FHLBank Indianapolis account manager saves man, daughter from drowning in Lake Superior

last updated on Friday, August 30, 2024 in Federal Home Loan Bank Indianapolis

Ask yourself this question: "Have I ever saved someone from drowning?" Then ask yourself, "How about two people at once?"

For Nick Groenleer, AVP, Michigan Account Manager at FHLBank Indianapolis, the answer to both questions is yes. And it all happened in about 15 minutes before July's Community Bankers of Michigan (CBM) annual UP Forum in Marquette, Mich.

For some weekend fun, Nick, a 20-year veteran of the Bank, had taken colleagues to a rock formation in the Upper Peninsula called Black Rocks, a 25-foot-high cliff-jumping spot popular among thrill-seekers in Presque Isle Park.

A longtime Michigander and former lifeguard of 20 years, Nick had taken the leap many times and was showing colleagues the best way to approach the jump into the frigid waters below.

It was about 6 p.m., and the winds were picking up from an approaching storm. A few other tourists were there jumping, too, and Nick urged his group to get their jumps in before conditions got too nasty.

After he jumped and began the 40-yard or so swim to shore, he noticed a girl hesitantly preparing to jump as her father coaxed her from the water below. Nick watched her halting jump, then resumed negotiating the growing waves back to land.

When he looked back to check the girl's progress, she was floundering and starting to panic. He immediately raced toward her, grabbed her arm and began pulling her toward shore as the growing waves hammered them both.

Then it hit him: "I'll bet the father is in trouble, too," Nick told himself. Sadly, he was right. Click here to read the rest of Nick's story.

Story by Scott Thien, Sr. Internal Communications Lead. For more information, contact the Corporate Communications department at [email protected].

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.