The History of Ft. Myers Offshore, Inc. - 2005 to present
A little trivia for those interested:
The History of Ft. Myers Offshore, Inc. – 2005 to present
Ft. Myers Offshore (FMO) had its early beginnings in the spring of 2005. Back then, it consisted of a dozen friends with and without offshore boats from Marco Island to Cape Coral, FL. As the months went by, more and more offshore boaters would join in our little rendezvous’ for lunch at local area waterfront restaurants. We also found that internet forums OffshoreOnly.com and SeriousOffshore.com were effective ways to communicate with our offshore friends and organize our events. The club was on its way.
In early January 2007 there was an event that really pulled our group together. An offshore boat that was not part of our group was involved in a tragic accident in the Gulf of Mexico off Marco Island, FL and 4 of the 5 people aboard were killed. Sixteen- year old Jennifer Molter survived the accident. In the weeks following, our group became aware of Jennifer’s desire to one day go to college but financial circumstances seemed unlikely that she would be able to accomplish this goal. Ft. Myers Offshore set up a fund raiser to help Jennifer’s college ambitions. We organized a fun run to Naples, FL and thru event fees, donations and auctions, the club raised over $26,000.00 and added a further $8,000.00 to Jennifer’s Trust Fund when Bob made his record setting journey from Key West to Cancun and back. Today, with Ft. Myers Offshore’s help, Jennifer continues her education at a Naples, FL college, achieving excellent grades, and making all of us at Ft. Myers Offshore very proud.
Following the success of the fund raiser for Jennifer, Ft. Myers Offshore then raised over $5,500.00 in our annual Thanksgiving weekend fun run in November 2007, to help a Ft. Myers woman who works in the boating industry who had open heart surgery. It has now become a tradition that our Thanksgiving weekend fun runs are fund raising events to help with our designated charity.
In the summer of 2008, a decision was made to bring this loose knit group of offshore boating enthusiasts into a more formal club structure. Ft. Myers Offshore, Inc. was incorporated as a 501 (c) (3) charity under Florida State law with a board of 5 officers and directors. They are: Bob Barnhart, Chairman; Dan Davies, President; Hans Haedelt, Treasurer; Tom Cullen, Secretary; and John Wilkinson, scholarship committee chairman All positions are voluntary and without compensation. In addition club photographer Jay Nichols continues to make a valuable contribution to FMO.
Since the Club incorporation as a registered charity, we have raised an additional $5,000.00 and have awarded three, $1,500 scholarships to assist worthy Southwest Florida students enter college. The recipients of these initial scholarships are: Megan Hollihan, Morgan Papworth and Jose Luis Martinez. We are enthused as we look forward to the coming boating season and think about the possibilities of doing even more to assist young students in the local area achieve their dream.
Our mission statement is, " Ft. Myers Offshore, Inc. is a not-for profit corporation consisting of a group of offshore boating enthusiasts in Southwest Florida, dedicated to raising funds and awarding a number of academic scholarships each year to help worthy individuals graduating from high school, continue their education at institutions of higher learning including college and university as approved by the Board of Directors.”
Today, FMO has grown to over 60 members with offshore boating enthusiasts from across SW Florida, as well as the eastern United States and Canada. Having raised over $45,000.00 for charitable causes we continue with our goals of promoting safe and responsible offshore boating as well as meeting the objectives of our mission statement. Ft. Myers Offshore, Inc. has again planned at least 6 boating events for the 2009 -2010 season. Our fun runs have a friendly, relaxed atmosphere and all are welcome.
For more information about Ft. Myers Offshore events please visit the FMO club \website at: www.ftmyersoffshore.org
The club also has its own forum on OffshoreOnly.com: http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/f...-offshore-186/
or the club forum on SeriousOffshore.com : http://www.seriousoffshore.com/forum...splay.php?f=47
Contact: Bob Barnhart cell 239 776 0481 email bobthebuilder@rogers.blackberry.net
Ft. Myers Offshore, Inc. 2009 - 2010 schedule.
Ft. Myers Offshore 2009 / 2010 Fun Run Schedule
Event Date ---------------- Destination
Oct. 10, 2009 Naples Bay Resort / Keewaydin Beach
Nov. 28, 2009 Harpoon Harry's, Punta Gorda
Jan. 1, 2010 C. J.'s on the Bay – The Esplanade, Marco Island
Jan. 30, 2010 Useppa Island
March 6, 2010 Hamilton Harbor, Naples
April 3, 2010 Boathouse restaurant at Sanibel Harbor Marina / Lani Kai raft up.
Notes:
Again, the Nov. 28 / 2009 and Jan. 30 / 2010 events have been designated official fund raisers for our Ft. Myers Offshore Scholarship Fund. The entry fee will be announced soon. All other fun runs are free of charge to FMO members.
All events start at 11:00 AM except for the New Years Day run which will start at 11:30 AM. All events start from the south side of the Sanibel Bridge unless noted otherwise.
Other South Florida events that may be of interest to club members:
Poker Runs America ( PRA ) - Sarasota Poker Run - October 2 /3, 2009
Platinum Powerboat Club - Ft. Myers - Oct. 17, 2009
Ft. Lauderdale Boat Show – Oct. 29 – Nov. 2, 2009
Key West boat races / FPB Key West – November 9 – 16, 2009
Poker Runs America - Cape Coral - Diamond Deal Dec. 4 – 6, 2009
Everglades City Seafood Festival – February 5 – 7, 2010
Miami Boat Show – February 11 – 15, 2010
Florida Powerboat Club (FPC) - Miami Boat Show Poker Run – Feb. 19–21, 2010
Our Mission Statement : Ft. Myers Offshore, Inc. is registered 501 (c) (3) charity, whose membership consists of a group of offshore boating enthusiasts in Southwest Florida. We are dedicated to raising funds and awarding academic scholarships each year to help worthy high school graduates continue their education at institutions of higher learning, including colleges and universities as approved by the Board of Directors.
Link to our website: www.ftmyersoffshore.org
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