SEAKEEPERS SOCIETY DEDICATES LABORATORIES
TO STOUT SUPPORTER JIM MORAN

Amidst laughter, reminiscence and some tears, the International SeaKeepers Society officially dedicated its engineering office and calibration laboratory on October 25, 2007 to the memory of Admiral’s Club Member Jim Moran. Attending the ceremony on the eve of the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show was Jan Moran, Jim Moran’s widow.

In formally dedicating the laboratories, Board President Jim Gilbert remembered Jim Moran’s pivotal support and endorsement in establishing SeaKeepers as a vital, effective organization to protect and restore the sea. “When Jim Moran came up on stage in 2001 to receive a ShowBoats Award in Monaco, he changed the direction of our fledgling organization. Instead of thanking his builder, designers and project managers, he said nothing was more important than SeaKeepers’ mission and he challenged everyone in the audience to join him in supporting the organization. That moment erased any doubt I had whether SeaKeepers would flourish and succeed. We are proud and honored to dedicate these offices to a man who has played such an integral role in our success. He is missed deeply.”

Mrs. Jan Moran displays the Jim Moran SeaKeepers Laboratories dedication plaque alongside JM Family Foundation staff and Board President Jim Gilbert. (Left to right) Larry McGinnes, Rick Noland, Captain Morey Dubelier, Lisa Bielecki, Captain Joe Moore, Mrs. Jan Moran, George Kokinakis, Melanie Burgess, Captain Val Sousa, Dr. Richard Luceri and Jim Gilbert.

The Jim Moran SeaKeepers Laboratories include both the facility where the SeaKeeper 1000TM oceanographic monitoring systems are assembled and the new calibration laboratory where sensors are tested, calibrated and validated.

After the dedication ceremony, Jan Moran demonstrated her continuing enthusiasm for the important work of the SeaKeepers Society by pledging a matching grant of $50,000 to support the new SeaKiosk educational project (see SeaKeepers Report, Spring 2007).

After the dedication ceremony, Vice Chairman Alfred Balm, Mrs. Jan Moran and Chairman Don Tomlin (left to right) investigate a SeaKeeper 1000 system being assembled in the new Jim Moran SeaKeepers Laboratories. [Photo credits: Pamela Jones]

Other attendees included Board Chairman Don Tomlin, Vice Chairman Alfred Balm, CEO John Englander, Technical Director Geoff Morrison, and Feadship USA President François van Well, along with other SeaKeepers and JM Family Foundation staff.

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