The Passenger Vessel Association (PVA) recognized the safety efforts of Kenai Fjords Tours Captain Tiffany Thomas with a new award, the 2014 Captain Elizabeth Gedney Passenger Safety Award. Captain Thomas was honored for her life-saving skills in competently and safely executing a marine rescue this past summer. In this rescue, two mariners were brought onboard a Kenai Fjords Tours vessel after their own vessel ran aground in the Chiswell Islands.
This new safety award, posthumously named in honor of Captain Elizabeth Gedney, is designed to recognize and honor individuals whose actions have made a substantial difference in someone’s life. Gedney, who passed away in June 2013 after a 10-year battle with breast cancer, fought tirelessly in her position as PVA Director of Safety, Security and Risk Management to improve the passenger vessel industry.
“Every year, PVA members are involved in real-life ‘man-overboard’ and other life-saving situations,” explained Dave Anderson, co-chair of the PVA Safety and Security Committee. “It is these types of events that need to be recognized because we understand the safety training that PVA vessel operators have can make the difference between life and death, and they do it efficiently and effectively.”
CIRI Alaska Tourism Corporation is a wholly owned CIRI company doing business as Alaska Heritage Tours, Kenai Fjords Tours, Kenai Fjords Wilderness Lodge, Seward Windsong Lodge and Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge.
