FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Mary Stella, Director of Media & Marketing
305-289-1121, ext. 254
Email: media@dolphins.org
INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION HONORS DRC FOUNDERS
Dolphin Research Center’s co-founders, Armando “Mandy” Rodriguez and the late Jayne Shannon Rodriguez were honored by the International Marine Animal Trainers’ Association (IMATA) at its 2010 conference held in early December in Boston, MA. The couple received the Sonny Allen Professional Achievement Award which publicly recognizes professional members who are considered to have made unique contributions to marine animal training, public display, conservation, education, husbandry and/or research, in keeping with IMATA’s goals and objectives. Potential recipients are nominated by professional peers and the IMATA Board of Directors then determines who will receive the honor.
Mandy, who currently serves at DRC’s Chief Operating Officer, and Jayne, who was President and CEO until her passing in February, 2010, began their careers working with marine mammals in the late 1960s, coming to the Florida Keys in 1972 when the facility was known as Flipper’s Sea School. They remained through the 70s and early-80s, and eventually took over the property from research scientist Jean Paul Fortum-Gouin who had purchased the property and renamed it Institute for Delphinid Research. On a shoe-string budget, with over $90,000 in debt, the couple founded Dolphin Research Center in 1984 to provide a safe, healthy home for dolphins, to learn from and about these amazing animals, and to share this knowledge with the world. Under their leadership, the facility grew into an internationally known nonprofit education and research organization while also becoming while also becoming a “must-see” destination for visitors to the Florida Keys.
Dolphin Research Center is home to a family of Atlantic bottlenose dolphins and California sea lions. Open daily to the public with narrated behavior sessions and interactive programs from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., DRC is located on the Overseas Highway at mile marker 59, Grassy Key, Florida. DRC is an accredited member of the Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums. For more information, call 305-289-1121 or visit www.dolphins.org.
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