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With the Annual Dinner held in October instead of May, Swanny Shorebreak has chosen to honour the various award recipients who had to wait a little longer to be announced, haven't yet seen their name in the Annual Report and will have to pass on their trophy in only 8 months! First up is our Patrol Member of the Year, Andy Donaldson. Special mention to Jack Rigby who completed the most patrol hours last season and was recognised as our Clubbie of the Month in February. So after venturing down the Club, Swanny Shorebreak managed to call out the following questions to Andy in the Patrol Tower.
¼ How long have you been at Swanny? Been at Swanny just over 18 months.◊ How did you come to be at Swanny (why choose surf lifesaving and why Swanny?)? Did Nippers on the east coast when I was a kid and when my career in the army ended, I thought I’d try the Westpac Helicopter♠ (we don’t talk about the chopper) and gotta be in lifesavers for that and Swanny was the last club (thankfully) to be running a bronze course. What did you do to be awarded Patrol Member of the Year? For Patrol Member of the Year, I think I just tried to help out around the Club as much as I could last season.♣ Think Logan said in the speech that I’d substituted in for 17 people during the season (I never kept count). But it helps that it’s such a great place to be a part of, makes the commitment a lot easier. What is it like being the son of Donald, given the trouble he’s causing in the USA? Son of Donald.....You don’t want to start me on politics, trust me.♦ Who is your favourite ironman/ironwoman? Fav Ironman/woman growing up would’ve had to have been Trev Hendy and Karla Gilbert but closer to home it’s got to be Big Pete Briggs and Annie JJ 👍♥ Favourite food? My favourite food would be a good old fashion meat pie.¹ What are your plans for being at the Club and training this season? My plans for being at the Club and training this season is just to continue to contribute as much as possible to help keep Swanny the best club on the beach and get better at my craft skills² (ski and board definitely need more work). What do you like about Swanny? What I love most about Swanny is the welcoming environment the Club has³. I’m not really much of a people person but I love being down at the Club and being involved where I can. Anything else that is funny or interesting? Thanks for the invite for Clubbie of the Month (sure there’s a hundred more interesting candidates out there). I think Nick might have sent you a pic of the award presentation at the Annual Dinner but I don’t really have any other pics. Notes: ◊ Joined the second Bronze Medallion course in 2018/2019 Season, so this was Andy's first full season except for the COVID-19 curtailment. ♠ Manned by paid and volunteer personnel, the highly-trained crews are on the lookout for people in distress. I assume they are looking out for these distressed people to rescue, not as volunteer personnel? ♣ Thank you for helping out beyond the minimum requirements of the patrol roster! ♦ I wrote this question after writing similar, better, surname based questions for some of our other awardees. Sorry but this was fairly lame. ♥ Probably the best answer to this question yet, covering the greats over the ages! ¹ Sadly not on the menu at the Shorehouse. ² Hopefully this means you're considering an ironman career. ³ You're welcome! Photos: ¼ Left to Right: Andy Donaldson, the Patrol Member of the Year trophy, Cilla de Lacy Who is Who: Annual Dinner - Swanny's annual night of nights that includes a dinner.Swanny Shorebreak - This website, newsletter and it's webmasters and editors, named after the wave that breaks on the shore at Swanny.Patrol Member of the Year - Best Patrol Member (as selected by the Lifesaving Manager)Andy Donaldson, Andy - Active Member at SNSLSC and October Clubbie of the MonthJack Rigby - Active Junior Member at SNSLSC and February Clubbie of the MonthNippers - Young surf lifesavers, usually aged between 5 and 14 years old, in clubs across Australia.East coast - The coast across Australia from the west coast.Westpac Helicopter - SLSWA’s Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Helicopters (WLRH’s) play a crucial role in coastal safety and identifying emergencies.Logan - Logan Ovenden-Clarke, Active Member and Lifesaving Manager at SNSLSC.Trev Hendy - Trevor Hendy, ironman, recognised at Swanny with the plaque "Trev's" on the male changeroom door.Karla Gilbert - Karla Gilbert ironwoman, recognised at Swanny with the plaque "Karla's" on the female changeroom door,Big Pete Briggs - Peter Brigg, Life Member at SNSLSC, winner seven Club Ironman ChampionshipsAnnie JJ - Anne-Marie Juengling - Long Service Member at SNSLSC, winner one Club Ironwoman ChampionshipsNick - Nick Hudson - Long Service Member at SNSLSC, former Annual Dinner MC and photographer at this season's Annual Dinner.Cilla de Lacy - Mayor of the City of Nedlands and Club Patron