A Beaming St. Rose Jacobie receives his Citation from Minister Gale Rigobert
(PRESS RELEASE VIA SNO) – Sandals Grande Saint Lucia Diver St. Rose Jacobie, who dove into open ocean off the coast of Saint Lucia to save two persons who had fallen off a party boat will be nominated for the Mountbatten Medal; an international award given by the Commonwealth Royal Life Saving Society for the most gallant rescue or rescue attempt.
The announcement came from John Bruce, President of the Life Savers Association of Saint Lucia, during a function held at the Sandals Grande Saint Lucia resort to honour St. Rose for his outstanding effort and bravery.
Sandals Team members come out to support St Rose for his act of heroism and Bravery
This is the second time in three years that a Sandals team member in Saint Lucia has been nominated for the award, which was won in 2015 by Zachaeus Dominique, a lifeguard from Sandals Regency La Toc Golf Resort and Spa, after he had rescued a member of the public who had gotten into difficulty while swimming in rough seas.
During a carnival party cruise recently two persons, a man and his companion who was from the UK, fell from the boat into the open water. Without hesitating St. Rose leapt into action and dove off the boat, just in time to grab on to the gentleman who had already started going under. He was soon able to stabilize both persons, and hold on to them until the boat turned around.
During Saturday’s function in his honour, he thanked his training for allowing him to respond so quickly.
“I dove in without even taking off my shoes. It was instinct and I just want everybody to know that I am not a hero; my team members would have done the same. This is what we are trained for. Our training is something that we take seriously at Sandals. We have been (drilled) for years and I enjoy it. It’s a nice feeling knowing that if anyone were to get into trouble right now, any one of my team members at Sandals can stand up and give first-aid or CPR, this is what they put into us.”
St. Rose received an official citation from Sandals Deputy Chairman Adam Stewart CD, which was presented to him by Minister for Education, Innovation and Sustainable Development the Hon. Gale Rigobert.
The Minister praised St. Rose for his swift actions which she said surely saved lives that day.
“That is a tremendous feat of courage, of right-thinking and of bravery and I want to applaud you for that.”
Noting the comments made by St. Rose, she went further to thank Sandals for the investment the company has made in its team members allowing them to be prepared to act so quickly.
“You need not spare a second thought about investing in your team members because there is certainly no telling just how far that will go. What (St. Rose) has done – and he did not do it for fame or glory – but what he has done has said something about the Sandals brand. Clearly at the heart of Sandals is a soul, a sentiment, right-thinking and a people-centered approach that gave St. Rose the courage to do what he did.”
In the citation presented to the hero diver, the company’s Deputy-Chairman Mr. Adam Stewart expressed the following;
“Sandals Resorts International wishes to formally recognise Mr. St. Rose Jacobie for the courage and heroism recently demonstrated when he dove into the ocean to save two persons who had fallen from a boat during a party cruise.
St. Rose’s action saved the lives of those persons and is the embodiment of all that we stand for as members of the Sandals family. He certainly gave more than was expected and went well beyond the call of duty. He is indeed the definition of a true hero. On behalf of our Chairman the Hon. Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart and the entire Sandals family we are proud to call him our own. We salute you St. Rose; you are a shining example of what it means to be selfless and compassionate. Keep being you and don’t ever change.”
Should his nomination for the Mountbatten Medal be successful, St. Rose will travel to Buckingham Palace to receive the award.
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