Thank You Special People!

WHAT I HAVE ACHIEVED has a lot to do with many special people who have either worked on projects with me, or supported me in one way or another. Being a conservationist is often a  lonely journey, especially when times get tough, which they often do while fighting the battle against many odds, and their support is very important to me.

I'd like to thank the SOS Foundation for sponsoring the M-Sea Programme from 2004 to 2008 and the following special people:Adam Carnegie, the guru of creativity who has done the artwork for many of my projects and all of my books, with big ears and shoulders I often chewed off and leaned on; Nan Rice, of the Dolphin Action Group, who I respect and admire for all she has done for marine conservation, and who gave me the encouragement to start AOCA; Leonard Compagno, genius of great note, for believing in me right from the start and helping me trust in my inner warrior; Helen Bamford of the Argus, Independent News, great supporter in helping me reach the public; David Japp, former AOCA board member and longstanding friend and advisor who has helped me understand so much about the commmercial fishing industry; Pat Garratt MD of the Two Oceans Aquarium, for trusting in my tenacity and perseverance when others thought I was mad to want to save sharks and release Maxine; Saatchi & Saatchi, Cape Town, for designing Rethink the Shark for my programme, and it being such a great success as well as their continued support, and to my longstanding volunteer, Wendy Fourie,  for all those hours generously given.  A special thanks to the AOCA board of directors, Leonard Compagno, Charlie Griffiths, and Malcolm Smale,  and to Mike Meyer of Marine and Coastal Management for satellite tagging our sharks. Then in recent times a thanks to Verona Smith, my big sister, Bilbo Baggens, Jan De Bruyn, Gemma Pellet, Phil Parr, Jeff Ayliffe, Michael Carnegie, Kim McClean, Lindie Burskie, Jannie Wessels of Brightweights, Wayne Morrison of Aqua Concepts, Graham McDonald of Eco Solutions, Sophia and Mark van Coller, Mike and Val Fraser, and Shawn Hienrich,  for your support in many different ways. Last but most definitely not least, and too many to mention, a massive thanks to all those other wonderful volunteers, sponsors, supporters and kind words emailed to me from strangers, giving me the encouragement to carry on fighting the cause, often alone in my office with no staff to help me - those were tough days! Thank you to each and everyone of you, I could not have done it without you! And I can't continue without you either!

My team for Elle's release, from left: Neil, Mathew, Verona, Phil, Me, Jan, and Guy