Loggerhead Marinelife Center’s Eighth Annual Go Blue Awards Nominations Open July 15
Photo courtesy of LILA PHOTO
Loggerhead Marinelife Center is accepting nominations for the 2016 Go Blue Awards, a premier ocean conservation awards ceremony in Florida that annually awards four individuals and one business that have promoted, implemented or contributed to a “blue” lifestyle of ocean conservation. Nominations can be made beginning July 15 and end on Aug. 26. Finalists will be announced at the Blue Friends Society social at PGA National Resort & Spa on Sept. 22. Best of all, nominations are open nationwide. To nominate a person or business, visit www.marinelife.org/bluefriends.
All nominations will be reviewed by a distinguished and independent panel of judges including: Gary Adkison – U.S. Shark Foundation, director; Fabien Cousteau – aquanaut, oceanographic explorer, conservationist and documentary filmmaker; Jim Harvey – Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation, co-chairman; Greg Marshall – National Geographic Society, inventor and scientist; Sally Murray – Daughter of LMC Founder Eleanor Fletcher; Susan Murray – Oceana Deputy Vice President U.S. Pacific, granddaughter of LMC Founder Eleanor Fletcher; Jim Toomey, Mission Blue executive director, creator of Sherman’s Lagoon Comic Strip; and Dr. Edie Widder – Ocean Research & Conservation Association, president/CEO and senior scientist.
The judges will narrow the list down to final candidates for each award. Winners in each category will be announced Friday, October 28, 2016 at the Eighth Annual Go Blue Awards Luncheon hosted at PGA National Resort & Spa featuring Paul Nicklen as special guest and keynote speaker. A globally-acclaimed Canadian-born photographer and marine biologist, Nicklen has been documenting both the beauty and the plight of our planet’s polar regions and our world’s oceans for over 20 years.
Nominations for the 2016 Go Blue Awards are based on several criteria. The Eleanor Fletcher Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes a person who exemplifies a lifelong, extraordinary commitment to marine conservation education through their work or volunteer activities similar to LMC Founder Eleanor Fletcher. The Blue Ambassador of the Year Award will recognize a person who has made significant contributions in ocean conservation through volunteer-related activities. The Blue Friend of the Year Award recognizes a person who has made significant contributions in ocean conservation through work-related activities. The Blue Hatchling Youth Award recognizes a person under the age of 17 who has made significant contributions in marine conservation through volunteer-related activities. The Blue Business of the Year Award will recognize a business that has made outstanding contributions toward promoting conservation or restoration of marine life and/or marine ecosystems through their practices, products or technology.
For more information on the Go Blue Awards, to purchase tickets to the Eighth Annual Go Blue Awards Luncheon or to learn more about sponsorship opportunities, visit www.marinelife.org/bluefriends.