LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR

Lonnie Kaczmarsky, Executive Director

10/12/02 -

Dear Aquarium Supporter,

Thanks to the generosity of members like you, for over a decade the Aquarium has been successful in many ways. We have educated a generation about the importance of living coral and ways to protect it. We have helped to spark an interest in conservation and marine biology careers, in both the local youth we hired as interns and in the thousands of students who visited us on field trips.  In addition, we provided a much needed tourist attraction for St. Croix. You made all this possible through your continuing support.  We hope to continue our mission of conservation education for decades more.

As you may already know, I will be in the Philippines working at Silliman University from Nov. 1, 2002 until October 2003 as a result of my Fulbright Scholar Award.  Although this honor will once again temporarily take me and Sonia away from St. Croix, we are very much committed to the Aquarium and its continuation.

The economic reality of our situation is as follows: In order to build an organization that gives donors confidence in our long-term stability and to thus gain access to larger grants and funding sources, we feel that we need to acquire a more permanent home for the Aquarium.

For the past year we have been seeking a donation of a site or a long-term lease (with a nominal fee) on which we can create a new larger Aquarium, which includes plans for a new science center.  Most recently, we have been focusing on a vacant ocean front government building, which seems almost ideal. We are also exploring possible partnerships with other like-minded organizations.

To seriously explore this option and the multitude of issues it involves, we need to focus on a strategic plan that includes a formal business plan and proposed budget.  We need to determine how much funding will be needed to not only create the facility we envision, but also how much will be needed to maintain its annual operating budget.  As we do not have the funds necessary to hire a professional consultant to assist us in this capacity, we are turning to our members for your input, be it in the form of ideas, opinions, or even contributions to make this possible.

If you would like to see the Aquarium continue its mission and can help with any of the above, or if you simply would like to share your ideas please contact me, Lonnie Kaczmarsky, at: solonnie@hotmail.com. You can also contact other board members in St. Croix:  Dr. Ken Haines 340-778-0945; Desi Gandolfo 340-773-5547.

We cannot continue to educate island residents and visitors about protecting and conserving our island’s natural resources without your help. We are optimistic and look forward to hearing from you!
 

Sincerely,
Lonnie Kaczmarsky and Sonia Kulyk

For updated news on our search for a new home for the St. Croix Aquarium, and ways you can help, please visit the links on our site or contact us via email at .

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