Savior in the surf

Michael K. Clack is a hero, and the Kiwanis Club of Port Orange-South Daytona Area, Florida, wants you to hear his story.

During a leisure day surfboarding at New Smyrna Beach in Florida, Clack heard three people screaming from the deep surf. Clack swam toward the cries and found a young girl, about eight years of age, and her parents. He told the couple to hold on to his board. Clack, who learned life-saving skills as a Boy Scout, swam with the girl holding on to his shoulders. They all made it safely to shore.

None of the family members knew how to swim. The accident occurred while the three were walking in deep surf and encountered a hidden “trough” in the ocean floor. When they stepped into the deep rut, the riptide forced them into deeper water.

Clack never learned the names of the family he saved that day in October of 2004.

“I wish I’d gotten their names. I’d like to offer them free swimming lessons,” he was quoted as saying in a newspaper article after the incident.

Kiwanis International awarded the Robert P. Connelly Medal of Heroism to Clack for his actions that day on the beach. The medal is given to a Kiwanian or non-Kiwanian who risks physical harm or death by accepting personal responsibility when he or she could have just pass along the way. The Port Orange-South Daytona club nominated Clack for the award.