Florida Representative Linda Chaney (red shirt, back row) presented Eckerd College with a check for $364,811 in Florida Fish and Wildlife funding to support Eckerd College Search and Rescue. Photos by Penh Alicandro ’22
After review in the Florida House and Senate, Eckerd College received nearly $365,000 from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for Eckerd College Search and Rescue equipment and dock improvements.
State Representative Linda Chaney (District 61) advocated for this state budget appropriation and Governor Ron DeSantis approved the request for inclusion in the state’s 2026-2027 budget.
“We’re just so very grateful to Representative Chaney, to Governor DeSantis, for this extraordinary support of what is an extraordinary program,” says Eckerd President James J. Annarelli, Ph.D.
Annarelli continued, “A program [EC-SAR], that in effect, embodies two distinctives of this college and of our student body: leadership and service.”
EC-SAR is the only college maritime search and rescue program in the country. Its team of trained student volunteers works closely with the U.S. Coast Guard, 911 Emergency Medical Response and other state and local agencies to answer over 400 maritime distress calls annually.
Florida Representative Linda Chaney speaks with members of the EC-SAR team.
Chaney visited Eckerd’s Waterfront on Sept. 25 to present the check that will go toward EC-SAR—and to meet the very students it will benefit. Students on the search and rescue crew gathered around while Chaney asked them about their interest in this unique program.
Ryan Dilkey ’98, interim director of the waterfront, gives Florida Representative Linda Chaney a tour of the docks at the Eckerd Waterfront.
“I actually ended up picking Eckerd because of this program,” says Naomi Attar, a junior marine science student from Ormond Beach, Florida.
Naomi had no boating experience before college. Now, she is working toward her captain’s license.
Ryan Dilkey ’98, interim director of the Waterfront, says the funding will go toward engine replacements, hull repair, and infrastructure improvements like dock pilings. Dilkey says there are 64 students on the EC-SAR team this year.
“This place doesn’t run without the students,” Dilkey says. “This program is built on student development and community service. They don’t get paid, they don’t get academic credit. They do this out of the goodness of their hearts.”
Hayley Buskirk, a senior biology and animal studies student from Wind Gap, Pennsylvania, is a fourth-year EC-SAR volunteer. Hayley is considering pursuing a nursing career after graduating from Eckerd.
“I’ve always had a passion for helping others,” Hayley says. “And the team here is like a second family.”
The state funding will support EC-SAR, including necessary maintenance to the docks at the Eckerd Waterfront.
Assistant Director of the Waterfront Krista Park ’22 was an EC-SAR volunteer each year as a student. The funding is beneficial, she says, because it’ll be used toward boats, supplies and dock refurbishments that will support EC-SAR’s work.
Park recalls learning about the funding a few months ago. She was in the Waterfront office when Dilkey and Renee Register ’83, retired director of the Waterfront, called her over. Park was “dumbfounded” when they shared the good news, she says.
“I know that the students are really excited because this means good—big—things for them,” Park says.
