We just doubled our total . . .

And we have Michael Kane to thank for it, as he just called in with a $10,000 donation. And to make it even better, Michael asked for his donation this year to be tagged to the Mark Tulin Memorial Fund. In the exchange we had, Michael mentioned that he thought Mark was a great guy, was glad to have known him, and that Mark will be missed. But Michael probably best summed it up when he very succinctly said, "I really liked him."

Michael's not the only one who liked Mark and will miss his congenial presence. A number of you feel the same way and many have already stepped up to remember Mark with a donation to the Chamber that he loved so much. Perhaps Mark spoke at your dive club, maybe you saw him on the island during previous Chamber days, or perhaps he assisted if you or a dive buddy got treated. Chances are, Mark Tulin's life touched some aspect of yours.

Basically, the Mark Tulin Memorial Fund is a subset of the Chamber Challenge. All monies raised in Mark's name will go to help with the day-to-day operations of the Chamber he loved so much. Everyone who contributes in Mark's name will have a small tophat appear next to their name on our donor list to indicate that you recognize the contributions Mark made to the Chamber and the void that his death will leave.

To contribute, just go to our donation page and the Chamber Challenge section. Choose one of the suggested amounts or enter whatever amount you'd like below the presets. Then go down a little lower and check the box that says "Mark Tulin Memorial Fund". Enter your payment info and then we'll be able to add your name to the growing list of people who understand how special the Chamber was to Mark and are willing to give something to the place that meant so much to him.

Many times in life, you don’t realize how much someone meant to you until they are no longer there. To have them suddenly taken away makes that pain even greater. And while many of us will mourn for some time the loss of Mark, hopefully his death can spur some of you who knew or met him to help the Chamber continue the work that Mark felt was so important.

So, who's next???? Who will help remember mark and push us past $21,000????

CHAMBER CHALLENGE 2011 - $20,035 total (Updated 3/23 @ 6PM - last updated 3/22)
New donors are in bold type and marked with an asterisk
Donations made in memory of Mark Tulin have (MT) after the donor's name
(Of the Challenge total, $13,690 of that amount so far has been donated in Mark's memory)

Diamond ($10,000 and up)
* Michael Kane (MT)

Gold ($1,000 and up)
John Delaney
Beach Cities Scuba
Pacific Wilderness
Laurie Kasper & Ken Kurtis (MT)
Sport Chalet

Silver ($500-999)
Dave Carver (MT)
Jeanne Sleeper (MT)
Karl Huggins (MT)
Eo Ong & the Burbank Dive Club
Robin McMunn

Bronze ($100-499)
Dan Orr (MT)
Angi & Ron Burkard (MT)
Angi Conoco-Philips match (MT)
Captain Tim Burke - Great Escape (MT)
Kodi-Wan Kenobi (MT)
Debbie Husby (MT)
www.IndianValleyScuba.com
Dana Rodda
Kevin Augarten
In memory of Fran Ollweiler
South Orange County Dive Club
Jerry Nickelsburg (MT)
Captain Derek Erickson (MT)
Dr. Diane Witmer
Chris Rybak
Conoco-Phillips (matching grant)
k;-)
Kenneth Kopp/www.divematrix.com
Steve Benavides

Others (under $100)
Kaz Aizawa (MT)
Sabrina Smith (MT)
Alan Wald (MT)
Gerald Winkel (MT)

Ken Kurtis
Chairman, Chamber Day/Eve 2011
& the entire Chamber Day 2011 Committee
www.chamberday.org
310/652-4990