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When Courage Meets Crisis: Stories from the 2025 LSBA Honorees

From left to right: Leslie E. O’Neal, SCI’s Director of Finance & Operations, Ryan Mack, and the Rev. Mark Nestlehutt, SCI’s President & Executive Director.

The Life Saving Benevolent Association (LSBA) was founded in 1849 and is currently administered by SCI. The Association has three main objectives:

  • 1. To recognize and reward courage in the rescue of human life at sea or on navigable waters;
  • 2. To encourage training in seamanship, rescue methods, and resuscitation; and
  • 3. To carry out other charitable and educational services.

On May 22, 2025, the LSBA’s annual awards ceremony honored three individuals with medals, plaques, and monetary awards for meeting the criteria for a life-saving award in the previous year.

In September 2024, Ryan Mack swam out to rescue a swimmer who had been caught in a rip tide and was in severe distress. Mack gave the swimmer his own life vest, keeping him afloat until emergency services arrived.

In October, surfers Cooper Lysinger and Clayton Off were participating in a surfing competition when they responded to an alert: an unexpected wave had swept several fishermen off a nearby jetty. Weighed down by their waders, the fishermen would have been in serious danger had the surfers not acted quickly to bring them to safety.

The LSBA was proud to present all three men with awards in recognition of their bravery and service.

From left to right: Leslie E. O’Neal, SCI’s Director of Finance & Operations, Cooper Lysinger, Clayton Off, and the Rev. Mark Nestlehutt, SCI’s President & Executive Director.