Aqua Devils’ New AED Stresses Safety First

For Kelly Keating, a member of the Three Lakes Aqua Devils Water Ski Club Board of Directors, writing a grant to secure funds for an AED (Automated External Defibrillator) for the Phyllis B. Felland Memorial Water Park was both personal and practical.

Last October, an AED at the Reiter Center saved one of her friends; however, Keating’s neighbor, who was skating at the Eagle River Sports Arena one evening, died on the ice because that facility lacked an AED at the time.

“A heart attack can unexpectedly happen anywhere,” explained Keating, who submitted a $2,419.85 grant request to the Three Lakes Community Foundation (TLCF) in late October 2024.

After review, the TLCF approved their grant request in January 2025. Keating, who is certified in First Aid, CPR, and Water Safety, understood the need not only to have the equipment available for use but, more importantly, to provide members of the Aqua Devils with training about the new equipment.

“It’s scary when you have no experience,” noted Keating as she watched members of the Aqua Devils practice one summer’s evening in June. “They are at a mature enough age where they should know how AEDs work. They are everywhere today.”

After practice, Keating met with the 20 members of the ski team, giving them an overview of how the AED works and explaining what to expect should they need to use it. Safety is central to the club’s identity, as exemplified by a large blue sign displayed prominently on the concessions building, which reads SFL: Safety, Fun, Learning. “I feel it’s important to be safe,” said 17-year-old Ashton Boehm, who will be a senior at Three Lakes High School in the fall. “I have no experience with an AED.  Without the presentation, I feel that responding would be less structured.”

Taylor Laird, an 11-year-old from Appleton and Three Lakes, echoed Boehm, noting that the training she and her teammates received applied to more than just their time at the ski park. “You never know who’s going to be around for an emergency,” she explained, acknowledging that she had no background with AEDs, but hoped that the evening’s training, coming from Kelly, a human with experience, would help her do a better job in case of an emergency.

The impact of Keating’s presentation on the AED cast a net far beyond the Three Lakes area as team members hailed from Florida, Utah, California, Illinois, Oklahoma, North Carolina, and South Carolina.

Twelve-year-old Bria Wolfe from Apolla Beach, Florida, understood that the training was not just about summers on the lake, reflecting that heart attacks “could happen at any second and anywhere.”

During Keating’s presentation, the group discovered that before the club’s AED purchase, the closest internet-enabled AED was located in the ambulance in Sugar Camp.  As a result, doctors at the hospital will have information regarding the patient as soon as the AED is engaged on site.

Additionally, they learned that any actions they took using the AED would be covered under the Good Samaritan Law.

Three Lakes Parks Commission will store the AED when the water ski season concludes.