 "Photo: Miriam Longsworth")
“The Best Beer Starts with Clean Water” was the theme for the Emerald Coastkeeper’s fundraiser at Hopjacks in downtown Pensacola on March 4. Chips Kirschenfeld, a board member for the EC and former Coastkeeper spokesperson, said that the event was to fund raise and advocate.
“The whole purpose of the event is to get new members for the EC organization, and to get people more aware of the issues out there with water and air quality,” he said. “And also to raise some money for the advocacy work we do.”
Some attendees gave a $5 donation to the organization. With a donation of $20, others were able to enter a raffle to win the painting that artist Ashton Howard did during the event.
Attendees who became a member at the event were given a discounted rate. Instead of $25, they only paid $20.
Howard is also a member of the EC and has been living in Pensacola for about two years. He said a lot of his work is about water. His piece for the night was inspired by the waterways in Pensacola.
“I’m going to paint a scene of the bay, looking west right over the three mile oyster bed,” Howard said.
Chassidy Hobbs, the coastkeeper, said the event was also to celebrate World Water Day.
“We’re celebrating World Water Day a little bit early,” she said. “We’re just getting Emerald Coastkeeper members and like-minded folks to celebrate World Water Day.”
The EC celebrated a bit early because they were unsure of the exact date for it. The night’s event was a first-time event for the organization, which is a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting water quality and doing whatever necessary to educate the public about water quality issues.
“We have wide range of things that we do, from filing law suits against polluters, to working with government bodies to help enhance our environmental regulations,” Hobbs said. “A lot of our work is really stressful, our fight for clean water. But tonight is more of just getting together, a social fun event to celebrate the fact that we all care about water quality.”
Hobbs said that funds received from the night’s event will go toward the organization’s advocacy activities. She said that the owners of Hopjacks were going to donate a part of the proceeds for the night to EC as well.
Herb Woll and his wife, Ann, attended the event to support the EC. He renewed his yearly membership with the organization, and his wife became a member for the first time.
Woll, who has been a member of the EC for four years now, said that more people need to support what the organization is doing for Pensacola.
“They do a tremendous job, and they do so with no monetary assistance other than what they get from their membership funds,” he said.
Ann Woll said she thinks the organization is doing not only a great job, but an important one too.
“It’s not only the membership and things they promote, but they are also a wonderful organization for disseminating information to people who might not think twice before putting that fertilizer down when they have property adjacent to the water and things of that nature,” she said.
Larry B. Johnson, a board member for the EC Inc. and a Pensacola City councilman for the 4th District, said he was pleased with the turnout for the event and thought the event was for a great cause.
“We all know that water is so important to us,” he said. “It’s a precious resource that we must protect, and EC is doing everything they can to protect our water. The water belongs to us and no one else, so we should do everything we can to protect it for us and our future generations.”
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