National Water Safety Congress Honors Ole Miss Trio

OXFORD, Miss. - Representatives from the National Water Safety Congress and Sardis Lake were on the University of Mississippi campus Monday to present Ole Miss Head Coach Houston Nutt, Assistant Athletics Director for Sports Productions J. Stern and Rebel senior offensive tackle Michael Oher with its Award of Merit. The Ole Miss trio was being recognized for its part in helping produce several public service announcements about the importance of wearing a life jacket. The on-campus salute followed the official presentation which took place at the 2009 International Boating and Water Safety Summit held on April 21 in Panama City Beach, Fla. On hand for the campus presentation were Alton Pollan, Sardis Lake resource manager; Ernie Lentz, National Water Safety Congress Region 3 vice president; Andy Strickland, Sardis Lake supervisory park ranger; Wayne Stogsdill, Mississippi Lakes project manager; and Carl Ray Upchurch, Mississippi Lakes deputy project manager. "Coach Nutt epitomizes what we were looking for when it came to reaching the public about water safety," Pollan said. "It was important to have a person from our community who could help us relay our message about not only wearing life jackets, but staying safe on the water. Coach Nutt knows about doing the right thing around water. He practices what he preaches, and he and his family use Sardis Lake. They also practice water safety when using their lake next to their home." Pollan also noted that it was Coach Nutt's idea to get J. Stern and Michael Oher involved in the public service announcements. "We felt all three were deserving of our Award of Merit when we submitted our nominations package," he said. The public service announcements are being shown on public access channels throughout North Mississippi as well as at Malco theaters in Oxford, Tupelo and Southaven.

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