Lifesaving lifeguards recognized at board meeting near Levittown

  • 2016-04-13
The Town of Hempstead, which includes Levittown, recently recognized the efforts made by two of its lifeguards.

The lifeguards were working at Echo Park Pool, a West Hempstead swimming pool, when a swimmer began to have trouble. The pair – Stephen Foran, who lives in Hempstead, and Kristie Ferrentino, who lives in Levittown – leapt into action when they saw that the person was in distress. They were able to resuscitate and stabilize the swimmer before they was taken to the nearest hospital.

During the town board meeting at the beginning of April, Ferrentino and Foran were presented with Distinguished Service Awards. Recognition like this often uses local printing services to produce the certificates, giving them a more professional touch.

The Distinguished Service Awards are only given to people who help to save a life. The pair also received Town of Hempstead Citations for their work.

Dorothy Goosby, a councilwoman, commended the two lifeguards for the “heroic actions” they displayed. Anthony Santino, the town supervisor who presented the two with their awards, praised the town's lifeguard force overall, stating:

"Our Town of Hempstead lifeguards are second to none and perform an enormous task of keeping our pools and beaches safe."

Councilman Gary Hudes, and fellow officials Mike Zappolo, Nasrin Ahmad, and Don Clavin, also attended the board meeting and ceremony.