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Press Release
Olympic Help For Sea Quest Kids At APBA Offshore Worlds in Orange Beach Alabama
Dates: November, 18 2003
Organization: Advance America Foundation Sea Quest Kids
Contact: Steve Gronka: Cell Phone: 404-434-0660 and E-mail: sgronka@cs.com,
Web: www.advanceaf.org
For Immediate Release:
Story: APBA Offshore official boat building program for kids swung into action at the APBA Offshore World Championships in Orange Beach Alabama, November 10-15, 2003. This is the Sea Quest Kids Formula Boats mobile production unit that thrills kids with on site boat building at APBA Offshore Races and Great Lakes Silver Cup Races and many other events.
The local winner of one of the Sea Quest 100s built by the kids was Courtney Marie Russell, age 8, from Foley, Alabama. She is the daughter of Rebecca A. Russell. Courtney may claim her boat at the Foley Home Depot, Dave Corbitt manager. Sea Quest Kids, Fearless Leader, Steve Gronka, stated, "Courtney was one of the most dedicated and finest boat builders we ever had working with us. She showed exceptional determination! Even when her hand started to cramp she did not stop swinging her hammer. She called for her Mom to jump in and help her keep her grip!"
Gronka said, "The Foley Home Depot has been one of the best sponsors we have had at any event. They put in a tremendous team winning effort with the Sea Quest Kids. Many Sea Quest Kids and personal thanks go to store manager Dave Corbitt, HR Manager Kimberly Toche, Jason, Jinelle, and the rest of The Home Depot crew.
The Home Depot Sea Quest Kids World Paddle Championship presented by Montano-Candy (Milford Connecticut) was won by brother and sister Shane and Shelby Smith of Sarasota and Clearwater respectively and their Dad, Will Smith. In an exceptional display of paddling mastery they easily blew away the competition. Shane and Shelby also won a Sea Quest 100 that they took back to Florida with them.
In a particularly interesting twist on the event, the start of the Home Depot Sea Quest Kids World Paddle Championship race was called by former Olympic Rower, David Spaulding. Spaulding just happened to be visiting in the Orange Beach area with family friend and local resident, Heather Morris. Making the situation even more startling was that David Spaulding's Olympic effort was sponsored by The Home Depot! He represented the United States in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics that featured the basketball dream team with Magic Johnson.
In the words of Olympian David Spaulding, "The principles of goal setting, planning, and focused action fostered by building the Sea Quest 100 in the Sea Quest Kids program provides an excellent framework for building confidence and character! The Sea Quest 100 is such a stable boat that it is an exceptional platform on which to introduce children to a lifetime of fun and learning on the water!"
Gronka was amazed at the effort put in by Shane and Shelby Smith. Said Gronka, "Shane is one of the finest natural born boat builders with whom we ever worked! He has great intuitive understanding of building boats! And as for Shelby, I don't know if there is a better artist at her age anywhere! Her work stands with even that of adult artists. Her dragon and flames boat is the finest artwork in a Sea Quest Kids paint job that we have ever seen, bar none!!
Shane and Shelby come by their talent naturally. Their Dad is the owner and builder of Phantom Boats. Having won the Home Depot Sea Quest Kids World Paddle Championship and One of the Phantom Racing Teams winning a World Championship, Phantom Boats, Shane and Shelby were part of a double world champion effort.
The Sea Quest Kids heavy racing action in their Sea Quest 100s was covered by Speed Channel and will be aired as part of the APBA Offshore World Championship show. The Offshore Family segment will have the action on Sea Quest Kids.
Many thanks go to GM Vortec for bringing out the GM Vortec National Champion trophy for pictures to be taken with the Champions. Vortec also gave GMC T-shirts and GMC Huggies to all of our participants. Our personal thanks go to Marketing Consultant, Michelle Simoneaux for working with the outstanding people at GM Vortec to arrange these details And of course our great thanks go to the APBA Offshore and Tony for setting up the Winners' Circle trophy presentation and APBA Offshore Checkered flag just like they do for the APBA Offshore awards ceremonies for the big racers.
In last year's APBA Offshore Worlds in Key West, Nick Carter's (Back Street Boys) team won the World Championship in their class and also won the Montano Hartman Sea Quest Kids World Paddle Championship. So they were double World Champions at the Worlds.
Sea Quest Kids next definite event will be the Montefiore Children's Hospital Christmas party in the Bronx, New York City on December 15! We will build a Sea Quest 100 right at the Christmas Party.
There is an outside chance that we will go to Key West for the Offshore World Championship this coming weekend.
Popularity of Sea Quest Kids is skyrocketing with groups and individuals. The demand to start programs is startling and the organization is training instructors and trainers to meet the demand. To start a Sea Quest Kids little league of boating team in your area, contact: Advance America Foundation Sea Quest Kids, 6 South Dillwyn Road, Newark, DE 10711-5544; Phone/Fax: 302-266-6655 or Cell: 404-434-0660; E-mail: sgrongka@cs.com.
Sea Quest Kids is not a one-time activity just for the race event. It is the purpose of the APBA Offshore, Formula Boats, Great Lakes Silver Cup Offshore Race Series, Advance America Foundation Sea Quest Kids and our other sponsors 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 in the communities that host APBA Offshore Tour and Great Lakes Silver Cup Race Series events have 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, in 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 Churches 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 several major nations; continually getting 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. Politicians love the Sea Quest Kids and always jump into paddle races whenever we open programs in their areas.
Press Release
Olympic Help For Sea Quest Kids At APBA Offshore Worlds in Orange Beach Alabama
Dates: November, 18 2003
Organization: Advance America Foundation Sea Quest Kids
Contact: Steve Gronka: Cell Phone: 404-434-0660 and E-mail: sgronka@cs.com,
Web: www.advanceaf.org
For Immediate Release:
Story: APBA Offshore official boat building program for kids swung into action at the APBA Offshore World Championships in Orange Beach Alabama, November 10-15, 2003. This is the Sea Quest Kids Formula Boats mobile production unit that thrills kids with on site boat building at APBA Offshore Races and Great Lakes Silver Cup Races and many other events.
The local winner of one of the Sea Quest 100s built by the kids was Courtney Marie Russell, age 8, from Foley, Alabama. She is the daughter of Rebecca A. Russell. Courtney may claim her boat at the Foley Home Depot, Dave Corbitt manager. Sea Quest Kids, Fearless Leader, Steve Gronka, stated, "Courtney was one of the most dedicated and finest boat builders we ever had working with us. She showed exceptional determination! Even when her hand started to cramp she did not stop swinging her hammer. She called for her Mom to jump in and help her keep her grip!"
Gronka said, "The Foley Home Depot has been one of the best sponsors we have had at any event. They put in a tremendous team winning effort with the Sea Quest Kids. Many Sea Quest Kids and personal thanks go to store manager Dave Corbitt, HR Manager Kimberly Toche, Jason, Jinelle, and the rest of The Home Depot crew.
The Home Depot Sea Quest Kids World Paddle Championship presented by Montano-Candy (Milford Connecticut) was won by brother and sister Shane and Shelby Smith of Sarasota and Clearwater respectively and their Dad, Will Smith. In an exceptional display of paddling mastery they easily blew away the competition. Shane and Shelby also won a Sea Quest 100 that they took back to Florida with them.
In a particularly interesting twist on the event, the start of the Home Depot Sea Quest Kids World Paddle Championship race was called by former Olympic Rower, David Spaulding. Spaulding just happened to be visiting in the Orange Beach area with family friend and local resident, Heather Morris. Making the situation even more startling was that David Spaulding's Olympic effort was sponsored by The Home Depot! He represented the United States in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics that featured the basketball dream team with Magic Johnson.
In the words of Olympian David Spaulding, "The principles of goal setting, planning, and focused action fostered by building the Sea Quest 100 in the Sea Quest Kids program provides an excellent framework for building confidence and character! The Sea Quest 100 is such a stable boat that it is an exceptional platform on which to introduce children to a lifetime of fun and learning on the water!"
Gronka was amazed at the effort put in by Shane and Shelby Smith. Said Gronka, "Shane is one of the finest natural born boat builders with whom we ever worked! He has great intuitive understanding of building boats! And as for Shelby, I don't know if there is a better artist at her age anywhere! Her work stands with even that of adult artists. Her dragon and flames boat is the finest artwork in a Sea Quest Kids paint job that we have ever seen, bar none!!
Shane and Shelby come by their talent naturally. Their Dad is the owner and builder of Phantom Boats. Having won the Home Depot Sea Quest Kids World Paddle Championship and One of the Phantom Racing Teams winning a World Championship, Phantom Boats, Shane and Shelby were part of a double world champion effort.
The Sea Quest Kids heavy racing action in their Sea Quest 100s was covered by Speed Channel and will be aired as part of the APBA Offshore World Championship show. The Offshore Family segment will have the action on Sea Quest Kids.
Many thanks go to GM Vortec for bringing out the GM Vortec National Champion trophy for pictures to be taken with the Champions. Vortec also gave GMC T-shirts and GMC Huggies to all of our participants. Our personal thanks go to Marketing Consultant, Michelle Simoneaux for working with the outstanding people at GM Vortec to arrange these details And of course our great thanks go to the APBA Offshore and Tony for setting up the Winners' Circle trophy presentation and APBA Offshore Checkered flag just like they do for the APBA Offshore awards ceremonies for the big racers.
In last year's APBA Offshore Worlds in Key West, Nick Carter's (Back Street Boys) team won the World Championship in their class and also won the Montano Hartman Sea Quest Kids World Paddle Championship. So they were double World Champions at the Worlds.
Sea Quest Kids next definite event will be the Montefiore Children's Hospital Christmas party in the Bronx, New York City on December 15! We will build a Sea Quest 100 right at the Christmas Party.
There is an outside chance that we will go to Key West for the Offshore World Championship this coming weekend.
Popularity of Sea Quest Kids is skyrocketing with groups and individuals. The demand to start programs is startling and the organization is training instructors and trainers to meet the demand. To start a Sea Quest Kids little league of boating team in your area, contact: Advance America Foundation Sea Quest Kids, 6 South Dillwyn Road, Newark, DE 10711-5544; Phone/Fax: 302-266-6655 or Cell: 404-434-0660; E-mail: sgrongka@cs.com.
Sea Quest Kids is not a one-time activity just for the race event. It is the purpose of the APBA Offshore, Formula Boats, Great Lakes Silver Cup Offshore Race Series, Advance America Foundation Sea Quest Kids and our other sponsors 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 in the communities that host APBA Offshore Tour and Great Lakes Silver Cup Race Series events have 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, in 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 Churches 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 several major nations; continually getting 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. Politicians love the Sea Quest Kids and always jump into paddle races whenever we open programs in their areas.
Advance America Foundation:
6 South Dillwyn Road
Newark, DE 19711
Phone: 404-434-0660
Web: www.advanceaf.org