Rick Kennard, the president of the New Jersey Offshore Powerboat Racing Association, officially retired from that position earlier this month. Under Kennard’s direction, the organization produced races in Seaside Heights, Atlantic City, and Manasquan in 2015.
Rick Kennard (right) with offshore racing legend Charlie Marks. Photo courtesy/copyright Tim Sharkey/Sharkey Images.
A well-known figure in the offshore racing community, Kennard works for Monmouth Ocean Hospital Corporation as a database administrator/web developer and is a practicing and teaching paramedic. He began volunteering as a paramedic for offshore races in 1992. Along with NJPORA medical director Scot Blue, he became part of the “Angel 1” helicopter rescue team. When Blue retired, Kennard took over his position.
Kennard handled and oversaw a number of medical emergencies in offshore races during the years, including treating a passenger who had a seizure on a spectator boat in the late 1990s. In 2014, he became president of the NJOPRA. He began as medical safety volunteer for the New Jersey Performance Powerboat Club in 1998—the year the club was formed—and became its medical director in 2005.
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