The Navarre Beach Fishing Pier will be the venue for the  2010 Run For The Reef 5K on October 16th, 2010.

Race Day Packet Pickup will be 6 AM on the Pier deck.  After the race we’ll be serving beer, soft drinks and food on the deck and holding the Post Race Awards Ceremony.

Mark your calendars to come out and enjoy the run and the beautiful gulf front view from the Navarre Pier Deck.

Last year we had over 300 participants  and this year we’re making plans for an even bigger crowd.

Pick up your registration form or  take advantage of one of the great race sponsorship opportunities and help us Make Navarre Snorkelicious!

Nancy Sandler, Co-Chair of the Navarre Beach Marine Sanctuary Committee and Mike Sandler also on the Marine Sanctuary Committee will make a presentation about the progress and plans of  Marine Sanctuary Program at the Navarre Library.    Mark your calendars for  Tuesday, July 27th at 5:30 pm.

The Sandler’s will present status and progress to date of the efforts to bring near shore reefs to Navarre Beach, upcoming events  involving the Sanctuary Committee and information on you can become involved and keep informed.

The public is invited to come and learn how we are helping to Make Navarre Snorkelicious!

Date:  Tuesday July 27th

Time: 5:30 PM

Where: Navarre Library –  8484 James M. Harrell Road, Navarre, FL 32566

Our next meeting will be Monday, July 26th at 6 pm

Navarre Visitor Information Center Conference Room.

Hwy 98 at the Navarre Beach Bridge

The Public is invited and encouraged to attend.

We hope you will join us and help us in Making Navarre Snorkelicious

The leaking oil well appears to be CAPPED!!

And that’s following a cavalcade of other good news about the Marine Sanctuary…..

We recently submitted our Impact 100 Grant application for a $114K Grant.
We’ll be submitting a $250K Grant through Pepsi’s Refresh Everything Site on August 1.
We just got our first pledge of $1,500 for our Pledge Program.

And last but not least …..there’s still time to reserve your spot for a Run For The Reef 5K T-shirt Sponsorship.     $125 for your name or your company name on the Race Shirt and $250 for your logo.

Why not celebrate all the good news by signing up today.

You can reserve your sponsorship by emailing navbms@navarrebeachmarinesanctuary.com or by phone (850-677-1875).  You can also do it online by making the appropriate donation amount on our website and noting in the additional notes section what sponsorship level to associate with your contribution.

Thanks for helping us Make Navarre Snorkelicious!!

Check out our ONLINE PLEDGE FORM.   No need to pull out your credit card or write a check now – just  tell us how much you would like to pledge to our efforts to Make Navarre Snorkelicious and through which type of sponsorship.    You can also download a pdf version of the pledge form here and mail it t:

Navarre Beach Marine Sanctuary c/o Navarre Chamber Foundtion, 8668 Navarre Pkwy #142, Navarre FL 32566

You can  access the pledge form and also make tax deductible donations via Pay Pal from our Pledges and Donations Page.

The Navarre Beach Fun Fest was held Saturday May 15th.  Amidst all the food, shopping, entertainment, and activities was your Navarre Beach Marine Sanctuary Booth.  Lots of folks stopped by to check out our progress on both the permitting and fund raising fronts.  Others stopped by to see what the Marine Sanctuary was all about.  A great day to be out on the beach in Navarre, and another great opportunity to communicate the marine sanctuary benefits to the Gulf Coast….our three E’s

• Economy
• Education
• Environment

Andy Epstein helps Make Navarre Snorkelicious

Thanks to all who came out and special thanks to those that manned the booth.

Our next Navarre Beach Marine Sanctuary meeting is Monday, May 24th at 6 pm at the Navarre Visitor Center in Navarre Park.  Please attend for updates on the reef project and upcoming events.  The success of this project is dependent on community awareness and funding, and we need your help.  Sponsors and volunteers for  the Run for the Reef 5K are being gathered and work is being done to compile the 2010 Impact 100 Grant Application.  Come on out and learn how you can  help Make Navarre Snorkelicious!

Planning for this fall’s 2nd Annual Run For The Reef 5K is cranking up and Navarre need’s your help to make this year’s event another spectacular success.

You can help Make Navarre Snorkelicious through donating your time as a volunteer, participating in the run, or sponsoring the race.    There are plenty of opportunities to participate in this great event.  The T-Shirt alone is worth it…not to mention the after party at Juana’s.    More information about the run is on our site – just click here.

Our next Navarre Beach Marine Sanctuary meeting is Monday, April 26 at 6 pm at the Navarre Visitor Center in Navarre Park.  Please attend for updates on the reef project and upcoming events.  The success of this project is dependent on community awareness and funding, and we need your help.  Check out the Run For the Reef volunteer checklist and let us know if there are some things on there you could help us do help with the run in our continuing efforts to to Make Navarre Snorkelicious!

AGENDA for Meeting Monday, April 26

1.  Fundraising and Grants

Impact100 Grant due in June
Run for Reef October 16
Bumper stickers

2.  Community awareness/volunteers needed

Sunset Stampede on Navarre Beach May 1st
Fun Fest on Navarre Beach  May 14th and 15th
Safe Boating Clinic May 22nd at the Navarre Beach Boat Ramp

3.   Update on reef sponsorship program and proposed signage for beach

4.   Comments

Escambia County received word today from NOAA,  of a favorable ruling for the  snorekeling reef permits in the sound near the Fort Pickens gate and nearshore in the Gulf, just west of  Casino Beach.   This means  after the Army Corps of Engineers is officially notified of the ruling, that Federal Permits should be forthcoming.

This is GREAT NEWS for both Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.  Because of the favorable ruling, the way is paved for application of the same criteria and precedent  inthe permits being sought by the Marine Sanctuary.  We are one very large step closer to Making Navarre Snorkelicious!!

Another bit of good news is that the re survey of the Navarre Gulf Reef Site came back with no changes to the original survey.  This means no  information gathered for the Navarre Gulf side snorkeling reef permits will need to be altered, which should further help the speed of the permitting process.