Water safety weekend honors memory of young victim

Tiffany Young's passion for educating children and adults about water safety was obvious as she spoke about her son's drowning accident. Her son, 2-year-old Matthew G. Woods, drowned in a relative's pool in August 2008.

The second annual Water Safety Weekend, which is held in memory of Matthew, will take place Saturday, June 19 from 9 to 11 a.m. at Shelbyville Recreation Center.

Pool games, door prizes, and pool safety demonstrations will be featured. Participants will be able to stay and swim following the event.

United Way of Bedford County, Shelbyville Recreation Center and Shelbyville Fire Department are planning this free event. The strong partnership formed after firefighter Bill Woods Jr., lost Matthew, his son.

"If it can happen in our (fire department extended) family, it can happen in any," said Brian Nicholson, SFD fire inspector.

"After this accident, we asked ourselves what we could do as a community," said Dawn Holley, executive director of United Way.

In response, the groups organized the first annual Water Safety Weekend.

Members of the Water Safety Committee, which includes Holley, Nicholson, Young, director Sylvia Pinson of the Shelbyville Parks and Recreation Department and aquatics director Pam Henry were very pleased with last year's turnout.

"We had about 75 participants. For a first-year event, we were very pleased," Holley said.

The committee is hoping for an even better turnout this year.

"We want the same people that were here last year to come again and bring their friends," Nicholson said.

"The more people that come, the more people that learn about water safety," Holley said.

Red Cross-certified water safety instructors will participate.

"This event will be educational and instructional, but also fun," said Holley.

There will be various pool games for people of all ages. While the committee wants this event to be fun for everyone, they want the focus to be on awareness and education.

"We will be taking 10-minute safety breaks every hour," Henry said. "This is a time for the kids to rest, go to the bathroom, and check in with their parents. Some kids go and go and go and don't realize that they need a break."

Henry also wants for children to learn to "respect the water, not fear it."

"Accidents don't just happen in swimming pools -- they happen in bathtubs, hot tubs, creeks, ponds, and even toilet," Nicholson said. "Many people have the mindset that it won't happen to them."

However, it can happen to anyone.

"It just takes one time to have an accident, and it only takes one accident to be fatal," Young said. "This is passionate to me because I had that one accident. It just takes one to change your life.

"Through my experience, I can hopefully make someone think twice. I hope I can help parents be as safe as they can be around water so they don't have an accident."

Young will speak at the event in hopes of making everyone think twice when spending time around water.

The Water Safety Weekend has won a Tennessee Parks and Recreation Association award.

"This is an award-winning event and we are just glad we can facilitate it," Pinson said.

Being safe in the water "just takes a little forethought and planning," Nicholson said.

Water Safety Weekend will help any swimmer feel safer in the water this summer, organizers say.

"Kids don't need to be afraid of the water, they just need to know what to do," Young said.