In a ceremony at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show in October, the Rozalia Project for a Clean Ocean received $20,000 from Interlux as the national winner of the 2011 Interlux Waterfront Challenge.
Interlux also announced that five other organizations will receive $4,500 each as the regional winners of the 2011 Waterfront Challenge, for creating sustainable waterfront environmental improvements in their communities.
Rozalia Project For A Clean Ocean utilized a state-of-the-art, remote operated underwater vehicle (ROV) to assist nearly 1,400 people in removing over 4,400 pieces of marine debris from the sea floor in eight locations throughout New England. “We’re incredibly thrilled to receive this generous award from Interlux,” said Rachael Miller, who co-founded Rozalia Project with her husband, James Lyne. “The funds will enable us to keep pushing forward with cleaning up our oceans and waterways from the surface to the seafloor, inspiring people of all ages to be part of the solution and learning more about the problem of marine debris in order to discover ways to reduce and reverse its effects.”
The judges for the 2011 Interlux Waterfront Challenge were: Thom Dammrich, President of the National Marine Manufacturers Association; Fred Daoust, General Manager, Interlux North America; John Kelly, Chairman of the American Coatings Association Antifouling Working Group and a member of the California State Lands Commission Fouling Technical Advisory Group; Dan Pingaro, CEO of Sailors for the Sea; and Susan Shingledecker, Director of Environmental Programs for the BoatU.S. Foundation for Boating Safety & Clean Water. Additionally, more than 5,000 boaters helped the judges choose the regional award winners by voting at the Interlux Waterfront Challenge page on Facebook.
