WALTON COUNTY Fla. (WMBB) — South Walton Fire District has just finished their summer lifeguard season, but they are already preparing for what is ahead.
SWFD is looking to hire about 30 new guards to come March.
The Beach Safety Director with SWFD David Vaughn said there is not much of an off-season anymore, so they need to hire as soon as possible.
“We can teach skill but we can’t teach will,” said Vaughn. “So people that don’t feel like they are strong swimmers in that regard. They want to try because it is a great job otherwise they just don’t feel comfortable swimming, we have a dedicated training officer who is a USA triathlete and coach, and her mom is a coach and she will spend an inordinate amount of time to take you from zero to hero. If you keep showing up to training and showing an interest, we will invest in you.”
Currently, there are five lifeguards a day rotated monitoring beaches in Walton County.
Vaughn said if you are interested or know of anyone that might be, there is in house training as well as academy’s to prepare potential guards for all scenarios.
“It’s a specific skill set,” said Vaughn. “It is physically demanding, you got to be able to swim. So we are reaching out to people now saying, think about it. We are already training, we are already holding academies. We do individualized training. So if you have any interest in having one of the greatest jobs in the world, come work on the beach. You get to talk to people and keep people safe, but we are hiring now for March”.
If you want to learn more about this position or other open positions with the SWFD website.