Manatee Benefit - The Manatees need You!
OCTOBER 18, 2009 (SUNDAY) from 4:00 - 6:00PM is the Annual Manatee Social & Benefit at the Rochester Mills Beer Company in Rochester, Michigan.
US Scuba Center wishes to thank the Rochester Mills Beer Company and staff for such wonderful support of this annual event.
It is a great time to socialize (catch up on the diving adventures of friends), win some fun prizes and Christmas Shopping early. Help us make this year's turn out the best ever of divers, snorkelers and Manatee Lovers!
As in the past, local businesses and manatee lovers have contributed wonderful times and more items are being added daily. This is a great time to purchase great Christmas Gifts which also make a difference in preserving our delicate and endangered under water world and the creatures that call it home.
this years you can have your Christmas Cards personalized with your picture taken with a Manatee (Special Thanks to Jack Sellick for his caricature of "Manny the Manatee"!)
All proceeds go to the Hubbs Sea World Manatee Rescue & Rehabilitation Program (a non-profit 501 C3 organization). The appetizers are always delicious (thanks to Jerry at Rochester Mills Beer Co.).
THE 2008 GRAND TOTAL Raised. ...$5,500
Help us beat that number this year!
ITEMS DONATED TO DATE FOR 2009 Auction:
Generous donations have already been made by:
Golden Eagle Restaurant Macomb Center for the Performing Arts Rogest
Detroit Symphony Orchestra Meadow Brook Theatre Mark Ridleys Comedy Club
Chaplin's Comedy Club Oakland University Theatre and Dance Department
DIVI Resorts Atomic StahlSac Aqualung Sea Quest Ikelite
Stuart Cove's Princeton Tec Innovative Scuba Concepts Deep See
EB Industries Oceanic US Park & /Quick Park
D & H Oil lube
Amazing Theatre Tickets:
MeadowBrook Theatre Detroit Symphony Orchestra
Oakland University Theatre and Dance Department - great performances in your backyard!
Macomb Center for the Performing Arts
Sports Items:
Piston Tickets and more sporting items coming in daily
Piston's Honorary Ballgirl/Ballboy Gift Certificate including rebound with team, 4 tickets, t shirt, basketball and picture taken with a player!
Adventure Items:
Restaurants:
Golden Eagle in Rochester
Books:
Stan Waterman autographed book - this one is a great treasure!
Great Books and DVD's from Annie Crowley New World Publications
Artwork:
Heather's Manatee!
Pewter Manatee
Signed Rogest Prints
Individual Check Donations - remember that this is a NonProfit 501 C3 organization.
Remember the Annual Manatee Trip January 14 -17, 2010 - a few spots are still open.
Bud and Heather want to thank every person who supported and attended this annual event along with all our great local businesses and friends who donate so generously every year.
WHAT IS IT ALL ABOUT?
THE FUTURE OF THE OCEANS IS EVERYBODY'S BUSINESS. . . "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world, indeed it is the only thing that ever has!" Margaret Meade
One of the most impressive marine mammals that Heather Sellick and Bud Uren, co-owners of US Scuba Center have encountered on their travels around the world is the West Indian (Florida) Manatee. According to Heather, "The Manatee is one of the most magnificent marine mammals that we have seen, it is also the one that tugs at our heart strings and reminds us of the great damage humans have inflicted on the creatures with whom we share this planet."
What is the fate of the Florida Manatee? The destruction of the Florida Manatee over the last century has been tragic. The Florida Manatee Sanctuary Act, the Federal Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 and the Endangered Species Act of 1973 protect the Florida Manatee. For millions of years this gentle giant was once plentiful in the Florida Rivers and coastal waters. Now even with the protection laws, the Manatee's survival is in serious trouble. The slow moving Manatee has been known to reach lengths of 13 feet and up to 3,500 pounds. They evolved from four footed land mammals that entered the water 60 million years ago. The estimated Florida population of Manatees is now only 2,000. Manatees are herbivores and eat the equivalent of 10% of their body weight daily in sea grasses. They cannot tolerate water cooler than 68 degrees. During the winter months when the ocean cools, the Manatees move into the water canals and rivers where the water temperatures are warmer.
Several factors have contributed to the decrease in numbers of these wonderful marine mammals all directly attributed to humans. Encroachment of people on their habitat has affected their food supply. Pollution has made them more susceptible to virus. Fast moving boats do not allow the Manatees to move out of the way of propellers and discarded fishing line can be lethal to them.
US Scuba Center, Inc. has been involved with the protection, rescue and rehabilitation of the Manatee for over 16 years. Once a year, US Scuba Center takes a group to the Crystal River area of Florida and introduces them to the Manatees. The annual visit is not only fun, but educational and culminates with a behind the scenes seminar and visitation of the Hubbs Sea World Manatee Rescue and Rehabilitation Program. The annual program this year will be January 29 - Feb. 1, 2009.
The Manatee Benefit is open to the public, and all Manatee Lovers are invited. This is a wonderful opportunity to have some fun and work together to get the Manatee off the endangered species list. If you would like a preview of just some of the items that will be available at the "Silent Auction" view the above list.
Thank you for being one of those who care about our oceans and marine life preservation and share our passion:
"to return to the sea some measure of the benefits derived from it."