Posted by MHK on July 05, 2001 at 13:42:18:
Ships to Reefs
Following up on our earlier correspondence of last week we wanted to thank everyone for the cooperation and the interest that was expressed. We are moving forward with the ambitious effort to secure, and then ultimately sink, an artificial reef in the waters surrounding Catalina Island, California. This project will closely mirror the Project Yukon and we hope to expand upon the success of that effort, but more importantly we help to avert the minefields that were encountered. Our close working relationship with Dick Long, San Diego Oceans Foundation chairman, will help to reduce duplicative efforts.
Our intention at this time is to begin putting in place the requisite infrastructure and to continue our efforts going forward. The success of this project will depend largely on the activism of the dive community. An undertaking of this complexity will only succeed with a cooperative joining together of the community. This will be everyone’s ship to explore, enjoy and will serve generations of future explorers. We will require a substantive volunteer effort in all phases of this endeavor and at this point we’re looking to bring the coalition together.
We are looking at this point for qualified volunteers to undertake the Website design and hosting. Our belief is that it is very important to keep the public informed of our efforts and our progress and while we’ll anticipate frequent updates on the various scuba related forums, such as this one, we’ll also want to provide a constant stream of information. Accordingly, if you posses the necessary talent and experience and want to join our efforts please do so by contacting the undersigned.
Fund raising will, as you may imagine, form a significant part of our overall efforts and as such, we will be seeking experienced fundraisers to sign on to the project. We have preliminary financial projections and absent success in this regard our chances of success will be significantly diminished.
Furthermore, raising the awareness level will be of the utmost importance and as such we will also be seeking out qualified individuals with some marketing background to join our team.
Our team, at this point, is a small but dedicated group who shares the same vision, the same goals and is willing to putforth the required effort to ensure the success of this ambitious project. If you feel you are willing to join our team and help our efforts please contact the undersigned, as there is much work to finish.
Regards,
Michael H. Kane (a.k.a. MHK)
Project coordinator
mhkane@prodigy.net