We rocketed past $55,000 and have managed to slide past $60,000!!! Nice job everyone!!!

A large part of this jump comes from an anonymous donation in memory of Dr. Jeff Sipsey, our longtime medical director. Dr. Sipsey wasn’t a diver – in fact, he didn’t quite understand why we like to submerge ourselves so much – but loved hyperbaric medicine and was absolutely dedicated to helping any diver that he could. This donation also points out two things about the Challenge: (1) You can make a donation in someone’s memory, and (2) You don’t have to list your name if you don’t want to. We should also add that this donation is actually $5,050 with the extra $50 being in honor of the Chamber’s 50th anniversary.

On the Gold-level at $1,000 each, we welcome back two longtime supporters of our Chamber. The first is SOCDC (South Orange County Dive Club) who not only ponies up a $1K donation each year but also has a table at Chamber Eve to boot. They are joined by Andy Pilmanis at the same level. If you’re a student of the history of our Chamber, you may know that Andy was the original Director of our Chamber and we’re quite happy to see he continues to support the entity he helped create.

At $500, we have another trip of regular contributors. Peter Croke is a diver at the Aquarium of the Pacific and knows the value of having our Chamber ready to help should something go amiss during one of the exhibit dives. Angi & Ron Burkard also make a return appearance. Angi was a Reef Seekers Divemaster for many years and is also a longtime member of our steering committee. And because she works for Phillips 66 / 76, they have a corporate matching grant program that kick sin another $500. That serves as a good reminder for those of you working for companies that have a matching grant program to see if you can double the value of your donation to our Chamber through your company’s generosity.

Whew!!! A lot to get through today but still a ways to go as were just inside of the five-week mark. So we’ve picked the pace back up but we can’t falter now. Who’s next? Who will push us past $65,000? Here’s the direct link to help you do that: https://usc.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_88ko1OUej3lAYbI

CHALLENGE 2024 - $60,125 total (as of 3/28/2024 @ 12-NOON)
New donors are in bold type and marked with an asterisk.

Diamond ($10,000-14,999)
Glenn Suhd
Antelope Valley Desert Divers

Platinum ($5,000-9,999)
* In memory of Dr. Jeff Sipsey (anonymous)
Mike Emmerman, Patricia Stockhausen, and TJ
In memory of Leslie Holtman, Ron Riddle, Greg Tashjian, & Paul Kanner (Dr. Susy Horowitz)
James Collins

Gold ($1,000-4,999)
* SOCDC (South Orange County Dive Club)
* Andrew Pilmanis
In memory of David Wolf (Jeremy & Marlo Wolf Family Foundation)
Stephen Raganold
Laurie Powers
Jeanne Sleeper
Pacific Wilderness
John Delaney

Silver ($500-999)
* Peter Croke
* Angi & Ron Burkard
* Phillips 66 / 76 (Burkard match)
Dive 949 & West Coast Tec Divers
Ethan Bush
Sean Eckley
Roy Houston
CA Diving News / the Scuba Show
In memory of Tom Wetzel (Patti Wetzel)
Mark Chambers
Mark Stabb
In memory of Dr. Lee H. Somers (Karl Huggins)
Don Lake
Roger Carlson
Brad Crocker
Matt Levinson

Bronze ($100-499)
* In memory of Robert Woods (Barnacle Busters LGBTQ+ Dive Club)
* Alan Blaustein
* Sean O’Day
Terra Petry
Stuart Berryhill
Jeff Lewis
Michelle Leonard
In honor of Bob & Tina Kennedy (Jack Scarrett)
Unes Nabipour
In memory of Mars Brownsen (Anthony Bailey)
James Ruddick
Bob & Laura Mosqueda
Mike Couffer
Gina Boster
Susan Bangasser
Lukas Holsen
Henry Gittler & Lisette Lieberman
Cindy Shaw
In honor of Da boy, Daniel Wright
Gary Sterling
Mark Perlstein
In honor of David Pechman, M.D. (Brock Dewey)
Ken Nelson
In memory of Tom Wetzel (Tabby Stone & Linda Takvorian)
Sharon DePriester
Kevin Zagorski
Ellen Berman

Other (under $100)
Dan & Betty Orr
Lawrence Shack