If I had posted this yesterday, you’d all have thought it was an April Fool’s joke . . .

We’ve made it past $75,000!!! In fact, we’ve made it past $76,000. Amazing and we appreciate everyone who’s stepping up and donating.

The big leap is due in no small part to the generosity of Cyd Yonker as well as her employer, E. & J. Gallo Winery, who both come in at the $5,000 Platinum level. Cyd has been associated with our Chamber for quite some time. And even though she’s based in northern central California, she understands the importance of keeping our Chamber viable. Even better, her employer has a matching grant program that doubles the value of Cyd’s financial commitment to our Chamber.

We’ve also got a pair of Silver-level $500 donors, one new and on veteran. The veteran is Carl Felien who’s been supporting this event for quite some time (he’s also a Dutchman crew member). The newbie is Lenny Ortiz, a member of the Signature Scuba dive team. (As a side note, we’re giving a Chamber Day talk to the Signature club on Wednesday, April 10.) We thank both of them for stepping up.

So how about you? We’ve got a shade over four weeks to go until the big day but you don’t have to wait until the last minute. If you’d like to add your name, the way to do that is to go to this direct link: https://usc.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_88ko1OUej3lAYbI

CHALLENGE 2024 - $76,225 total (as of 4/2/2024 @ 11AM)
New donors are marked with an asterisk.

Chamborium ($15,000 & up)
Glenn Suhd

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

Platinum ($5,000-9,999)
* Cyd Yonker
* E. & J. Gallo Winery (match)
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)
* Lenny Ortiz
* Carl Felien
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)
* Rob & Wanda Dickey
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