Nine Red Beach Surf Club members were given recognition for their services to the club when awards were handed out at the Annual General Meeting held on Sunday 26th July.
Red Beach stalwart Patricia Olsen was presented with a Distinguished Service Award for her services to surf lifesaving and to Red Beach SLSC since joining in 1971.
She started with Milford Girls SLSC in 1950 as both club captain and secretary. She has coached Red Beach R&R teams and has been on organising committees for the World Masters event at Red Beach in 1991, the Owen Chapman carnival and the club’s 50th Jubilee celebrations.
She has been a member of the Auckland Board of Judges for the past 22 years and a Nationals judge for 19 years.
Vaughan Skiffington was presented with a club Service Award. Having won two National titles as a 14 year old, he went on to become one of the club’s most successful competitors. Since 2001 he has been Red Beach’s Sports Coach and a member of the SeniorSurf committee.
At the 2006 NZ Championships he led the club to its winning the Allan Gardner Trophy for top club with a record medal haul. He then won the NZ Surf Coach of the Year award. For three years he has been a member of the Fundraising & Sponsorship Management committee and he has been to the fore in developing a new coaching structure.
Steve Cosgrove also received a Service Award. He was appointed to the club’s JuniorSurf committee in 1996 and remained a member of it for six years. During this time he was also involved in coaching the youngsters of the JuniorSurf division. In 2002 and for two years he was the chairman of the division as well as its head coach.
In 2004 he helped establish the Pool Championships in Auckland, later donating the Cosgrove Trophy for pool competition. He has also been a member of the SLSNR Board of Directors.
Doug Stephenson was also the recipient of a Service Award. In 1998 and for two years he was a member of the JuniorSurf committee and then became the chairman of the SeniorSurf committee for three years.
He has also served as Gear Steward, Powercraft Officer and Liaison Officer for the Red Beach/Collaroy lifeguard exchange scheme. He was also the organiser for the Pub to Club paddle event for three years. More recently he has been a member of the building sub-committee for the club’s new deck.

Also receiving Red Beach Recognition Awards were, from left, Mark Readman, Blair Cranston and Dean Pouwhare.