From Jack Christensen Oct 26th
Our next CPR class will be held Monday, November 14, 6:00 pm. Class certifies you in Infant, Juvenile and Adult CPR and provides training on the AED’s located in the Aquarium. Class size is limited and filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Please e-mail me if you would like to attend.

From Thom Stork Oct 17th

Good Afternoon My Friends ...

We have all worked very hard the past few years to be better stewards of our world and better business people...all to make FLAQ a better place for our kids and a better place to work. You know how proud I am of your continued commitment. With our world being what it is today, we must continue to strive to be better and more competitive, and thus my reason for writing you today.

I want to inform you about an initiative the Aquarium is undertaking and I need your help and involvement. Beginning in November 2011, we are embarking on The Florida Sterling Criteria for Performance Excellence journey. The Sterling performance management system is based on the National Malcolm Baldrige Award Criteria which are research-based best practices of high-performing organizations. The Sterling criteria offer a management framework for addressing and anticipating change requirements, markets, and environments through self-assessment, analysis, training, and continuous improvement.

The Sterling Navigator is the first step and consists of a performance assessment survey tool used by organizations to gain a snapshot of strengths and opportunities in seven categories. It provides us with a baseline measurement to evaluate how well our organization is performing as measured against best management practices of high-performing organizations. In addition, the Navigator will help us understand our strengths and opportunities for improvement, energize our workforce, align our resources with strategic objectives, focus our organization on common goals and provide processes to ensure customer value and organizational effectiveness.

Below is a highlight of the categories (criteria) and what is measured in the survey questions.

Leadership - examines how the organization's senior leaders' personal actions guide and sustain your organization. Also examined are your organization's governance system and how your organization fulfills its legal and social responsibilities and supports its key communities.

Strategic Planning - examines how the organization develops its strategic objectives and action plans. Also examined are how your chosen strategic objectives and action plans are deployed and changed if circumstances require, and how progress is measured.

Customer Focus - examines how your organization engages its customers for long-term marketplace success. This engagement strategy includes how your organization builds a customer-focused culture. Also examined is how your organization listens to the voice of its customers and uses this information to improve and identify opportunities for innovation.

Measurement, Analysis and Knowledge Management - examines how your organization selects, gathers, analyzes, manages and improves its data, information and knowledge assets and how it manages its information technology. Also examines hoe your organization reviews and uses review to improve its performance.

Workforce Focus - examines how your organization engages, manages and develops your workforce to utilize its full potential in alignment with your organization's overall mission, strategy and action plans. Also examines your ability to assess workforce capability and capacity needs and to build a workforce environment conducive to high performance.

Process Management - examines how your organization designs its work systems and how it designs, manages and improves its key processes for implementing those work systems to deliver customer value and achieve organizational success and sustainability. Also examined is your readiness for emergencies.

Results - examines the organization's performance and improvement in all key areas of (1) product and service outcomes, (2) customer-focused outcomes, (3) financial and market outcomes, (4) workforce-focused outcomes, (5) process effectiveness outcomes, (6) leadership outcomes. Performance levels are examined relative to those of competitors and other organizations with similar product and service offerings.

After the results of the Navigator are compiled and shared with the staff, board and volunteers, we will begin our customized mentoring process. The mentoring starts with a three day leadership session where we will go over the results of the survey and defined themes, create our Organizational Profile, and begin action planning based on survey results. The timeframe for the leadership session is February, 15-17. The Executive Committee of the board will be participating.

Finally, after the survey and the leadership session, we will organize internal committees, whose focus will be to focus on the top two or three opportunities for improvement in each criterion as identified in the survey results, and further develop action plans and begin implementing these plans to affect necessary change in our Aquarium.

Due to the cost of this effort, we simply cannot accommodate all of our volunteers in this survey. Human resources has chosen at random a cross section of the volunteer core based on age, life hours and gender. If your name was chosen to participate, you will receive an additional email. The Sterling effort is being lead by the Human Resources department. They will keep you informed as we move through this process.

Your opinion does matter and is the beginning step in affecting positive change for our organization!

Thanks Folks!

Thom Stork
President and CEO

Good afternoon,
By now, you may have noticed a new electronic donor wall in the upstairs lobby. This new innovative and interactive wall was conceptualized and created in-house. Steve Kovacs designed and created the amazing video with the artistic fish pushing our donors' names. He also created the interactive touch screen programs you see on the smaller monitor in front.
Andre Brown expertly took on the challenge of making all of the electronic parts work together with a variety of hardware and software.

The Aquarium now has a donor recognition "wall" that is unlike any other in the world. Instead of sending plastic name plates out to be engraved at a big cost, we will be able to update our donors names right here at FLAQ. And, the final product looks way better!

I am proud to work with such talented and dedicated people - thank you to all who helped make this happen...
Mark

P.S. Special thanks also to Chris Cuthbert and his team for installing the screens! And big kudos also to Pete Colangelo and Polly Perkins - they are responsible for the physical design and install. How cool are the wall graphics behind the screen? Thanks guys!
Mark G. Haney
Vice President of Advancement

Congratulations to Peggy Morris! She recently accrued 3,500+ hours of volunteering!! Her dedication to FLAQ is truly appreciated!!!
Adam Duff
Manager of Volunteer Services

As you may have heard, we are trying out a new concept for the Bay Spirit II this weekend. We will be doing an evening public tour option departing from the Tampa Convention Center this Friday and Saturday. We will have a ticket sales locations over at that location and will be marketing this to the large amount of convention attendees in town and locals through social media. Info on the cruise is below and the flyer is attached. Please help spread the word to help promote this new Aquarium revenue opportunity.

Boat will depart the Convention Center at 6pm on September 23rd and 6:30pm on September 24th.

The pricing for the boat will be:
Adults: $22.00
Seniors (60+): $20.00
Children (3-12): $18.00

From Adam Duff - Sep 22

Hey Adam,

I just wanted to share with you how great a help Tina Lewis was at our last Tide Talk. She has always been a wonderful volunteer, helping to set up and take down the event, and serving guests in between. At last week's Talk, we had about half a dozen children in the audience, including some who were clearly too young to sit still for 45 minutes. A family brought three restless children (including a toddler) who were starting to distract their neighbors in the audience, when Tina offered to take the children on a tour of the Aquarium. The parents accepted and Tina showed the children around the Aquarium for the rest of the Talk.

The whole audience appreciated it, believe me!

We feel very thankful to have Tina helping us!

Melanie Lachs
Foundation Relations

Great job Tina!!! Thank you so much for helping out!

A few weeks ago we started a naming contest for the new octopus in the Bay's and Beaches gallery. The masses have spoken and the overwhelming majority of you have chosen a name. The new octopus will now be called...... RALPHIE.
Thank you to all who participated in the naming contest.
~Adam

ARTISTS NEEDED!!!!

If anyone has any sculpting or other artistic talent, the life support team could use your help. They are attempting to fabricate a very large Styrofoam shark. If you are interested in lending a hand, please let me know ASAP.
~Adam

There are still a few spots open for Brews by the Bay. If you would like to volunteer for this event sign up in the next few days. The link below will take you to an online registration form. http://moreinfo.flaquarium.org/forms/Volunteer/VolunteerReg.aspx

Adam Duff

From Debbi Stone - Sep 12

From Adam Duff - Sep 6

Check out our new facebook site! Search Florida Aquarium Volunteer on the search bar.

Volunteers - you have the chance to name our newest Octopus! She is located in the Bays and Beaches gallery next to the water lab. If you have a good idea for a name, place it in the box located on the table in the volunteer lounge. I will choose the top 3 and we will vote on them in 2 weeks. *Please remember that animal names are for behind the scenes staff and volunteers only. They are not to be used with guests.=

Please welcome our newest FLAQ volunteers!

Good Afternoon Folks ...

As you hear more about our expansion plans, I want our Aquarium family to have the most up to date information on the Rising Tides Campaign and what it means for FLAQ and you. Our capital expansion plan ultimately contributes to the future of our city, state and world with The Florida Aquarium's impact upon the economy, the environment and the education of students, teachers and guests. The Rising Tides Campaign consists of the following additions/changes:

* Five new state of the art classrooms
* Brand new amazing lobby and entrance
* New stingray touch tank experience on the second floor
* New 620 seat event/conference center overlooking the channel
* New 7,000+ square foot exhibit hall
* New guest dive facilities and dive center
* New training and meeting rooms for staff
* New and exciting multi-animal exhibit replacing Aquariumania in the Wetlands Gallery (This is next in line, my friends!)
* Acquisition of acreage for off-site holding, quarantine, research, education, horticulture, storage, etc.
What this all means for us...

Environmental

Our waterways are fundamental to the life and health of our planet. The beautiful coral reef systems lying hidden beneath the surface of the water are the rainforests of our oceans and in jeopardy. Many of our guests don't realize how we positively impact these fragile ecosystems. Currently a leader in preserving endangered and threatened species, The Florida Aquarium teaches each guest the importance of conservation and sustainability.

In 2010, we saved a record number of sea turtles; nearly matching the total for all previous years combined and released 96% of the turtles back to the wild after successful treatment. But sadly, we also had to turn away dozens of these endangered animals in need of help due to lack of space to care for them.

The ARC (Animal Rehabilitation Center) will be a state-of-the art veterinary and animal rehabilitation facility on acreage with easy access to downtown Tampa. Our plans include but aren't limited to:

* Several large holding tanks
* Quarantine areas
* Rehabilitation systems for animals of all sizes
* Veterinary stations
* A laboratory
* Several dedicated classrooms for education programs
* Potential access to water for canoe/kayak programs and other field experiences
* Overnight facilities to host sleepovers, summer teacher institutes, etc.
* Completely self-sustaining hydroponic farming systems
* Other thoughts (We want to hear from you on what else you would like to see at this off-site space we are working to secure!)

Our growth will allow us to expand our work with universities and research institutes to preserve coral reefs and to ensure quality veterinary care and exceptional husbandry practices.

Education

Since opening, we have welcomed approximately 10,000,000 guests and more than 1,000,000 school children. With your help, our new state-of-the-art Education Center will bring 21st century technologies to our programs and the ability to serve even more kids.

The Education Center will inspire our children with four themed classrooms and one fully equipped laboratory. Wi-Fi and live video conferencing will allow students to interact with our researchers in the field as they explore shipwrecks or restore coral reefs.

Combining touch tanks with interactive touch screens (smart white boards), each classroom will focus on a different part of the water cycle, taking students on an eye-opening journey from the ecosystems in their backyard to the world ocean.

Economics

Voted the Number One Event Space in the Country in 2011 by Event Solutions Magazine, the Aquarium is widely considered one of the best venues in Tampa.

The new Mosaic Center will:

* Allow us to host large world-class events, conventions and conferences.
* Significantly increase FLAQ annual revenues (Currently, the Aquarium often turns away business because we can't accommodate large events).
* Provide Tampa's most unique event venue.

The new Changing Exhibit Hall will:

* Host entertaining and educational exhibits in a 7,000+ space.
* Allow us to increase attendance (and therefore revenues) and give our guests a reason to come back.

Our new Dive Center will:

* Add guest dive facilities to address our expanding dive operations and Guest Dive Experiences (GDE).
* Expand needed office space and create a training room designated for staff use.

We plan to break ground in September 2012. We will start with the lobby renovation, Bays and Beaches conversion to Stingray touch tank and build the new exhibit to replace Aquariumania. We intend to be finished with this phase by Spring 2013. The following two phases will include the Mosaic Center, the Education Center and the Dive Center. We intend to have the entire expansion completed by 2016. The phasing is necessary to have the least impact on daily operations and attendance. Stay tuned for details on the ARC off-site facility soon!

By the way, with the addition of the Mosaic Center, new dive facilities and the Exhibit Hall, the additional revenues generated through events and increased attendance will help build annual operating revenues. These monies will help us update the existing infrastructure, support annual salary increases/incentives and also enhance volunteer initiatives. We still need to raise a lot of money and we will... A successful Rising Tides Expansion means that we have lots more opportunity to bring money in through increased attendance and other events.

This is YOUR Aquarium ... This is YOUR campaign!

We coined the phrase several years ago ... "We're Going To Make You Proud" ... I proudly say it again with Rising Tides - The Campaign to Grow The Florida Aquarium.

Thanks for your time friends.

Thom Stork
President and CEO

Hello Team,

We now have an online link for the registration of Brew's by the Bay. If you would like to volunteer for this event, click the link below.
http://moreinfo.flaquarium.org/forms/Volunteer/VolunteerReg.aspx

Adam Duff
Manager of Volunteer Services

We have had a development with Howl-O-Scream 2011.

It looks as though we might be able to get an additional discount! YEA!!! However, to get this discount, I will need your $28 by WEDNESDAY SEPT 14TH AT NOON. If we can get at least 15 people, we can get the additional discount. So, please get me your $28 ASAP. If we're able to get the discount, you'll get a nice little cash-back reward with your ticket! : )

If you've forwarded the previous HOS e-mail to other folks around the aquarium, please send them this one as well.

Michael Terrell
Dive Training Coordinator

Hey Everyone,

If you haven't done it already, take a few minutes and go and see the schooling fishes in the old shark tank. They just went in this morning and look AWESOME!!

I want to thank everyone who helped moving all of the fishes this morning. It was a big, complicated arrangement and went off very smoothly.

So thanks to the whole husbandry team, dive team, vet team, interns, volunteers, random passers-by that were roped in and anyone else that I may have missed. GREAT JOB!!

OK. Let's go get more......

Allan Marshall
VP - Biological Operations

To the Volunteer Manager:

"I just wanted to let you know that volunteer George Brown really made my visit fun and informative. At both the ray tank and the sea horse tank, George explained the natural history of the animals and patiently answered my questions. Please convey my thanks to George."

Sincerely,
Susan Becker

Great job George!! Thanks for providing such excellent customer service!

Thank you all for all you do for our aquarium and our guests. This place couldn't exist without the help of dedicated volunteers like you.

Adam Duff
Manager of Volunteer Services

Today is a very important day in our history!

This morning we announced a $2.5 million leadership gift from Mosaic for Rising Tides.
This is the largest single gift The Florida Aquarium has ever received.

This gift bring us to just over $6 million raised toward our $15 million goal.

You can see coverage on TBO.com now, or be sure to check tonight's TV news reports.

Be Proud Folks ... we are well on our way to a bright future.

Thom Stork
President and CEO

Thank you!
Katie Edmiston
Marketing Manager

Howl-O-Scream 2011 is upon us! Like last year, the plan is to go on the first Thursday after opening weekend. If history holds, it will be dead. : )

Date: Thursday Sept 29th
Price: $28 per person (yes, they jacked up the price from last year, but it's still the cheapest way to go and $50 off general admission!)

If you haven't gone with us before, here's the dealio. Every ticket is reserved for a date AND person. That means, I need a name for every ticket we buy. That also means that whatever name you give me should be the same name on your ID. They haven't checked IDs against the names on the tickets in the past, but they make a big deal about telling you that they have the right to do that if they wish. So, just make sure you bring your ID that evening.

I'm going to purchase the tickets on TUESDAY SEPT 27th, so all money and names need to be to me by then.

If you have any questions, just let me know!

Michael Terrell
Dive Training Coordinator

Green Team
Get Involved
The Green Team is looking for volunteers to assist with various projects both on and off site to help the Aquarium Go Green as well as educate the public to that effect through off-site activities.

The Green Team primarily works on recycling projects as well as clean-ups, and other off-site events. If you are interested in helping to keep the Florida Aquarium green and would like to support the team and get involved with community projects please contact Jim Igler - jigler@flaquarium.org or Jenna Biggs jbiggs@flaquarium.org .

The team meets the second Wednesday of every month at noon to discuss projects and ideas to that effect. It is not mandatory that you attend the meetings but you are very much welcomed to come to them. The team is made up of both staff and volunteers.

GOOD SEARCH
The Green Team needs your help to raise money for the Aquarium. It is simple, just by searching the internet. Go to http://www.goodsearch.com/ , in the “Who do you search for?” space – type in the Florida Aquarium as your charity, click on “verify” and you are set to search and shop. Monies raised on the search engine will go to the Green Team of the Florida Aquarium

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TEAM LEADERS