I have participated in, planned, volunteered for, and organized hundreds of open water swimming events around the world…in Asia, Africa, Europe, the Americas, and Oceania. But there was no local official as supportive and enthusiastic about open water swimming than Redondo Beach Mayor Bill Brand.
He joined in planning meetings, he reviewed the race courses, he talked with the lifeguards and safety personnel, he asked about training methods, he asked if there was anything that he could do to make the open water events in his city better for the swimmers and easier on the staff and volunteers.
He was one of a kind.
The 65-year-old dynamo from the South Bay was a surfer, open water swimmer, and all-around waterman. He knew the ocean; he knew the people and ambiance of coastal communities; and he understood the relationship between the two. He recruited Olympic swimmers and world champions to support his goal of bringing the 10 km marathon swim at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games to Redondo Beach, but he also stayed to cheer on the last swimmers in local open water swims – and ask if he could help with clean-up afterwards.
He was all in when it came to supporting his city, the surrounding community, and open water swimming.
Sadly, Mayor Brand died on February 9th at the age of 65 after battling cancer for more than four years. His wife and other family and friends were by his side in the end.
Brand was on his second term as the City of Redondo Beach’s mayor, after previously serving two terms on the City Council. He had remained in office despite undergoing intense treatments and being hospitalized several times. Throughout his treatments, he always kept up with the open water swimming community and its enthusiasts.
“Elected office can be a challenge, but being Mayor of Redondo Beach came naturally to Bill. He embodied the South Bay,” tweeted Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn. “He was passionate about his work as Mayor, fighting corporate developers to preserve the beach community he loved, but he also made time for surf breaks.”
Back in 2020, Brand explained his condition, “Eight months ago, like a bolt of lightning, I was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer. It had already spread to my brain, back, ribs and lymph nodes by the time I found out. My first symptom was a seizure during a flight to Mexico.
I’m so very happy to report that the combination of chemotherapy, radiation, healthy eating, exercise and lots of love, care and prayers from family and friends that the brain masses are virtually gone, my lymph nodes are cancer free, my back is healing and the lung mass is about 10% of its original size.
The cancer has disappeared except for a small mass left in my left lung and a small spot on one vertebrae. The main brain tumor has shrunk from 13mm to 4.7mm. The other brain tumor is completely gone.
I have to take this opportunity to thank my doctors, nurses, x-ray techs, researchers, administrators, office workers, janitors and all the hard working individuals who brought state-of-the-art healthcare to me so that I could recover and get back to a fulfilling life.
It has been quite a journey – very painful at times, but rewarding in many, unexpected ways. I often entertain the crazy thought that I would write a book one day titled, “The Blessings of Cancer.”
I have to thank my wife, Deirdre, who was more grief-stricken than myself when my illness was discovered, but held it together through thick and thin while quietly dealing with the prospect of losing her new husband.
In a way, it’s easier being the victim [who] everyone is doting over [rather] than to be the one who is going to be left behind to pick up the pieces. In the early going, I would sometimes awake in the middle of the night to find her quietly crying. It brought us even closer than we already were, and made us realize what matters most: love of family, friends, and appreciating everyday we have to make life worthwhile, and leave this place better than we found it.”
Bill Brand, a unique individual with boundless energy and enthusiasm for the ocean and everyone who lived and recreated in, on, under, and near it.
How enthusiastic was Mayor Brand about the sport of open water swimming? On a day with very few people on Redondo Beach, he came out to cheer on an overcast day for two older swimmers (Steve Sutton and Steven Munatones) when they swam around the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Mayor Brand was there year after year cheering on the first and the last swimmers at the annual Dwight Crum Pier-to-Pier Swim between neighboring Hermosa Beach to Manhattan Beach. Mayor Brand was extremely supportive of the Redondo Beach Open Water Swim and the entire spectrum of events hosted in the South Bay area.
Standing on a pier, standing on a shore, listening to others at City Hall, lending a helping hand…Mayor Brand was a true leader.
In lieu of flowers, Brand’s family asked for donations in his memory to the South Bay Parkland Conservancy or to Cancer Support Community | South Bay.
© 2024 Daily News of Open Water Swimming
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