Man of Steele: Sea Isle Beach Patrol Chief Marks 50 Years on the Squad, 35 as its Leader
Renny Steele early in his Sea Isle City Beach Patrol career.
The blessing, and the asset, have a long shelf life.
Steele is an embedded fixture of this resort, a 50-year member of a beach patrol that is 101 years old. He is by far its longest-running leader, at 35 years, and has spanned more eras than practically anyone on the South Jersey beaches.
His tenure includes numerous safety innovations, the installation of Sea Isle City’s first female guard in 1974, its festive 100th birthday celebration last summer, and the title change from “captain” to “chief.”
Through all of it, Steele has been, fundamentally, a safety savant. He grasps big-picture concepts concerning the estimated 1 million annual beach visitors that comprise an extended family.
As the population became more senior, for example, it was realized that first aid and CPR were not enough. By last summer, the beach patrol had 13 emergency medical technicians on staff who handle, during an average summer, 250 emergencies.
That’s one in a litany of innovations by Steele, who assesses five beach-patrol decades by what his guards prevent.
“Some feel it has been an accomplishment to have spent 50 summers working as a lifeguard on the Sea Isle City Beach Patrol,” he says.
Is it really an accomplishment to have been lucky enough to have spent 50 years doing something you truly love?
“I am still in awe of the courage lifeguards demonstrate when entering hurricane surf to rescue bathers, he continues. “There is no hesitation, no thought to their personal safety.”
“More than once I have witnessed beach patrons absent of pulse bought back to life. Adolescents with obstructed airways and unable to breathe who were playing on the beach the following day because a lifeguard was able to dislodge a piece of candy from their windpipe. There is not a better feeling than seeing the gratitude in a mother’s eyes as she expresses appreciation for saving her child’s life.”
Safety, and regulations, gain additional focus this year. There is nothing else.
No lifeguard races, as the season was canceled because of the coronavirus – which means none of the group-morale boost that comes with the competition for berths on the team and then rooting for teammates at the races. No Bill Gallagher Run, which normally brings more than a thousand runners to Sea Isle City and boosts both business and charitable groups.
No, this is a year that reflects the patrol’s nuts-and-bolts responsibility. It is an area in which Steele excels.
In 2011 and 2018 the Atlantic County Municipal Joint Insurance Fund recognized him for “Outstanding Safety Efforts on Behalf of City Employees and Residents.” He has been a secretary, vice president and president of the South Jersey Lifeguard Chiefs Association, the organization that encompasses patrols from Brigandine to Cape May and conducts the annual lifeguard racing circuit.
Mayor Leonard Desiderio praised him last summer as Sea Isle City celebrated its 100th birthday with a series of events. The Sea Isle patrol was acknowledged on the city’s official beach tag.
Steele has been a liaison between the patrol and the city hierarchy, a respected voice in community matters and a solid administrator. He has an effective chain of command, delegates smartly, and lavishly praises others. Steele is slow to put a spotlight on himself.
All part of the ride.
“Lifeguards truly make a difference in people’s lives,” he says. “Beach patrols create memories and friendships that last a lifetime. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of this for as long as possible? There is a quote on my office wall that sums it up. I do not know who authored these words: ‘Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a patrol, call it a family … but whatever you call it, whoever you are, trust me you want to be a part of it.”
The Collingswood native, who summered in Sea Isle City as a youth, first became part of it at the behest of his parents. They had the audacity to suggest that “surfing day after day did not constitute employment.” Along with some buddies, he tried out for the beach patrol. The former cross-country and track athlete not only made the squad, but represented Sea Isle City as a runner and doubles participant in out-of-town races.
His focus later gravitated toward administration. It was not lost on McHale, then the beach-patrol captain, watching Steele in 1982.
“He was so good, so proficient, even back then,” McHale said. “You saw that he was always a detailed guy. He has always been organized, well-respected and listened to – he has the respect of everyone on the beach and in town. He is always making sure things are being done right, that all the people are doing their jobs. Sea Isle City has a good reputation for public safety and he has upheld that big-time.”
He even expanded it. Steele not only had strong organizational skills, but vision, resulting in several innovations for the Sea Isle patrol.
They include:
1. Establishing an Afterhours Lifeguard Emergency Response Team (ALERT) in Sea Isle City. ALERT responds to water emergencies in the evening after lifeguards go off duty.
2. The first beach patrol in South Jersey to replace the maintenance intensive wooden lifeguard towers with wheeled aluminum stands. Due to the light weight and wheels, lifeguard injuries resulting from moving the stands in accordance with the tides have been greatly reduced.
3. As far as he knows, Sea Isle was the first beach patrol to require all administrators to obtain EMT certification.
4. The establishment of a 1-mile ocean swim that serves as a recruiting tool.
5. He authored a 98-page Sea Isle City Beach Patrol Operations and Training Manual.
6. The establishment of morning mini-lessons immediately after roll call. These training lessons help Sea Isle lifeguards to become more professional.
7. The establishment of the junior lifeguard program for 14-to-17-year-olds that serves as a feeder program for rookie lifeguards.
8. Using personal watercraft with rescue sleds to preform long-distance rescues.
The guards involved in these efforts remember how it shaped their lives.
“Lizzie Nadolski, who took a leave of absence, wrote a letter requesting to come back to sit the stand again in 2020,” Steele says. “She wrote, ‘Since I was a little girl vacationing in Sea Isle, I’ve always wanted to be a beach lifeguard. When I tried out and was hired in the summer of 2018, it was a dream come true. That experience was truly one of the best of my life. Every day, I was excited to sit with someone new, guard different beaches, and meet new people. I formed bonds with senior guards, lieutenants, and even beach patrons that summer.’ ”
Blake Trabuchi-Downey, a six-time city swim champion who was inducted into the Sea Isle Beach Patrol Hall of Fame, recently told Steele: “Working as a dentist for a living has been great, but nothing beats working for you and Sea Isle. Thank you for the greatest experience.”
Steele got to enjoy some of that perspective, too. It was here that he met his wife, Barbara. Now they have been married 30 years, and their daughter Katie has worked for the beach patrol the last 15 years.
“I certainly would not be the person I am today if I had not been part of the Sea Isle City Beach Patrol,” he says. “I would not have met my wife. The patrol is a shared experience between my daughter and myself that has resulted in a strong bond between us.
“Lifelong friendships would not exist. Memories of a lifetime would not have occurred. As with so many current and former lifeguards, the Sea Isle City Beach Patrol is part of who I am.”
He took the Sea Isle connection one step further in 2017, becoming a homeowner on 77th Street. Steele had already retired from the Delran Township school district, where he had been a guidance counselor, in 2014. (He also holds a master’s degree in student personnel services.).
He does not know how long this lifeguard journey will last.
What Steele does know is that, at 70, he can bicycle to and from work, enjoy his family life and second-career twilight.
The town’s asset deserves no less.
