Best Lifeguard


Important: This article was last updated on September 21, 2005. Please call ahead to confirm hours, prices, dates and other information.

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Readers' picks

Best Bartender
 Cat, The Poor House, Fort Lauderdale

Best Club DJ
 DJ Kid Fresh

Best Radio Personalities
 Paul Castronovo and Young Ron Brewer, Big 105.9

Best Athlete
 Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat

Best TV Personality
 Jade Alexander, WFOR-TV (Channel 4)
 
Jo Wagenhals
Delray Beach Ocean Rescue Division

 If you are ever so unfortunate as to find yourself caught in a rip current or between the jaws of a shark in the waters off Delray Beach, don't panic: At least you had the good sense to have your bad experience on Jo Wagenhals' beach. A certified emergency medical technician and officer with the Delray Beach Ocean Rescue Division, Wagenhals is a hell of a lifesaver. In her six-year career, she has saved at least 12 people from drowning, seven of whom she says were in "really dire situations." A nationally ranked lifeguard-athlete, Wagenhals is as comfortable racing a surf-ski, which resembles a thin kayak with a rudder, and participating in rowing competitions as she is watching over beachgoers from her lifeguard stand. With all her skills, it came as no surprise to anyone who knows her -- or has been saved by her -- when Wagenhals was named Florida Lifeguard of the Year this past spring, a title that only increases her credibility when teaching the public about water safety. "It's cool and an adrenaline rush to [save] somebody," she told City Link earlier this year, "but you don't want our patrons to go through that. It can be very traumatizing for them." As if her résumé weren't impressive enough, Wagenhals recently graduated from firefighter school.