For lifeguards in this Jersey Shore community, the beach patrol is a family affair
Lifeguards in Sea Isle City, New Jersey, are back on the beaches for the summer.
"Working on the beach patrol is more than a job. It is a life experience like no other," Sea Isle City Beach Patrol Chief Renny Steele said.
Steele knows that best. He began working as a lifeguard in 1968.
"I love the people that I work with. I love working with the young kids, keeps you young," Steele said.
Two of those young lifeguards are siblings, Grace and Chris Gehman. They are in their third season working for the Sea Isle City Beach Patrol.
"It's a family atmosphere, and everyone kind of enjoys being around each other," Chris Gehman said.
The brother and sister are third-generation members of the beach patrol.
"It's a great thing to be able to work with your kids. I take a lot of pride in seeing them be on the beach, be on the stand and do all the things that I went through and got to experience," Lt. Chuck Gehman of the Sea Isle City Beach Patrol said. He's Grace's and Chris's dad.
The Gehman family legacy on the beach patrol dates back to the siblings' grandfather, who served as a guard in the past, alongside Steele.
"My dad passed in 2014, so he didn't get to see this, but I know he would be totally in love with this situation," Chuck Gehman said.
The beach is a family affair for the Gehmans, and they wouldn't have it any other way.
"You call it a family, you call it a tribe, you call it a group of people, whatever you call it, you know you want to be a part of it," Steele said.
