By Ron Lane
There can be no doubt about it they are definitely two of a kind. The two that I refer too are Sunshine Beach Surf Life Saving Club members Scott Summers and Max Pettigrove.
Apart from being members of Sunshine, what makes them two of a kind are that both possess three common virtues: dedication, loyalty and leadership – dedication to their work as surf lifesavers, loyalty to Sunshine Beach Surf Club and leadership to their fellow patrolling members.
Two weeks ago these three virtues played a major role in their being named as Australian Life Saver of the Year (Summers) and Australian Lifeguard of the Year (Pettigrove).
For Summers his seven-year career has indeed been outstanding. Since joining in 2011 after a very successful military career that saw him raise from the ranks of infantry paratrooper Private to Major in Special Operations Squadron (Helicopters) he has received three major lifesaving awards from the Sunshine Coast Branch; two as club captain of the year and one as lifesaver of the year.
When speaking of his awards he describes his two careers as being one of service – “service to your country and service to your community.”
A major part of his captaincy has been the ability to communicate with members of all ages and as the club accepts youth at 13 years this factor is of the utmost importance – self-discipline, communication at all levels and mateship.
After obtaining his bronze medallion in 1983, as a member of Noosa, Max Pettigrove in 1985, qualified for work as a lifeguard.
“It wasn’t full time to start with, so my time was divided between swim coaching and lifeguard work.”
After a short time in Noosa he transferred to Sunshine eventually becoming a full-time lifeguard; however swim coaching was still on the menu.
Now he said his ambition is to become a trainer and assessor for the young lifeguards.
“With my background in swim coaching (surf and still water) and my years of experience as a lifeguard I want to put all that back into the young guards. Also now is a very interesting time; with the introduction of Unmanned Aerial Surveillance (the drones) all aspects of Surf Rescue Surveillance are going through major changes.
With our vast stretches of unpatrolled beach (such as Noosa’s National Park) these concepts must be looked at and consolidated.
However the announcements of these two national awards for the Sunshine Beach Club were not the only major happenings.
On the Thursday of last week it was announced that Sunshine’s president Craig Law had resigned his position and stepped aside.
“After five years as president and 12 years on the committee, I decided to spend more time with the family,“ Law said.
“I have a young one who will be going into the Nippers so I will still be involved with the club, this time to a lesser degree.”
It comes as no surprise to hear that the position will now be held by Scott Summers. Scott’s office as club captain will be filled by the man who successfully stepped in during Scott’s brief illness, James Ross.
When one looks back over Craig Laws’ five years as president everything is positive and he leaves a club that is firing on all cylinders. His working relationship with the then-club captain Scott Summers has made Sunshine Beach SLSC a club to be respected in all aspects of surf club life. On behalf of Noosa community many thanks to Craig Law.
When one talks of men such as Law, Pettigrove and Summers, we can rest assured the future of lifesaving, in particular on the Sunshine Coast, is indeed in good hands.
