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By BETTE BRITT
Two men involved with saving the life of a drowning man and a woman who has done much for her adopted community were recognized on Monday, May 5, when the Surry Community Improvement Association held its annual award ceremony. The Civic Center was filled with tables, and it was estimated that over 100 people sat down to a free spaghetti dinner before the main event of the evening: recognition of individuals who have contributed to public service, community service and the association.
But the event on Monday night had more than music by the Neckalodians, more than mingling with friends and neighbors and more than food prepared by school cooks, Naomi Watson and Petra Lewis, featuring Joe Grimaldi’s spaghetti sauces. To the evident surprise of the recipients, state trooper Tom Pickering and businessman Perry Long heard themselves bring called heroes in a citation read by SCIA board member Thomas Grogean.
As Grogean read from the script edited by SCIA president Becky Farley, it was noted that Pickering, a former Surry student, and businessman Long “made a successful rescue attempt in the ocean waters off the Carrying Place Beach on Newbury Neck.” Pickering arrived in the area after a series of phone calls about a suicidal man from a town 30 miles outside Surry revealed his fondness for swimming off that beach. He found the man’s car parked there, began to check the area and, using binoculars, spotted what he first thought was a buoy in the water. When “the buoy” disappeared, Pickering concluded it might have been the man he was looking for who had just gone under. He went to Long’s business, the Lobster Shack, located next to the pier and, using Long’s Boston Whaler, Long and Pickering went out to where Pickering had spotted what indeed turned out to be the missing man. His head had just surfaced, so they pulled him into the boat, determined he was still breathing and rushed him to the shore where he was covered with blankets and transported to the hospital. Trooper Pickering was cited for his work, taking the extra steps needed to find the man by asking “pertinent questions of the right people,” making “outstanding observations” and being “resourceful”; Long provided “invaluable assistance through his willingness to get involved and providing the boat to aid in the rescue.” The man would have died if the two “remarkable men” had not responded as they did, the citation concluded. Pickering and Long were awarded their plaques by the SCIA, and having quietly expressed their appreciation, returned to their seats at tables far from the front of the auditorium.
The citation for SCIA Exemplary Member’s Award was less dramatic, warmly detailing a life well-lived—from childhood in Finland, by steps to Surry, along the way meeting and marrying, having children, getting a degree in nursing and finding Surry in 1999. She and Jim, for by this time everyone guessed it was Ruth Yerkes being recognized, have had an active retirement. She is best-known as a long-time member of the SCIA board, “invaluable” because of her talent for finding interesting speakers and providing “wonderful and insightful news releases.” Mention was made that she considers herself a “Mainer,” although aware that she will always be “from away.” The citation concluded, “The sign she has really gone native, however, is that if you sometimes catch her too distracted to talk long, she will usually answer, ‘Ayuh.’ Sometimes she even says ‘wicked good’.” Unabashed, Yerkes took the microphone from Grogean and graciously thanked the SCIA for its outreach and the recognition.
Werner Thomas was winner of the 50/50 raffle, choosing not to accept the money but instead to donate it to the scholarship fund. The next SCIA meeting will be on Monday, June 2, with Don Eley of Friends of Blue Hill Bay slated to speak about the history of the bay and the challenges facing it.
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Cited for their heroic rescue of a drowning man, state trooper Tom Pickering (left) and Perry Long (right) look for words to acknowledge the honor bestowed on them at the SCIA awards dinner, Monday, May 5, at Surry Civic Center. Photo by Bette Britt
Having just read the citation naming her the SCIA’s Exemplary Member’s Award recipient of the year, Tom Grogean presents Ruth Yerkes with a plaque to commemorate her work for the organization. Photo by Bette Britt
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