KAILUA-KONA — On a quiet, sunny Sunday morning, the Daniel R. Sayre Memorial Foundation delivered again.
This time, thanks to help from Bike Works Beach and Sport of Waikoloa, West Hawaii’s ever-growing foundation donated $5,000 to Hawaii Island ocean safety personnel to purchase a PA system at the south end of Hapuna Beach.
It’s the latest in a long list of giving, but par for the course for what’s becoming the norm around these parts.
“We’re light years ahead,” said Hawaii Fire Capt. Chris Stelfox, accepting the donation Sunday at Kahaluu Beach Park, on how far the department’s resources have come since the foundation formed in 1997. “We can’t thank you enough.”
The Daniel R. Sayre Memorial Foundation — created by Laura Mallory-Sayre and her husband, Frank Sayre, after the death of their son Danny in 1997 — raises now around $750,000 annually to help first responders. The list of donations include major pieces of equipment, like ATVs, paddleboards and coming this fall for Waimea, a state-of-the art fire truck that can drive over lava rocks without a hitch.
But a PA system, as simple as it might sound, is the unsung piece of safety equipment for lifeguards. Clear, loud communication from the beach to ocean-goers is vital when danger looms.
Lifeguard Joy Mills-Ferren remembers trying to warn Kahaluu beach visitors of strong surf one day a few years ago before the new system was installed. She would paddle out, yelling through a megaphone, only to watch other visitors wade causally out into the water.
The system is an efficient step in prevention. Back then, she was pulling a dozen rescues out of the water a year. Now, with loud clear warnings beforehand, “it’s one or two,” she said.
An even better example, after the 6.9 quake on Friday afternoon, there was a moment of tsunami warning on which lifeguards had to act. Without missing a step, they delivered their message calmly over the system to get people out of the water.
“Really, there was zero panic,” Mills-Ferren said.
The 25-year-old Daniel Sayre died during a hiking trip to the back of Pololu Valley near Kapaloa Falls. Fire crews spent close to 10 hours trying recover Danny, who had fallen 500 feet to the valley floor.
Their relentless rescue effort prompted the Sayres to give back, forming the foundation that’s grown every year over the last two decades.
Their annual award banquet every September is one of the island’s biggest draws — attended by Gov. David Ige last year. Now, besides bringing in a high-end fire truck to North Hawaii this fall, they’re looking to hire a part-time executive director, a sign of growth if there ever was one.
Growth, the Sayres said, that comes only from community support.
Bike Works hosted the annual Cinco de Mayo Swim on Saturday at Anaehoomalu Bay, attended by 225 swimmers. A portion of the proceeds went to the donation, which made Sunday’s gathering happen — and will soon have a south side Hapuna PA system in place.
“This kind of partnership every year lets us build,” Laura Mallory-Sayre said, as she thanked the attendees to Sunday’s event. “I can’t thank you enough.”