Myrtle Beach’s dangerous lifeguard practice could soon end. Its shores may never be the same.
The beaches of Myrtle may never be the same.
After months of pressure to do away with the country’s most dangerous life guarding model, the city’s Beach Advisory Committee took the first steps toward severing decades-old agreements with its providers — making its waters safer for swimmers in the coming months and years.
The panel on Jan. 18 unanimously recommended existing franchise agreements with providers John’s Beach Service and Lack’s Beach Service — which run through 2024 and 2025 respectively — be amended to separate guard duties from commercial ones, a policy that could take effect as quickly as April 1.
Both companies will continue as contractors for the city.
“It’s going to be an interesting summer as we rework our brain, but we’ll be ready,” Weslyn Lack-Chickering, general manager of Lack’s Beach Service, told the committee on Wednesday.
The City Council has the final say over changes to its vendor contracts, but board recommendations are typically significant factors in determining how members vote.
The Sun News has extensively reported the perils of dual-role lifeguarding. To date, no city official has stated publicly whether the system needs to be replaced.
Steve Taylor, longtime chairman of the city’s beach advisory committee, has said in the past a deeper evaluation of the model is needed.
“We’ve been kicking this thing around for quite some time, so I think this is a really positive step for all those involved and especially Myrtle Beach,” he said. “This has been a long time kind of quest we’ve been on, really before COVID.”
A landmark civil suit over the summer awarded more than $20 million to the family of Zerihun Wolde, a Maryland man who drowned in 2018 while on vacation here.
Jurists said Lack’s Beach Service was liable for Wolde’s death because a lifeguard who was supposed to be on duty at the time was renting out equipment.
During the trial, Lack-Chickering said her company was in debt by $473,350 at the time of Wolde’s death and carried a $3 million insurance policy.
But in a post-Thanksgiving ruling upholding the jury’s conclusion, 15th Circuit Court Judge Kristi F. Curtis said continued use of the dual role model was a public safety concern.
“Given the evidence that Lack’s business practices posed a significant threat to public safety to an area that is a major attraction for tourists, the award is both reasonably related to the grave harm likely to result from the conduct and large enough to deter the defendant from continuing to engage in like conduct,” Curtis concluded Nov. 28.
Soon after, Horry County said it would abandon the dual system when its contracts expire in May
City leaders say amending its current contracts — valid through 2024 and 2025 respectively with John’s and Lack’s — means they don’t have to go back out to bid.
The U.S. Lifesaving Association estimates a person swimming on a beach patrolled by organization-certified guards have a 1 in 18 million chance of drowning.
South Carolina averaged 1.56 drownings for every 100,000 people between 2015 and 2019 —ranking it 14th nationally over that span, according to CDC data.
Nick Jackson, a John’s Beach Service employee, said his company will be ready for the switch when spring arrives.
“It’s no doubt a huge step in the right direction for me and Weslyn,” Jackson said.
“I certainly don’t want to get ahead of myself, but it seems like we’re getting a lot more attention this early in the game compared to previous seasons so hopefully that leads to a positive outcome,” he said.
This story was originally published January 18, 2023 at 4:15 PM.