NOVI, MICH – Art Dittmar, a life-long conservationist and former president of the Michigan United Conservation Clubs (MUCC), doesn’t remember walking into the Outdoorama sport show in Novi on the afternoon of Friday, February 26, as the 37th annual event was opening. 

“The traffic was just horrible,” the 75-year-old Dittmar told friends at the Michigan Fly Fishing Club (MFFC) booth where he had volunteered, along with other members.  “A tanker-truck jackknifed on I-96.  Getting here took me at least 45 minutes.” 

And with those words, the frustrated Dittmar fell unconscious and his body went limp.  Luckily, MFFC member Jim Aitken from Rochester, and Eddie McMillion, a charter boat captain from Wayne, knew how to administer CPR.

While show managers called 911, the pair worked feverishly.  Aitken focused on pulmonary resuscitation and McMillion concentrated on Dittmar’s heart.   

Aitken had received CPR training from his local fire department.  McMillion, who was CPR-certified 21 years ago in order to earn his captain’s license, has taken refresher courses several times since.  He had volunteered to staff the adjacent Michigan Charter Boat Association (MCBA) booth at Outdoorama when Dittmar suffered his heart attack. 

Dittmar had stopped breathing and had no pulse.  Others quickly gathered to help if possible.  

While Aitken kept trying to get Dittmar to breathe, another charter boat captain, Rich Haslett of Madison Heights, took over from McMillion until an EMT crew from the Novi Fire Department arrived with a defibrillator.  Haslett, who received his CPR certification 20 years ago, is the current president of the 640-member MCBA.

None of the three men had ever used their specialized training until now. 

“He (Dittmar) couldn’t have picked a better time or place to have a heart attack,” said Janice Deaton, MCBA spokesperson and former president.  “Were it not for these men, he would have died.” 

The training is required of all Michigan charter boat captains for U.S. Coast Guard certification. Deaton said for this reason MCBA members should stay current in their training.  “They never know when they’ll be called upon to use it,” she added. 

Dittmar joined MUCC in 1973 and was involved in the first-ever Outdoorama the following year.  He was MUCC president from 1994 to 1996.  A longtime member of the Western Wayne Sportsmen Club and Michigan Fly Fishing Club, he founded the Metro-West Steelheaders and the Four Seasons Fishing Club, a family organization.  Dittmar retired after more than 30 years as a teacher in the Garden City School District, for which he designed a hunting and fishing course for students. 

Shortly after the Outdoorama show ended, Dittmar successfully underwent multiple bypass surgery.  He is recuperating at his Farmington Hills home.