Ocean City Beach Patrol Reunion

THE Ocean City Beach Patrol will be celebrating its 124th year as a city-paid squad at the 84th annual Reunion/Hall of Fame party Saturday, August 13, at 6pm on the lawn of the Bayside Center, 520 Bay Avenue, Ocean City.
The reunion is always held the day after the South Jersey Lifeguard Championships. This summer the 82nd annual rowing and swimming tournament will be held on Friday, August 12, 6:30pm on the 33rd Street beach in Longport.
The first South Jersey championship was held in 1924. The OCBP has dominated the tournament winning 34 times. The Ventnor City Beach Patrol is a distant second with 16 wins. Ocean City rowers and swimmers have won the most individual titles.
This year Dylan Kosten (rookie 2006) and Lexi Santer (rookie 2013) will be the 112 and 113 lifeguards to be inducted into the OCBP Hall of Fame since 1975. Dylan was the fastest rower in South Jersey from 2008 to 2014, and Lexi was the fastest swimmer from 2013 to 2016.
The 26th annual Robert Stowe Jr. Award will be presented posthumous to Tom Oves for his outstanding service and contributions to the profession of ocean lifesaving in Ocean City. He was inducted into the OCBP Hall of Fame in 1975.
The following are Stowe Award winners: Fred Miller, George T. Lafferty, Chet Derr Jr., Thomas H. Heist III, Alfred “Bud” McKinley, Vince Hink, Bill Dorney, Joe Grimes, Angelo Psaltis, Joe Schmitt, Anne Copeland Merrill, John McShane, Sam McDowell, Bob French, Jack Brooks, Bill Pugh, Russ Leary, Bob Speca, Jim Sullivan, Chuck Betson, Tom Mullineaux, S. John Loeper, Tony Mehalic, Bob Ogoreuc, Jeff Garbutt, and Tom Oves.
The members of the Ocean City Beach Patrol are proud of their history and record of accomplishments, and the annual reunion gives everyone an opportunity to celebrate 124-years-old tradition of excellence in the lifesaving profession.

Find this and more in the August issue of Ocean City Magazine