“Our L.A. County Lifeguard Family – The First 100 Years & Beyond,” is a collection of photographs and stories about Ocean Lifeguards who have served on Los Angeles County beaches. The 5 volume set of 3,333 pages contains over 4,000 photographs and ½ million words of text. The book honors individuals who have served or are now serving on L.A. County beaches over the past 100 years. It provides the reader with in-depth knowledge of the field of professional ocean lifeguarding. It was created as an educational, not-for-profit work by L.A. County Lifeguard Richard Mark in appreciation of his service as a L.A. County Lifeguard for the L.A. County Fire Department from 1967 to 2005.

“Our Los Angeles County Lifeguard Family,” is Richard Mark’s first book. His generation of Lifeguards was the bridge between the beginning to the present day LACo Fire Dept., Lifeguard Operations. Richard served as a L.A. County Lifeguard from 1967 to 2005. At his retirement event on the Santa Monica Pier in October 2005, he wrote a note with some pictures in a 40 page handout to each of the attendees, expressing his appreciation for their friendship and being able to serve as an Ocean Lifeguard with them. That handout became so popular that he decided to expand it with a few stories, more photos, and more of his experiences as an Ocean Lifeguard. The results are a one-of-a-kind, 3,333 page book honoring the service of the L.A. County Lifeguards and uniquely capturing the Southern California beach culture from the inside out. Richard and his wife Charmaine are longtime residents of Malibu, CA, and have 3 grown children, Matthew, Ryan, and Loriann.