- July 12, 2025
Dear Editor:
In a time when division and anger dominate far too many headlines, the City of Ormond Beach stood tall — not in protest, but in pride. Thanks to the heartfelt leadership of William Sanchez, on June 14, our city hosted a radiant and inspiring International Festival Day at Rockefeller Gardens, shining as a beacon of unity while other communities around the country were engulfed in protests rooted in fear.
Mr. Sanchez reminded us all of a simple truth: we are all immigrants. On this special day, Ormond Beach chose to honor its diversity, not deny it. Eighteen countries were represented — including our own United States — each proudly sharing their heritage through music, food, dance, and joyful connection. The National Anthem was sung. A dignified presentation of the colors by the Ormond Beach Civil Air Patrol Honor Guard, grounding the celebration in both patriotism and purpose.
While some parents elsewhere were teaching their children to resent — Ormond Beach families were teaching their children something far greater to celebrate. Their diversity.
Children ran from the petting zoo to international booths with wide-eyed excitement, laughing, learning, and embracing each other’s cultures without fear or judgment. Their parents joined in the joy, grateful for a community that fosters kindness, education, and respect.
William Sanchez didn’t stop at planning a day — he created a legacy. Through the newly formed Cultural Awareness Fund, he is ensuring that this celebration of humanity and heritage continues to grow. In his words, from the Ormond Observer:
"I think people have forgotten what this country was built on — the foundation of it. It was built on the backs of immigrants, all of us. Whether it was 250 years ago or it is today."
Let this be the beginning of an annual tradition in Ormond Beach. Let our city serve as a model of what is possible when we lead with gratitude instead of fear, with empathy instead of resentment. We are proud to live in a city that celebrates all its people.
We are already looking forward to next year’s International Day Festival — and the continued celebration of what truly makes America beautiful.
Barbara Sandberg
Ormond Beach
Dear Editor:
On July 3, 2024, at 2 p.m., a West Virginia man vacationing with his wife and two children drowned while swimming in an unguarded area just north of the Bandshell. Beach Safety Chief Tammy Malphurs: “Do not go into the water if there’s not a staffed lifeguard tower.”
The drowning was one of nine on unguarded Volusia County beaches in 2024; 13 drownings in 2023, eight drownings in 2022. A study by Simmrin Law identified the 10 most dangerous beaches in America, factoring storms, lightning, shark attacks, and surf-related fatalities. Ranked: New Smyrna Beach (1), Daytona Beach (3), Ormond Beach (6), and Ponce Inlet (7).
Media reports document 90-100 seasonal lifeguard vacancies in 2022, 2023, and 2024. In the past year, County Councilman Troy Kent made numerous inquiries into Volusia’s ongoing lifeguard shortage. The Ormond Beach City Commission recently sent a letter to the county questioning unstaffed lifeguard stations.
Specifically, Neptune Avenue, with a large county-leased parking lot and an A1A traffic light for pedestrian crossings, has a lifeguard only on weekends and some Mondays. That means Ormond beachgoers north of Granada should never go into the water on weekdays. Yet many of them do, at Neptune, Amsden, and Standish approaches.
Deputy County Manager Suzanne Konchan has responded: The county is budgeted to staff all towers seven days a week, but there have been fewer numbers of seasonal lifeguards available during the spring/summer season. (Historically, lifeguards were staffed every half mile, within sight and sound of each other’s calls for emergency backup.)
Today, mobile units patrol extensive stretches of beach to cover the gaps.
The lifeguard shortage has been addressed with increased recruiting and training, increased salaries, benefits, and bonuses. Scheduling strategies have been updated. Proactive efforts now encourage the return of lifeguards from previous years.
Lifeguard deployments are based on data analysis of historical crowds and rescues, placing resources in areas of high beachgoer density with off-beach parking availability. A tiered priority system considers rescue history, environmental conditions, and swimmer density patterns.
But if fewer beachgoers go to unguarded beaches, low counts on those beaches become a self- fulfilling prophecy. And after years of high vacancies, new recruitment strategies are needed.
The beach is our greatest natural, recreational, and economic resource. Solving the lifeguard shortage should be Volusia County’s #1 priority.
Lives are at risk.
Jeff Boyle
Ormond Beach
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