Happy New Year, Friends!
I’m looking forward to another great year with DPMMR in 2023! Last year, we achieved so many of our goals, including securing our future by purchasing our headquarters, launching our Backlot Rescue Tour, which highlights the cornerstone of our mission, and welcoming a record number of guests to our facility. This year, we have many lofty goals ahead… but I know our team is ready to rise to the challenge.
Typically, January & February would be filled with preparations for our annual Gala. However, this year we thought it would be more appropriate to celebrate all of the progress we have made thus far and showcase the plethora of facility improvements our donors helped support at last year’s Gala. At the end of this month, we’re inviting our supporters to an official “Grand Opening” of our Connect Center, complete with food stations, an open bar, and (the part I’m looking forward to the most) dueling pianos! It’s not too late to purchase your tickets if you’d like to attend. The event information and tickets can be found at www.connecttoprotect.org/grand-opening. Would love to see you there!
One of the major “improvements” we made to our headquarters last year was renovating our gift shop to create a brand new, expanded classroom space for school groups. Education & Outreach is one of our four-pillars, so most of what we have accomplished at the Connect Center in the past year improved our capacity to host school groups and educational classes. We’re looking forward to a busy spring season, during which we will host over 1,000 students for marine conservation programs. I’m excited to see us grow into the new space and really expand our education programming in the coming months.
Happily, all of our staff, dolphins, and our resident macaw are commencing the New Year in good health and I hope the same is true for you and yours! I really appreciate your continued support into a new year with DPMMR. Stay tuned for more updates in the coming months, I have a feeling I’ll have a lot to write about in the upcoming “From the President…” features.
With appreciation,
Nancy J. Cooper