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Inland Seas Education Association

September 2014
 
A Message from our Executive Director:

Labor Day has passed, bringing the sad reality that summer is coming to a close. However, the ISEA sailing season is far from over. School is just beginning and with it comes the exciting fall Schoolship season. This fall will mark the first in a series of new programs coming to ISEA, where we will be debuting a team-building Schoolship program designed to assist teachers with the establishment of a successful classroom culture centered on teamwork and student-centered learning. We are pleased to announce that the introduction of this concept has spurred the busiest fall Schoolship season that Inland Seas has ever recorded!

 

The busy fall is coming on the heels of one of the busiest spring and summer seasons we've enjoyed as well. Here are just a few of the many highlights from this memorable season:

 

  • We celebrated the 20th birthday of our flagship Inland Seas this spring.
  • We welcomed the 100,000 program participant during our spring Schoolship.
  • We enjoyed a week's worth of programming and celebration at the National Cherry Festival culminating in a prominent float in the Cherry Royal parade, all compliments of The DTE Energy Foundation.
  • We officially celebrated our 25th anniversary during the Great Lakes Celebration and Classic Boat Show on July 26. This family-centered event was a huge success with great conversations, a wide variety of fun activities, and beautiful boats and displays showcasing our Great Lakes to hundreds of participants throughout the day.
  • We enjoyed full boats and crowded dock tours throughout the entire Harbor Days Festival in Elk Rapids.
  • ISEA also made an appearance at the Venetian Festival during one of two big trips into Lake Charlevoix.
  • We successfully impacted a broad range of individuals with programs occurring in the ports of Boyne City, Petoskey, Harbor Springs, Northport, Leland, Frankfort, and Escanaba.
  • Tom Kelly and Heather Shumaker published a book highlighting the history of ISEA titled "Aboard the Great Lakes Schoolship: 25 Years of Science and Stewardship with Inland Seas."

 

What's to come:

 

  • ISEA has one big event left this summer during the Michigan Schooner Festival in Traverse City on September 19-21.

 

Because of your support ISEA has made a tremendous impact this sailing season!  

 
Changes on the Horizon:

 

After the Schoolship season, ISEA's staff is getting ready for a busy off-season. We plan on evaluating the upcoming season by learning from things that didn't work and building upon what did. We are also gearing up to unveil a series of new programs over the next few years, all focusing on the future sustainability of ISEA.

 

While talking about changes, we have been fielding many questions regarding potential programmatic changes, especially from individuals concerned that we are planning sweeping changes to the highly successful Schoolship program. Fear not, our focus is on new program development using the success of the Schoolship program as a model to follow. The Schoolship program as we know it isn't going anywhere, rather ISEA is focused on building a series of new programs to compliment the successful Schoolship program.

 

ISEA hopes you will be involved in new program planning at ISEA. To that end, we would like to invite you to participate in a couple of opportunities for you to impact future programming at ISEA, as well as to become informed about these program changes. ISEA's staff will be hosting an informational presentation on September 17 at 2:00 p.m. and the first in a series of events we are titling "Coffee with ISEA" on September 24 at 2:00 p.m. Both of these events are for the purpose of keeping you informed about what is occurring at ISEA.

 

We hope that you can make it to one of these events, but if not, keep an eye open for future coffee events. It is critical that you are a part of any future planning for ISEA. We would love to have the opportunity to keep you as informed as possible throughout our exciting future.

 

 
Critical Needs:

 

ISEA is focused on sustainability. A critical ingredient for sustainability is the growth of our volunteer and donor base. We are requesting your support with this need. Throughout the next few months, ISEA will be providing several opportunities for individuals to learn about the ISEA mission and how to get involved. We would greatly appreciate it if you would consider inviting a guest to attend one of these informational sessions in an attempt to spread awareness about ISEA.

 

If you aren't able to attend one of these events, you can always invite a guest out for a sail with ISEA. We believe that one of the best methods for communicating what ISEA does is to have people experience it first-hand. As we mentioned, we have a very busy fall Schoolship season, so if you would like to invite someone to observe a program with ISEA, please call the office and we will be able to recommend a sail that has space.

 

 

 
Online Ticket Sales:

Now offering Education Center programs designed specifically for younger elementary students (1st through 3rd grades). Watch for online reservation availability this fall and winter!

We have partnered with MyNorth Tickets for online reservations and have found this new feature to be successful throughout our summer public programing.

Watch for program opportunities!  
 


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Informational Presentation
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
2 p.m.
Coffee with ISEA Staff
Wednesday, September 24, 2014 2 p.m.

 

 
See what else we are up to:
Visit our website calendar to keep informed on upcoming events and opportunities:

 

 
Nautical items and boat donations needed:
boat lines

Inland Seas welcomes your boat donations and used nautical gear (lines "rope," fenders, trailer parts, instruments, anchors, etc.), which will be used in our education programs or offered for sale in our Nautical Flea Marker.     

If you, your neighbor, friends, or relatives have a sail boat, a power boat, or used nautical gear that you would like to "recycle" and could use a tax deduction while supporting student learning, please call the ISEA office at  

(231) 271-3077.