CHEROKEE COUNTY, Ga. — “Wear it for them.”

That’s the message from Brianna Day, as a new life jacket loaner station on Lake Allatoona is dedicated to the memory of her late husband.

Chris Day was a passionate advocate for recreational boating safety. He served as an instructor trainer with the National Safe Boating Council (NSBC) for eight years.

He held a U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner credential of Master Captain and was known by most of his friends as Captain Chris.

He also operated TowBoatUS businesses, including one on Allatoona. Day was 40 when he passed away from pancreatic cancer in 2024.

Brianna says this loaner station will join several others Chris erected on that lake himself.

“We put up one in honor of him just to spread awareness, to save a life if we can,” says Day. “Ninety percent of accidents on waters are because of non-life jacket use. So, if I can help that and continue his mission, that’s kind of what I’m trying to do.”

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says statistics show that 90% of those who drown at USACE lakes and rivers may have survived if they had worn a life jacket.

While USACE has more than two dozen such stations around Allatoona, this new one on Allatoona Landing includes Chris Day’s photo and a profile about him.

The life jacket loaner station has various sizes of jackets for infants, children, youth, and adults, and instructions on how to fit and wear them. The loaner station was dedicated on Chris’s birthday, July 27.

“If you forget a life jacket, if you think you don’t need one that day, if you don’t have enough on the boat, we want them to be ready and accessible for anyone to grab,” says Day. “It serves as a purpose for people to go up and grab them, and then return them when you’re done.”

Brianna points out that size matters when it comes to selecting the safest jacket, and that you should pay attention to the weight information inside each jacket. A reliable life jacket, she says, will always include approval from the U. S. Coast Guard. There are also different life jacket types--for example, specialty ones if you will be on a personal watercraft.

If the size you need is not there, she says, call TowBoatUS and they will bring one to where you are.

The life jacket loaner stations Captain Chris installed are typically in memory of someone whose life was lost, or in honor of someone whose life he saved on the water. Brianna says you will be able to spot those because they typically have photos and/or personal statements on them.

The new life-jacket loaner station at Allatoona landing includes Chris’s name and a photo of Brianna’s stepson.

“I wear it for him,” she said. “That’s what I tell people all of the time. Don’t just wear your life jacket to save your life, wear it for your family so you can come home to your family at night.”

According to the Atlanta-based CDC, “life jackets reduce the risk of drowning while boating for people of all ages and swimming abilities. Life jackets should be used by children for all activities while in and around natural water.”

Officials add that life jackets can also be used by weaker swimmers of all ages in and around natural water and swimming pools.

WSB Radio’s Veronica Waters contributed to this story