Three volunteer divers who assisted with the recovery of the Our Lady of Fatima Shrine at Indian Lake following the March 14 tornado will receive public recognition this week to thank them for their kind actions.
The 20-foot-tall fiberglass statue was blown far out into the lake and was lost after the EF-3 tornado struck the Indian Lake area. For more than two weeks, efforts to locate the statue by drone were not successful.
“Then, I was contacted by a local dive team who offered to search the murky water,” said Bill Quatman, president of The American Society of Ephesus (“ASE”), a Lima-based non-profit which owns the statue.
“The divers found several large pieces of the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary the day before Easter Sunday and brought them to the surface. It was very emotional for all of us.
“Although the divers did not ask for anything, our board wants to give all three of them a small token of our appreciation.”
Friday, July 26, Chas Quatman, vice president of ASE, will present checks to the three divers at 5:30 p.m. at St. Mary of the Woods Church, 464 Madison Ave, Russells Point, OH.
The three divers are: Jimmy Dawson of Russells Point, Richard Martin of Marysville, and Josh George of Delaware, Ohio.
In addition, the ASE is currently hosting a competition for Ohio residents to design the new shrine, with large cash prizes for the winners in six age categories. ASE has partnered with ArtSpace/Lima for the state-wide design competition.
“We have had a few excellent designs submitted already, but Aug. 15 is the deadline for submissions,” Bill Quatman said.
“We are very excited to see what creative ideas are out there,” said Sally Windle, ArtSpace/Lima executive director.
Plans are for the new shrine to be dedicated by Aug. 15, 2026.
For details on the competition, go to ASE’s website, www.ase-gbqfoundation.org.