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OUR HISTORY - HONORARY MEMBERS
The SeaKeeper Award is given annually
to an individual exhibiting an extraordinary commitment to
marine conservation. Each award recipient is also recognized
as an Honorary Founder of the Society.
2006
Honorary Founding Member
Vice Admiral Roger R. Rufe, Jr. USCG (Ret.)
Vice Admiral Roger T, Rufe, Jr. USCG (Ret.) has been made
an Honorary Member of the Society in recognition of his leadership
role in marine conservation and his valuable contributions
as a member of its Board of Directors from 2004-2006.
As the new Director of Operations for the U.S. Department
of Homeland Security, Mr. Rufe had to withdraw as a Board
Member due to potential conflict of interest. He is pictured
with SeaKeepers CEO John Englander (left) and Board Member
Rear Admiral Richard D. West, USN (Ret.), President and CEO
of Consortium of Oceanographic Research and Education. (C.O.R.E.).
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SeaKeepers CEO
John Englander (left), Vice Admiral Roger T. Rufe Jr. USCG
(Ret.), and Board Member Rear Admiral Richard D. West, USN
(Ret.), President and CEO of Consortium of Oceanographic Research
and Education. (C.O.R.E.). |
Honorary Members
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2007
- Ted Danson
Ted Danson's versatility makes him one of the
most accomplished actors in film, stage and television
today. From his feature film roles in The
Onion Field, Body Heat, Three
Men and a Baby and Saving Private Ryan to
his starring roles in the television series Cheers and Becker and
hilarious guest roles on Curb Your Enthusiasm,
Ted Danson has captivated worldwide audiences with
his equally sensational dramatic and comedic performances.
In 1987 Mr. Danson founded the American Oceans
Campaign (AOC) to alert Americans to the life-threatening
hazards created by oil spills, off-shore development,
toxic wastes, sewage pollution and other ocean
abuses. AOC merged with Oceana in 2001. He
currently sits on their Board of Directors. Today
Oceana campaigns to protect and restore the world's
oceans. Their teams of marine scientists, economists,
lawyers and advocates win specific and concrete
policy changes to reduce pollution and to prevent
the irreversible collapse of fish populations,
marine mammals and other sea life. Global in
scope, Oceana has campaigners based in North
America, Europe and South America. More than
300,000 members and e-activists in over 150 countries
have already joined Oceana.
Mr. Danson was
honored by Oceana in 2003 when the organization
renamed its Ocean Hero Award the Ted Danson Ocean
Hero Award. According to Oceana, “In
honor of Danson - the ultimate Ocean Hero - the
Ted Danson Ocean Hero Award was established to
honor recipients who embody his vision as bold
and staunch defenders of our oceans.” |
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2006
- Vice
Admiral Roger T Rufe, Jr. (USCG Ret.)
Roger T. Rufe is the current Operations Directorate
of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Prior
to accepting this position, Admiral Rufe was the
President and CEO of The Ocean Conservancy. He
joined The Ocean Conservancy after a 34-year career
in the United States Coast Guard. While in
the Coast Guard, Admiral Rufe represented the Coast
Guard on both the North Pacific and Mid-Atlantic
Fisheries Management Councils. He was the vice
chairman of the National Response Team, which coordinates
federal response to spills of oil and hazardous
substances. He also served as Chief of Congressional
Affairs and as a U.S. delegate to the Marine Environment
Protection Committee of the International Maritime
Organization in London. Roger Rufe sat on the SeaKeepers
Board of Directors from 2005 – 2006.
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 2006
- Walter Cronkite
In 1939, Walter Cronkite joined the United Press
to cover World War II where he went ashore on D-Day,
parachuted with the l0lst Airborne, flew bombing
mission over Germany, covered the Nuremberg trials,
and opened the UP's first post-war Moscow bureau.
Cronkite joined CBS in 1950, first at their Washington affiliate and then over
the national network. In April 1962, he took over the anchorman's position from
Douglas Edwards on the CBS Evening News and retired in l981. Since then he has
hosted PBS documentaries on health, old age and poor children. In l993 he signed
a contract with the Discovery and Learning Channel to do 36 documentaries in
three years.
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 2005
- Admiral James Watkins (USN ret.)
In 1989, President George Bush appointed Adm. James
D. Watkins as U.S. Secretary of Energy. In 2001,
Adm. Watkins was appointed by President George
W. Bush as the chairman of the U.S. Ocean Commission,
which in 2005 produced a comprehensive report on
the critical decline of the world’s oceans.
Admiral Watkins was previously the president of
CORE, the Consortium of for Oceanographic Research
and Education, an organization of more than 60
U.S. marine research organizations. Admiral Watkins’ naval
career culminated in attaining the Navy’s
highest uniformed office, Chief of Naval Operations,
capping a career that spanned four decades. Prior
to his service as Secretary of Energy, Admiral
Watkins chaired the Presidential Commission on
the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV/AIDS) epidemic. |
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 2004
- Bob Talbot
For more than 25 years, Talbot's whale and dolphin
photographs have gained him an international reputation
as one of the best in his field. Talbot is also
a renowned filmmaker with several impressive credits
under his belt that include the wildlife sequences
for Warner Bros.'s Free Willy series, and Universal
Pictures' Flipper. Most recently, he directed and
photographed the IMAX film Ocean Men. Bob is active
on a national and international scale raising ocean
awareness. He is on the board of governors for Oceana
and on the board of the National Marine Sanctuary
Foundation. He also collaborates with Jean-Michel
Cousteau on Ocean Futures projects. |
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 2003
- William K. Reilly
William K. Reily served as the seventh Administrator
of the U.S. Environmental Pro¬tection Agency
from 1989 to 1993. Prior to this, he was President
of World Wildlife Fund (1985-1989); President of
The Conservation Foundation (1973-1989); Executive
Director of the Rockefeller Task Force on Land
Use and Urban Growth (1972- 1973); Senior staff
member of the President's Council on Environmental
Quality (1970-1972), and Associate Director of
the Urban Policy Center and the National Urban
Coalition (1968-1970); and Chairman of the Natural
Resources Council of America (1981 to 1983). William
K. Reilly currently serves as President and Chief
Executive Officer of Aqua International Partners,
an investment group that finances the purification
of water and wastewater in developing countries,
and invests in projects and companies that serve
the water sector. |
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 2002
- Sir Peter Blake -- (posthumously)
Sir Peter Blake spent the great majority of his
adult life racing yachts on the oceans of the world.
He decided to establish his own environmental organization
"Blakexpeditions", as the vehicle to
show the world the beauty of our water planet.
He set lofty goals and then went about pursuing
them with zeal and a passion that made those who
were part of his teams believers and contributors.
His expeditions provide some wonderful insights
into the environmental challenges faced by the
Antarctic and Amazon ecosystems - two environments
that could not contrast more in terms of latitude
and environmental conditions - but two environments
that share major challenges in terms of human impacts
and degradation. |
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 2001
- Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev was leader of the Soviet Union
from 1985 until 1991. His attempts at reform helped
to end the Cold War, but also ended the political
supremacy of the Communist Party of the Soviet
Union and dissolved the Soviet Union. He was awarded
the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990. He currently heads
the Gorbachev Foundation (since 1992), Green Cross
International (since 1993), and the Civic Forum
movement (since April 1996). President Gorbachev’s
environmental work through Green Cross International
includes numerous initiatives in the area of fresh
water protection and distribution, minimizing coastal
pollution due to runoff, and has been an outspoken
advocate of marine conservation through international
cooperation.
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 2000
- HRH General Khaled bin Sultan
His Royal Highness General Khaled bin Sultan is
a leading member of the Royal House of Saudi Arabia.
He is the eldest son of Prince Sultan, the Kingdom’s
Crown Prince. Prince Khaled bin Sultan currently
serves as the Assistant Minister of Defense and
Aviation.
His Royal Highness General Khaled bin Sultan has always had a love of the oceans.
His passion to contribute to ocean research and conservation matured with his
experiences as an accomplished scuba diver. Saudi Arabia has access to some of
the most beautiful coral reefs in the world along its long border with the Red
Sea and Prince Khaled has personally witnessed the rapid deterioration of the
world’s coral reefs due to numerous anthropogenic causes (human impacts). |
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 1999
- Craig O. McCaw
Craig and Susan McCaw serve on the board of Team
Read, a children's literacy group they created.
He put together a nationwide network, forming McCaw
Cellular by 1986. In 1994 he sold his communications
company to AT&T, allowing Craig to personally
take over Teledesic, with the intention of building
a global network of 840 low-altitude satellites
to provide Internet-like transmission of digital
data to the most remote places of the Earth. He
is the former owner of the 303 foot Motor yacht
Tatoosh. He is a passionate sailor who has participated
as a syndicate owner in several America’s
Cup campaigns. His marine conservation activities
include frequent outspoken advocacy and major financial
support for various marine conservation groups,
including the famous “Free Willy” campaign,
which brought the issue of marine mammal protection
to millions of school children around the world. |
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 1998
- James Cameron
James Cameron is a three-time Academy Award winning
Canadian-born film director noted for his action/science
fiction films, which are often extremely successful
financially. Thematically, James Cameron's films
generally explore the relationship between man
and technology. He directed the film Titanic which
went on to become the top grossing film of all
time, with a worldwide gross of over US$1.8 billion.
Cameron is now one of the most sought-after directors
in Hollywood. A longtime diver, he is a frequent
outspoken advocate for marine protection. His filmmaking
includes many projects with marine themes, from
filming the wreck of the Titanic to searching
for the elusive giant squid. |
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 1997
- Dr. Sylvia Earle
Marine biologist Sylvia Earle, sometimes known as
"Her Deepness," has been an explorer-in-residence
at the National Geographic Society since 1998. Named
Time magazine's first "hero for the planet"
in 1998, Earle has pioneered research on marine
ecosystems and has led more than 50 expeditions
totaling more than 6,000 hours underwater. She holds
numerous diving records, including setting the women's
depth record for solo diving at a thousand meters
(3,300 feet). Earle works on projects involving
her passion, most recently as project director of
the Sustainable Seas Expeditions. Sustainable Seas
was a five-year project of the National Geographic
Society and NOAA, which administers the 12 U.S.
marine sanctuaries, the underwater equivalents of
national parks. |
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 1997
- Marjorie Stoneman Douglas (Ft. Lauderdale Bal)
Marjorie Stoneman Douglas’ lifetime achievements
include work as a civil rights activist, a crusader
for women's rights, a journalist and playwright,
and the first Florida woman in the U.S. Naval Reserves.
Her greatest legacy, however, is the profound impact
she had on the environment. Her book entitled The
Everglades: River of Grass, published in 1947, served
to bring public attention to the Everglades at a
time when people looked upon the Everglades as little
more than a swamp. In 1969 she founded the grassroots
organization Friends of the Everglades who continue
their fight on behalf of the wilderness. |
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 1996
- H.S.H. Prince Rainier III
H.S.H. Prince Rainier III ruled the Principality
of Monaco for almost fifty-six years, making him
one of the longest ruling monarchs of the 20th
Century. He was responsible for reforms to Monaco's
constitution and for expanding the principality's
economy beyond its traditional gambling base. Before
his death, he was the second-longest reigning monarch
with his 56 years of reign. Prince Rainier was
an international leader in the world of marine
protection with interests ranging from Mediterranean
marine mammal protection and leadership in the
Mediterranean Science Commission (CIESM). Under
his sovereignty Monaco became the first and only
Mediterranean country which discharges only clean,
potable municipal wastewater and runoff into the
sea.
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 1996
- Jean-Michel Cousteau
In 1999, Jean-Michel founded the Ocean Futures Society,
a nonprofit marine conservation and education organization.
Jean-Michel continuously serves as a spokesman and
diplomat for the environment. He produces environmentally
oriented programs that reach millions of people
around the world. His diplomacy on behalf of water
and ocean issues includes his success in convincing
President George W. Bush to name the Northwest Hawaiian
Islands a National Monument after screening his
PBS documentary on the subject at The White House
in 2006. Jean-Michel has produced over 75 films,
received and Emmy, the Peabody Award, the 7 d'Or,
and the Cable Ace Award, and is is Executive Producer
of "Jean-Michel Cousteau’s Ocean Adventures,"
a six-part television series airing on PBS and internationally.
He currently resides in Santa Barbara, California. |
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