~~~ Monthly Beach Report - July 2016 ~~~ Vero Vine ~~~ Vero Beach, FL

Vero Beach Lifeguard Association

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Monthly Beach Report

Jaycee Park / Humiston Park / South Beach Park

Statistics

Total Park Attendance: 69,964
Preventative Actions: 1,093
Minor Medicals: 35
Major Medicals: 5
Rescues: 0
Average Water Temperature: 84
Beach Erosion: Minimal
Stinging Marine Life: Moderate

General Conditions

Seasonal upwelling (cool water from deep ocean currents) have arrived lowering the ocean temperatures into the low 70’s. The upwelling may remain for two weeks before normal temperatures return. Sea turtle hatchlings have been consistently numerous. There were no rip current rescues in July keeping the number of rip current rescues in 2016 to 20. Most minor medical calls have been for jellyfish stings and abrasions. Most major medical calls have been for heat related injuries. Baitfish and the larger fish which feed upon them were a common sight. All swimmers are advised to pay close attention to beach condition flags, swim near lifeguard towers and avoid swimming during non-guarded.

Areas of Concern

Sea turtle hatchlings have been spotted on numerous occasions during daylight hours. If you encounter a struggling hatchling during daylight hours please wrap it in a moist towel and bring it to a lifeguard tower. Lifeguards will contact Sea Turtle Research. When hatchlings emerge from the sand they may mistake light from dwellings as the moon and travel inland rather than to the ocean. If you live on the beach, please comply with light pollution ordinances.

VBLA recommendations for safer beaches: 1. Provide an ATV at each guarded beach to allow for faster response times by lifeguards during emergencies. 2. The City should extend guarded beach hours to 7pm from the current time of 5pm to keep up with the rising popularity of Vero’s beaches.

Many individuals and families are on the beach far from a guarded area and/or in the water after lifeguards leave at 5pm. Providing additional equipment and extending hours will help address the safety issues that have resulted in two preventable deaths at our beaches in 2015.

Vero Beach ranked #1 in 2015 along with Miami Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood and Palm Beach County with the greatest number of water related deaths on the beach outside guarded areas and hours of operation. Vero ranks #2 among south Florida municipalites with the least amount of guarded beach area but ranked 3 rd with the most patrons per tower than any other town other than Miami Beach and Hollywood Beach.

Key

Park Attendance: includes areas immediately north and south of each park

Preventative Actions: stopping potential incidents before they occur

Minor Medicals: a medical incident which is treated on-site by lifeguard/EMT

Major Medicals: a medical incident that required Emergency Medical Services

About VBLA

This report is furnished by the Vero Beach Lifeguard Association, a non-profit, 501C3 organization. Its mission is to promote water safety and lifeguarding in Vero Beach and the surrounding communities. Contact us at VeroBeachLA@Yahoo.com or (908)797-8725. Visit us at www.VBLA.org.

Donations are appreciated. Monies raised are used to purchase equipment, supplies, staffing and training for the lifeguards from the city of Vero Beach. Please send donations to: VBLA, 1351 White Heron Lane, Vero Beach, FL 32963.

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Stacy Cook

Community Director at Vero Vine

Stacy Cook, founder of VeroVine.com, & VeroFoodie.com is a results driven, business development professional with more than 20 years experience in the digital marketing world.A unique combination of entrepreneurial spirit, programming expertise, marketing genius, creativity, vision and people skills has enabled Stacy to garner experience in a multitude of digital organizations.His emphasis has been in early-stage start-ups and he has been programming, managing and developing new ways of "using" computers since his high school days in Lexington, Kentucky.

Stacy was a Computer Lab Administrator for the University of Kentucky's MLK Microlabs AND ran his own website development/management firm while still in college.While earning his BS in Telecommunications at UK, he became a New Media Developer at Mikrotek ISP; performed Internet Marketing & Development for Host Communications/Total Sports, the NCAA AND was Vice President of Development for iHigh.com, a venture-funded start-up providing real-time sports statistics to media and internet users.

Since graduating, Stacy founded Edit-X in Denver, Colorado.At that time, Edit-X was THE most innovative software on the market, combining CMS and Ecommerce in a single software package.Edit-X became known as the most trusted resource for advanced online business development and has played crucial roles in a multitude of other internet businesses, including the largest privately held online dating sites and companies. Successful management of the online dating businesses gave Stacy access to tens of millions of dollars of new clients and marketingwork, propelling Stacy and his company into the Fortune 500 world.

After moving from Kentucky to Denver, Colorado and on to Miami, Florida, Stacy decided Vero Beach was the ideal spot to plant his feet and grow his family.He has lived in Vero since 2011. When not coding; marketing; chasing children:Ava, 16, Aden 12 & Myla 9; or promoting Vero Beach via Vero Vine and Vero Beach Foodie; Stacy enjoys the Arts, dabbles in photography, enjoys Vero's nightlife with his wife, dreams of snowboarding and runs his family all over the Treasure Coast exploring the new & cool.