Juno Beach, Fla. (November 7, 2023) – Loggerhead Marinelife Center (LMC) has announced the finalists for its prestigious 15th Annual Go Blue Awards, with presenting sponsor Tampa General Hospital (TGH). The Go Blue Awards recognizes individuals, businesses, and nonprofits that promote, implement, or contribute to a “blue” lifestyle of marine conservation, while making significant impact improving and protecting our oceans, beaches, and wildlife. Tickets are on sale to attend the awards dinner at the Center on Friday, January 26, 2024, at 6 p.m.
The Eleanor Fletcher Lifetime Achievement Award was named for the Loggerhead Marinelife Center’s founder who was an innovative pioneer in marine conservation. Eleanor Fletcher educated thousands of children about sea turtles and initiated cultural change to preserve and protect the species. The recipient of this award exemplifies a lifelong, extraordinary commitment to marine conservation education through their work or volunteer activities.
- Jim Toomey ─ Creator of the daily comic strip Sherman’s Lagoon, which is syndicated in more than 150 newspapers across 20 countries and in 6 languages. Sherman’s Lagoon combines two of Jim’s lifelong passions: art and marine life. His cartoon books have sold more than 500,000 copies worldwide. Jim has received the prestigious Environmental Hero Award twice from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) “for using art and humor to conserve and protect our marine heritage.”
The Blue Ambassador of the Year Award recognizes a person who has made significant contributions to ocean conservation through volunteering and work-related efforts. The finalists are:
- Nan Hauser ─ President and director of the Center for Cetacean Research and Conservation (CCRC), and director and principal investigator of Cook Islands Whale Research (CIWR). This nurse-turned-whale biologist has spent the better part of three decades studying humpback whales in Rarotonga, Cook Islands, aiding in the creation of a 2 million square-kilometer whale sanctuary and educational research center in Rarotonga.
- Todd Steiner ─ Founder and executive director of Turtle Island Restoration Network, an ocean advocacy and research NGO with offices in California, Texas, and Hawaii. For more than 30 years, Steiner and Turtle Island Restoration Network have been leading advocates for the world’s oceans and marine wildlife.
- Scott Vogel ─ An LMC program assistant and hospital interpreter, Vogel has lived a life of volunteer activism and education. He has a lifelong passion for ocean conservation, and has been active in promoting stewardship to future biologists and conservationists.
The Blue Hatchling Youth Award recognizes a student up to the 12th grade who has contributed to marine conservation through volunteer activities. The finalists are:
- Marina Barto ─ President and co-founder of Surface71, a nonprofit organization run solely by students to raise awareness about plastic pollution and ocean conservation throughout Palm Beach County schools.
- Cash Daniels and Ella Grace Galaski-Rossen ─ Founders of the nonprofit The Cleanup Kids. Since they were 7 and 6 years old, respectively, Cash and Ella have shown exemplary leadership skills and passion toward marine life conservation.
- Asa Miller ─ A 16-year-old junior at Edgemont Jr./Sr. High School in Scarsdale, New York, Asa is a coral reef restoration specialist, diver, and filmmaker, particularly known for his work and research in his homeland of Cuba.
The Blue Business of the Year Award/Nonprofit of the Year Award recognizes a business or nonprofit that has made outstanding contributions to promoting conservation or restoration of marine life or ecosystems through its work, outreach, practices, products, or technology. The finalists are:
- Inwater Research Group ─ A small, nonprofit organization dedicated to rescuing and researching numerous marine species, including sea turtles, elasmobranchs, and bony fishes. Inwater has a strong focus on marine conservation and education, with research projects spanning across both coasts of Florida.
- Rock the Ocean’s Tortuga Music Festival ─ Founded in 2013 with the mission of raising funds and awareness for ocean conservation, Tortuga and Rock the Ocean have hosted more than 100 nonprofit organizations within the music festival, and raised over $4 million for ocean conservation research, efforts, and education.
- Upwell Turtles ─ A nonprofit committed to supporting the research, data collection, conservation, and management of open ocean habitats in the recovery of threatened or endangered marine turtles. Upwell launched the “Lost Years Initiative,” a satellite study that tracks sea turtle migration in hopes of protecting and preserving habitats.
The finalists have been evaluated by an esteemed panel of independent judges who will review the submitted criteria to select finalists and winners. This year’s judges include Sally Murray, daughter of LMC Founder Eleanor Fletcher; Susan Murray, deputy vice president of Oceana U.S. Pacific and granddaughter of Eleanor Fletcher; Greg Marshall, marine biologist and filmmaker; Joel Sartore, longtime contributing photographer to National Geographic magazine and author of The Photo Ark: One Man’s Quest to Document the World’s Animals; Lad Akins, curator of marine conservation for the Phillip & Patricia Frost Museum of Science and an inductee into the Scuba Diving Hall of Fame; Dr. Wallace J. Nichols, marine biologist and author; Sylvia Earle, Ph.D., president and chairman of Mission Blue and a National Geographic Society Explorer in Residence; and Brian Skerry, award-winning National Geographic photographer and film producer.
To purchase tickets or to sponsor the Go Blue Awards, visit marinelife.org/connect/goblue.
About Loggerhead Marinelife Center (LMC)
Loggerhead Marinelife Center, located in Loggerhead Park, Juno Beach, Fla., is a sea turtle research, rehabilitation, education, and conservation center. The Center also manages the Juno Beach Pier across the street from the park. Established in 1983, LMC seeks to promote conservation of ocean ecosystems with a special focus on threatened and endangered sea turtles. Its facilities include a sea turtle hospital, a research laboratory, and exhibit areas, including live sea turtles and other coastal creatures. LMC has been named the third “Best Free Attraction” in USA Today’s 10 Best Readers’ Choice Awards for 2023.