HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	3
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2024
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

Honoring Branch Lotspeich for providing critical life-saving SERVICES and commending his outstanding dedication to protecting swimmers across the world.

WHEREAS, the House of Representatives is proud to honor exceptionally talented and dedicated individuals; and

WHEREAS, BRANCH LOTSPEICH is one such individual as he has helped to save lives locally and internationally by reducing the risk of drowning related deaths, which are the third leading cause of unintentional deaths; and

WHEREAS, BRANCH LOTSPEICH was a founding member and acting Executive Director of the Rescue Tube Foundation which created Public Access Rescue Tubes and stations that have saved 200 lives and prevented an estimated 30 drownings; and

WHEREAS, BRANCH LOTSPEICH and the Rescue Tube Foundation designed bright yellow rescue flotation devices that can hold up to three people for multiple hours, are user-friendly regardless of the language one speaks due to the picture descriptions provided on the device, and are numbered so that in the case of an emergency, the response teams will know the site of the tube even if the location is unknown to those calling about the emergency; and

WHEREAS, BRANCH LOTSPEICH and his leadership in the Rescue Tube Foundation led to the spread of over 600 rescue tube stations throughout the beaches of Hawaiʻi, the U.S. mainland, and internationally; and

WHEREAS, in January 2024, BRANCH LOTSPEICH, working with the present Chair of the Rescue Tube Project, Eric Kvick, the City and County of Honolulu, Hawaiʻi Kai Lions Club, and Rotary Club of Honolulu, helped to install 20 rescue tubes along 20 miles of Oʻahu's southern and windward shores, from Kawaikui Beach Park in Aʻina Haina to Kailua Beach Park; and

WHEREAS, BRANCH LOTSPEICH worked internationally in Munich, Germany, for a medical documentary film company; served as a consultant in Sweden's Federal Department of Health; and volunteered in China and Poland as a medical media consultant; and

WHEREAS, BRANCH LOTSPEICH has additionally served as the head of the University of Cincinnati School of Medicine's Biomedical Communications Department, Chair for Community Service at the Rotary Club of Hanalei Bay, Vice President of Operations for a consumer computer company called I/O Magic, and Vice President for Technology with Desience Corporation which designed command and control centers for clients, such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, National Aeronautical and Space Administration, Department of Defense, and many others; and

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2024, that this body hereby honors BRANCH LOTSPEICH for providing critical life-saving services, commends his outstanding dedication to protecting swimmers across the world, and extends to him its warmest aloha and best wishes for continued success in all future endeavors.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

Honoring Branch Lotspeich, Rescue Tube Foundation, Critical Life-Saving Services