A 501 (c) (3) Public Charity Education Foundation
Federal ID # 51-0325463
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Press Release
Sea Quest Kids™ Make Debut Appearance At The World's Largest Poker Run
Event:: Sea Quest Kids™ Boat Building & Water Safety at Lanier Harbor Marina & Restaurant Poker Run
Dates: August 7-9, 2003
Activity: Boat building and Water safety activities for all kids including all special needs kids.
Contact: Steve Gronka: Cell Phone: 404-434-0660 and E-mail: sgronka@cs.com, Web: www.advanceaf.org
For Immediate Release
Story: Sea Quest Kids™, the official boat building and water safety program for kids for the APBA Offshore Professional Power Boat Racing Tour and the Great Lakes Silver Cup racing tour has expanded representation into the popular and fast growing world of boating Poker Runs. Sea Quest Kids™ debut in the wonderful world of Poker Runs was this past weekend August 7-9, 2003 in the world's largest, the Lanier Harbor Poker Run established by Lanier Harbor Marina owner Barkley EIB.
It is no wonder that the Sea Quest Kids™ national program from the small wonder State of Delaware drew the attention of the largest Poker Run in the world. Sea Quest Kids™ boat building draws a lot of attention at every venue it goes to. Ace event producer, marketer, and PR person Michelle May-Schmidt of www.racingreviewonline.com saw the Sea Quest Kids™ in Daytona at the opening of the APBA Offshore Professional Power Boat Racing season. May-Schmidt helps produce and does the PR for the Lanier Harbor Poker Run. Her response was immediate. Sea Quest Kids™ would be a great addition to the family activities and child friendly atmosphere of the Lanier Harbor Marina Poker Run.
Michelle May-Schmidt also runs the Child Smile America Tour that picks selected power boat events and has the racers give rides to special needs kids. She wanted to bring more smiles to the kids at the Lanier Harbor Poker Run by giving them the opportunity to build a couple of 10-foot Sea Quest 100s and then have a chance to win them. Sponsorship from Geib and his Lanier Harbor Marina, with help from Ace Hardware donating materials and Mercury Marine supplying a tent to protect the kids from the heat and rain made it all possible for kids to realize the dream of a lifetime! Twelve children from the Forsyth County Child Advocacy Center put in a day's worth of work over a two day period building and painting two boats and 16 paddles.
The Sea Quest 100s will see weekly usage by kids from the Child Advocacy Center in conjunction with the local Sea Scout program. Sea Quest Kids™ actively promote the interaction of different children's groups and love to see this new interaction of the Forsyth County Child Advocacy Center with the Sea Scouts. The kids were talking non-stop about what they were going to do with their boats. They want to do everything. Paddle, row, sail, and put on the outboard motors. Michelle Edwards, Director of the Child Advocacy Center had nothing but praises for the Sea Quest Kids™ programs and the range of activities, opportunities, and education that will be enjoyed by the kids participating. In fact Ms. Edwards has requested that her Center be approved to show other groups in the Atlanta, Georgia area how to do Sea Quest Kids™.
Mercury Marine, Alabama/Georgia soon to be promoted district manager John Wentzel was extremely interested in the kids being able to use small Mercury outboards on the Sea Quest 100. Without the Mercury tent Sea Quest Kids™ would have been in a heap of trouble. Wentzel and Gronka talked about a number of different ways for Mercury Marine and Sea Quest Kids™ to interact. Mercury Marine and Sea Quest Kids™, the little league of boating make a great combination.
The Sea Quest Kids™ boat building produced a lot of excitement. There was so much enthusiasm over the boats that Geib, Lanier Harbor Marina owner and producer of the Lanier Harbor Marina poker run asked Sea Quest Kids™ Fearless Leader, Steve Gronka to come back and be a part of their event every year. Sea Quest Kids™ accepted the request as this is one of the best boating events of which we have been a part.
This is not a one-time activity just for the race event. It is the purpose of Formula Boats and our numerous sponsors, the APBA Offshore, the Great Lakes Silver Cup, Child Smile America Tour and Advance America Foundation Sea Quest Kids™ to provide a little league comparable activity in boating for kids in every community to enjoy on a year round basis. We are working especially hard to make sure that kids from every background in every community in the US and around the world have the opportunity to do Sea Quest Kids™ activities.
Sea Quest Kids™ travel from 40 -60,000 miles a year showing kids how to build boats as the Official Boat Building Program for the APBA Offshore, the Great Lakes Silver Cup Power Boat Race Series, the US Sailing Association Junior Olympics Program, and numerous other organizations. Among our sponsors are Formula Boats, 3M, Sika Corporation, the National Marine Manufacturers Association, Montano-Hartmann Motorsports (Bacardi Silver), Cigarette Boats, Total Marine Racing, Big Thunder Racing, Cat Can Do Racing, Sea Doo Bombardier, most major boat shows, and others. American Marine Holdings, the parent of Donzi Marine has shown interest in sponsorship and the Donzi team of Snap On Tools has given some sponsorship.
We have also begun talks with ESPN to become part of the Great Outdoor Games that are ESPN's own outdoor competitions. The next three years will be in Reno, Nevada.
Sea Quest Kids™ is the largest boat building and water safety program for kids in the United States and worldwide. In two days or less kids from five years old and up build their own 10-foot flat bottomed square ended scow-skiff, paddles, oars, mast, sail, sail rig, lee board, rudder system and outboard motor bracket. The kids get boating safety trained as they build the boats and then become part of an international network of kids that have all built their own boats and have organized groups (teams) with ongoing events. The events include sailing regattas, paddle and rowing races, fishing tournaments, overnight campouts, community service doing waterway cleanups, public speaking telling PTA's, Town Councils, Civic Associations why they are building boats and why it is important to them, and show their own boats at boat shows.
This is "the" grass roots, low cost or no cost entry-level activity for kids to get into boating. It includes all special needs kids as well. We get them all into boating in a totally comprehensive package that includes boating and water safety, fishing, and other organized events such as boat races, campouts, community service, and public speaking to town councils, civic associations, state and national legislatures and PTA's. Our kids have also testified about boating and boating safety before the United States Congress. Our key advantage over other boat building activities is that we are one design, organized, ongoing, National and International, and work with all kids regardless of background and special needs.
Advance America Foundation has spent the last eleven years developing a little league for boating. Now that the details have been for the most part worked out, February of 2002 we began introducing the marine industry to Sea Quest Kids™, the little league of boating.
Marine Trades groups around the country as well as the Coast Guard Reserve, Navy League, Power Squadron, Boys and Girls Clubs, Scouts, Schools and many other groups are showing great interest in getting Sea Quest Kids™ started throughout their areas.
We have been asked to start Sea Quest Kids™ in every major nation. We continually get requests to go to boat shows in Mexico, Spain, South and Central America and throughout the Caribbean to show Sea Quest Kids™ and start Sea Quest Kids™ Boat Building and Water Safety. Requests even include the Far East and the Middle East as well as all of Europe and Africa. Most recently, admirals of the Russian Navy asked us to go to St. Petersburg Russia to show kids how to build boats.
Sea Quest Kids™ is part of the education foundation, Advance America Foundation, a 501 (c) (3) Public Charity education group. In 10 years we have built over 2,100 boats and have worked with over 20,000 kids. We work with the living legends of Sailing, such as Charley Morgan, Halsey Herreshoff, Ted Hood, Gary Hoyt, and Peter Conrad. Our kids are VIP's at America's Cup and Volvo Around The World Sail Boat Race as well as major boat shows.
In addition to being the official boat building charity of the APBA Offshore Professional Power Boat Racing Tour and the Great Lakes Silver Cup, we also work with Boy Scouts and Girls Scouts, Boys and Girls Clubs, and numerous other organizations. In Ft. Lauderdale, there are scouts currently trying to go Eagle by teaching kids in their communities how to build boats and then how to use the boats. Churches, community centers, and schools are excited about the Sea Quest Kids™.
Press Release
Sea Quest Kids™ Make Debut Appearance At The World's Largest Poker Run
Event:: Sea Quest Kids™ Boat Building & Water Safety at Lanier Harbor Marina & Restaurant Poker Run
Dates: August 7-9, 2003
Activity: Boat building and Water safety activities for all kids including all special needs kids.
Contact: Steve Gronka: Cell Phone: 404-434-0660 and E-mail: sgronka@cs.com, Web: www.advanceaf.org
For Immediate Release
Story: Sea Quest Kids™, the official boat building and water safety program for kids for the APBA Offshore Professional Power Boat Racing Tour and the Great Lakes Silver Cup racing tour has expanded representation into the popular and fast growing world of boating Poker Runs. Sea Quest Kids™ debut in the wonderful world of Poker Runs was this past weekend August 7-9, 2003 in the world's largest, the Lanier Harbor Poker Run established by Lanier Harbor Marina owner Barkley EIB.
It is no wonder that the Sea Quest Kids™ national program from the small wonder State of Delaware drew the attention of the largest Poker Run in the world. Sea Quest Kids™ boat building draws a lot of attention at every venue it goes to. Ace event producer, marketer, and PR person Michelle May-Schmidt of www.racingreviewonline.com saw the Sea Quest Kids™ in Daytona at the opening of the APBA Offshore Professional Power Boat Racing season. May-Schmidt helps produce and does the PR for the Lanier Harbor Poker Run. Her response was immediate. Sea Quest Kids™ would be a great addition to the family activities and child friendly atmosphere of the Lanier Harbor Marina Poker Run.
Michelle May-Schmidt also runs the Child Smile America Tour that picks selected power boat events and has the racers give rides to special needs kids. She wanted to bring more smiles to the kids at the Lanier Harbor Poker Run by giving them the opportunity to build a couple of 10-foot Sea Quest 100s and then have a chance to win them. Sponsorship from Geib and his Lanier Harbor Marina, with help from Ace Hardware donating materials and Mercury Marine supplying a tent to protect the kids from the heat and rain made it all possible for kids to realize the dream of a lifetime! Twelve children from the Forsyth County Child Advocacy Center put in a day's worth of work over a two day period building and painting two boats and 16 paddles.
The Sea Quest 100s will see weekly usage by kids from the Child Advocacy Center in conjunction with the local Sea Scout program. Sea Quest Kids™ actively promote the interaction of different children's groups and love to see this new interaction of the Forsyth County Child Advocacy Center with the Sea Scouts. The kids were talking non-stop about what they were going to do with their boats. They want to do everything. Paddle, row, sail, and put on the outboard motors. Michelle Edwards, Director of the Child Advocacy Center had nothing but praises for the Sea Quest Kids™ programs and the range of activities, opportunities, and education that will be enjoyed by the kids participating. In fact Ms. Edwards has requested that her Center be approved to show other groups in the Atlanta, Georgia area how to do Sea Quest Kids™.
Mercury Marine, Alabama/Georgia soon to be promoted district manager John Wentzel was extremely interested in the kids being able to use small Mercury outboards on the Sea Quest 100. Without the Mercury tent Sea Quest Kids™ would have been in a heap of trouble. Wentzel and Gronka talked about a number of different ways for Mercury Marine and Sea Quest Kids™ to interact. Mercury Marine and Sea Quest Kids™, the little league of boating make a great combination.
The Sea Quest Kids™ boat building produced a lot of excitement. There was so much enthusiasm over the boats that Geib, Lanier Harbor Marina owner and producer of the Lanier Harbor Marina poker run asked Sea Quest Kids™ Fearless Leader, Steve Gronka to come back and be a part of their event every year. Sea Quest Kids™ accepted the request as this is one of the best boating events of which we have been a part.
This is not a one-time activity just for the race event. It is the purpose of Formula Boats and our numerous sponsors, the APBA Offshore, the Great Lakes Silver Cup, Child Smile America Tour and Advance America Foundation Sea Quest Kids™ to provide a little league comparable activity in boating for kids in every community to enjoy on a year round basis. We are working especially hard to make sure that kids from every background in every community in the US and around the world have the opportunity to do Sea Quest Kids™ activities.
Sea Quest Kids™ travel from 40 -60,000 miles a year showing kids how to build boats as the Official Boat Building Program for the APBA Offshore, the Great Lakes Silver Cup Power Boat Race Series, the US Sailing Association Junior Olympics Program, and numerous other organizations. Among our sponsors are Formula Boats, 3M, Sika Corporation, the National Marine Manufacturers Association, Montano-Hartmann Motorsports (Bacardi Silver), Cigarette Boats, Total Marine Racing, Big Thunder Racing, Cat Can Do Racing, Sea Doo Bombardier, most major boat shows, and others. American Marine Holdings, the parent of Donzi Marine has shown interest in sponsorship and the Donzi team of Snap On Tools has given some sponsorship.
We have also begun talks with ESPN to become part of the Great Outdoor Games that are ESPN's own outdoor competitions. The next three years will be in Reno, Nevada.
Sea Quest Kids™ is the largest boat building and water safety program for kids in the United States and worldwide. In two days or less kids from five years old and up build their own 10-foot flat bottomed square ended scow-skiff, paddles, oars, mast, sail, sail rig, lee board, rudder system and outboard motor bracket. The kids get boating safety trained as they build the boats and then become part of an international network of kids that have all built their own boats and have organized groups (teams) with ongoing events. The events include sailing regattas, paddle and rowing races, fishing tournaments, overnight campouts, community service doing waterway cleanups, public speaking telling PTA's, Town Councils, Civic Associations why they are building boats and why it is important to them, and show their own boats at boat shows.
This is "the" grass roots, low cost or no cost entry-level activity for kids to get into boating. It includes all special needs kids as well. We get them all into boating in a totally comprehensive package that includes boating and water safety, fishing, and other organized events such as boat races, campouts, community service, and public speaking to town councils, civic associations, state and national legislatures and PTA's. Our kids have also testified about boating and boating safety before the United States Congress. Our key advantage over other boat building activities is that we are one design, organized, ongoing, National and International, and work with all kids regardless of background and special needs.
Advance America Foundation has spent the last eleven years developing a little league for boating. Now that the details have been for the most part worked out, February of 2002 we began introducing the marine industry to Sea Quest Kids™, the little league of boating.
Marine Trades groups around the country as well as the Coast Guard Reserve, Navy League, Power Squadron, Boys and Girls Clubs, Scouts, Schools and many other groups are showing great interest in getting Sea Quest Kids™ started throughout their areas.
We have been asked to start Sea Quest Kids™ in every major nation. We continually get requests to go to boat shows in Mexico, Spain, South and Central America and throughout the Caribbean to show Sea Quest Kids™ and start Sea Quest Kids™ Boat Building and Water Safety. Requests even include the Far East and the Middle East as well as all of Europe and Africa. Most recently, admirals of the Russian Navy asked us to go to St. Petersburg Russia to show kids how to build boats.
Sea Quest Kids™ is part of the education foundation, Advance America Foundation, a 501 (c) (3) Public Charity education group. In 10 years we have built over 2,100 boats and have worked with over 20,000 kids. We work with the living legends of Sailing, such as Charley Morgan, Halsey Herreshoff, Ted Hood, Gary Hoyt, and Peter Conrad. Our kids are VIP's at America's Cup and Volvo Around The World Sail Boat Race as well as major boat shows.
In addition to being the official boat building charity of the APBA Offshore Professional Power Boat Racing Tour and the Great Lakes Silver Cup, we also work with Boy Scouts and Girls Scouts, Boys and Girls Clubs, and numerous other organizations. In Ft. Lauderdale, there are scouts currently trying to go Eagle by teaching kids in their communities how to build boats and then how to use the boats. Churches, community centers, and schools are excited about the Sea Quest Kids™.
Advance America Foundation:
6 South Dillwyn Road
Newark, DE 19711
Phone: 404-434-0660
Web: www.advanceaf.org