sunday July 14th & the TOUGHMAN Half September 8th. The hours are early and the job is serious. If you are interested please email Cary Epstein at [email protected]. Serious inquiries only.

THE BUCKET BUOY SPRING 2013

bucket & buoy spring 2013

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