Fifty years ago, the first women lifeguards began patrolling Los Angeles’ 17 miles of beach. Kia Schwartz (nee Nowell) was hired by the Los Angeles City Lifeguards in 1973. A few months later Wendy Jordan (nee Paskin), a future Olympic swimmer, was hired by the Los Angeles County Lifeguards. Male guards were generally accepting of them, the two recalled in video interviews shown at the annual Lifeguard Medal of Valor Awards dinner last week at the King Harbor Yacht Club.
County Lifeguards were well ahead of county politicians, Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly Mitchell noted, after congratulating the two dozen female lifeguards in attendance at the dinner. Though all five County Supervisors are now women, the first female supervisor, Gloria Molina, wasn’t elected until 1991.
Lifeguard Captain Gevorg Akopyan, and Lifeguard Specialist Sam O’Hare were awarded the Medal of Valor. Akopyan was recognized for preventing the abduction of a two-year-old child at Santa Monica Beach last summer. After expressing thanks for the award, he expressed thanks for the opportunity to become a lifeguard. After he arrived as a child from Armenia he didn’t lean to swim until a friend took him to the Glendale YMCA, he recalled.
O’Hare was honored for responding to a mass shooting last summer at Royal Palms Beach in San Pedro. He resuscitated one of the victims by performing CPR.
Lifeguards Erin Swift, John Pearce and Sydney Brouwer were presented with the Distinguished Service Award for resuscitating a heart attack victim at last summer’s Fiesta Hermosa.
Retired Chief Lifeguard Steve Moseley was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award for his management leadership and his leadership as president of the Los Angeles County Lifeguard Association.
