A Call for Aquarium Volunteers

Learn more about local marine life and get involved with your community by becoming a Cabrillo Marine Aquarium volunteer. Applications are now being accepted for the following volunteer opportunities at Cabrillo Marine Aquarium:

Spring Docent Program: Docents are needed to participate in Cabrillo Marine Aquarium's spring Outdoor Classroom Program. Docents provide school children with information about the ocean and conduct related activities on Cabrillo Beach. Qualifications include a love of the outdoors; a desire to learn about the ocean, marine animals and the ocean environment; and an interest in children. Docents are asked to commit to work one morning per week from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Tuesday through Friday, from April 13 through June 11. Mandatory training sessions will be conducted on Monday, March 15th, March 22nd, and March 29th from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Deadline to apply for this position is March 13, 1999.

Afternoon Volunteer Program: Volunteers are needed to greet and assist visiting groups, answer questions, interpret exhibits for visitors, conduct demonstrations and supervise crowds in the aquarium's exhibit hall. Applicants should have an interest in the ocean, the desire to learn and share their knowledge with others, the ability to speak to the general public, and the willingness to commit one afternoon a week, Tuesday through Friday, from 12:00-4:00 p.m., from April 1 through August 31. Mandatory training sessions will be provided March 15th, March 22nd, and March 29th from 2:00-5:00 p.m. Deadline to apply for this position is March 13, 1999.

Volunteers in each of these positions are asked to become a member of the Friends of Cabrillo Marine Aquarium at a reduced volunteer fee of $15 per year, which entitles them to the full benefits of membership.

Cabrillo Marine Aquarium is located at 3720 Stephen White Drive in San Pedro and is a facility of the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks. For more information regarding these volunteer opportunities, please contact Randi Abrams, Volunteer Coordinator at Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, (310) 548-7562, x5029.

Video Film Search Underway

Assemble now your best underwater film footage for the SCUBA Show 1999 underwater film festival.

One of the most popular portions of the annual SCUBA show aboard the Queen Mary has been the unique continuous film festival. Featured at past film festivals have been footage and films from some of the world's greatest underwater cinematographers. Even so, some of the most well received films have been from non-professional underwater camera operators.

For this year's show, the film festival will be wide open to this talented group. The management of the popular annual dive convention is conducting an aggressive and all-out search for the best in underwater video films. Underwater videos submitted for consideration should be new submissions, never before shown in a film festival setting or on television. Films of 5 to 15 minutes in length are preferred. Footage can be from anywhere in the world, but the video should contain at least 50 percent underwater footage. Those films accepted for screening will be paid an honorarium. Firm deadline for film submission is March 31, 1999. For a complete guideline sheet on submissions, call (310) 792-2333, fax (310) 792-2336 or view the guidelines web page at www.saintbrendan.com/filmguid.htm

Nominations Requested for
California Scuba Service Award

The California Scuba Service Award was commissioned by Saint Brendan Corporation to recognize those who have made significant, long-term positive contributions to the California diving community. (Saint Brendan Corporation is the parent company of California Diving News and SCUBA Show 1999.) Since 1989, the award has been presented at the annual SCUBA show aboard the Queen Mary in late June.

Saint Brendan Corporation is actively soliciting nominations for the 1999 award. Please submit nominations in brief written form before March 31, 1999. Include a detailed background of your nominee. Send nominations to P.O. Box 11231, Torrance, CA 90510; fax (310) 792-2336; or e-mail mail@saintbrendan.com.