"I did it for them": Families honor lost loved ones as lifeguards return to South Haven

SOUTH HAVEN, Mich. -- For 25 years, there have been no lifeguards at the beaches in South Haven.

According to the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project, there have been 12 drownings in South Haven since the city shut the program down in 2001, citing liability and financial concerns.

In the 50 years prior, there were two drownings.

After years of pushing from the community, the South Haven City Council approved the program re-start last year.

Today, families of the people who have drowned over the years gathered at South Beach to watch as lifeguards returned to protect the waters.

Among them, Lisa MacDonald, a woman who lost her daughter, Emily, to drowning at South Beach in 2022. Emily's boyfriend, Kory Ernster, also died that day.

MacDonald has advocated tirelessly ever since for water safety all along Lake Michigan.

"I did it for them because they're not here to do it for themselves. I didn't want them to be numbers on a chart. I wanted them to be known as a catalyst for something good that happened." Said MacDonald.

She worked with the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project, a group that's been pushing for lifeguards at South Beach since 2012.

Dave Benjamin, Executive Director of the GLSRP, hopes South Haven can act as a model for other Michigan communities that got rid of their lifeguard programs.

"There's been some momentum and some stalls over the years, each year it would get greater. Unfortunately, when the momentum started to reach peaks was after drowning incidents." Said Benjamin.

MacDonald also says she's grateful for the community support she's received and the city council members who voted the lifeguard program back to life.

While she plans to take a break from water safety advocacy to heal, she's confident there are other locals with the strength to pick up the topic.