PORT SHELDON TOWNSHIP, Mich. — The Great Lakes do not discriminate with their power, swallowing even the strongest of swimmers, including 20-year-old Brandon Schmidt.
In 2018, the high school athlete drowned at Windsnest Park. That day, when first responders pulled an unconscious Schmidt from the water, nearly a full hour had passed since he slipped below the surface. He later died at the hospital.
"It's important for everybody to know the dangers of the lake, and how to potentially save their own life," Brandi Donley, Schmidt's mother, said.
On Tuesday, Donley loaded plastic bags full of food and packs of Propel onto the back of a red pickup truck, delivering them to the Port Sheldon Fire Department and the Ottawa County Sheriff's Department, along with its dive unit.
"I think what you guys do is amazing," Donley said while handing snacks to members of the dive team.
The smattering of goods were donated by a number of Allendale restaurants and food banks, as well as Donley's friends and family.
"Man, I wasn't, I wasn't expecting that at all," said Sgt. Jon Knott. "What an honor to have somebody like her come out."
The Lake Michigan shoreline on which Knott's unit swims looks different because of Donley.
After her son's drowning, the mother pressed Port Sheldon leadership for life rings, ropes, and new warning signs at the park. The township listened.
"I do believe that life rings will save lives," Donley said. "I know that they have saved lives at other locations and I know it's important to have them across the lake."
Today, a plaque at the top of the beach remembers Schmidt, spelling out the danger of the waves below.
"It's kind of a bittersweet moment. Knowing that those changes were in honor of my son makes me feel happy," Donley said. "But knowing what had to, what had to happen for those changes to be made is heartbreaking."
