Marina staff recognized for life-saving effort
Published 1:30 am Tuesday, March 24, 2026
At last week’s Oak Harbor City Council meeting, a January mishap resulted in two marina attendants being honored for helping a tenant keep his head above water.
Mayor Ronnie Wright presented a “We See You” award to two Oak Harbor marina maintenance attendants who aided in the rescue of a marina tenant after the man fell into the water in January.
Wright praised the quick actions of the men in the moment of uncertainty.
“Tonight I am pleased to recognize Dannie Ledgerwood and Duncan McPhee for performing a quick, efficient water rescue for a marina tenant in January,” he said.
The tenant was working on his back deck when he lost his footing and slipped off the back of his boat. McPhee heard heard the commotion and the tenant’s calls for help and told him to hang on. He notified Ledgerwood and Harbormaster Alyce Henry, who also stopped what they were doing, ran over and and helped pull out a ladder for the owner. The crew immediately ran him a hot shower and got him in a big coat.
At the same time, Henry contacted the tenant’s spouse to bring him dry clothes, though she didn’t receive an award because she humbly pointed toward the men for the honor of the rescue, Ledgerwood and McPhee explained.
Ledgerwood said it was really a team effort to get the tenant warm and dry within thirty minutes.
“It was exciting to get him out of the water, get him warmed up,” he said.
The tenant did everything right, McPhee noted, by clinging to his boat and waiting for the attendants to grab a ladder. McPhee was proud their training was put to good use.
“We helped somebody out of a bad situation. It’s something that we kind of train for, we really try to keep our awareness,” he said. “ It’s a pretty good feeling.”
The moment was an act of heroism, Wright claimed.
“Our staff acted swiftly, effectively and as trained, and this was the best outcome possible,” The mayor said before gifting them each a “We See You Award,” a t-shirt and a pen.
