Volunteer Spotlight Archives | Page 5 of 7 | Prince William Sound Regional Citizens' Advisory Council

Pete Heddell: Exxon Valdez taught many lessons to those who paid attention

July 22, 2015July 22, 2015 by Amanda Johnson

Volunteer Spotlight:

Volunteer Pete Heddell, member of the council’s Port Operations and Vessel Traffic System committee, has seen a lot of changes in Prince William Sound and Alaska.

His parents brought him here at the age of three and a half, just 30 days after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, where the family homesteaded outside of Homer on the Kenai Peninsula.

Heddell worked in the fishing business for several years before joining the state police in 1963. After his retirement in 1987, Heddell and his wife Marilynn, started their marine charter service, Honey Charters, out of the port of Whittier.

“We ordered the first of our four boats in the fall of 1987,” Heddell said. He and his wife spent that first summer exploring Prince William Sound.

“In March of 1989, we were on the floor at our first sportsman’s show when we heard the Exxon Valdez had hit Bligh reef.”

Mikkel Foltmar: New volunteer’s expertise benefits terminal projects

June 26, 2015May 11, 2015 by Amanda Johnson

Mikkel Foltmar, one of the newest additions to the council’s volunteer roster, is almost as new to Alaska as he is to the council. However, he hasn’t wasted time putting his knowledge and experience to work to help protect the waters of Prince William Sound.

John LeClair: Oil spill response lessons from fighting wildfires

June 26, 2015January 20, 2015 by Amanda Johnson

LeClair and his family enjoy traveling and spending as much time as possible adventuring outdoors. Photo courtesy of John LeClair. — LeClair and his family enjoy traveling and spending as much time as possible adventuring outdoors.

During his summer vacations from college, council volunteer John LeClair got his start in the field that he would come to love. He went to Idaho each summer to work for the Forest Service as a lookout, which evolved into a full time job as a “smokejumper,” or a firefighter who parachutes in to fight forest fires.

Linda Robinson: New committee volunteer has long history with council

June 26, 2015September 23, 2014 by Amanda Johnson

On the way out the door on her last day before she retired from 23 years on the council’s staff, Linda Robinson turned in her application to volunteer on the Information and Education Committee, the group she helped re-form in 2008. Today’s committee has roots in an “education committee” which existed in the early days of the council, but was later dissolved.

“Over the 23 years I worked for the council, I’ve watched volunteers dedicating a lot of time and passion to the mission of the council and I feel like it’s my turn to do that too.”