Saving the Oceans for Future Generations is a Shedd Family Legacy
OutdoorHub 07.23.12
Ever since the days of Adam, every father has hoped to pass along at least one lesson—a legacy that he hoped would become multi-generational and grow beyond the family circle.
For Bill Shedd, the message from his father, Milt, was simple yet deeply intuitive: “You’ve got a responsibility to look for ways to do good things for the ocean and sportfishing community in your life.”
Milton Shedd’s passion for the ocean and its creatures never wavered— starting as a five-year old when he stood on the Santa Monica Pier and watched mackerel chasing smelt.
Saltwater was the life source in his veins. He went on to bring his love of the sea to the general public when he co-founded SeaWorld, which opened in San Diego in 1964 and then grew with locations around the country. Along the way, Milt Shedd founded the nonprofit Mission Bay Research Institute, now called Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute, to help facilitate marine science research and education. He and his wife, Peggie, purchased the American Fishing Tackle Company (AFTCO) in 1973 and with their son, Bill, who joined the operation in 1974, the family grew it into a global brand as a major saltwater fishing gear manufacturer.
For Bill Shedd the path to ocean stewardship and conservation based on research was clearly established as a way to fulfill Milt’s (who died in 2002) as well as his own legacy “to do good things for the ocean and sportfishing community in your life.”
Along the way, Bill, found kindred spirits and partners, such as famed marine wildlife artist and scientist Dr. Guy Harvey, to turn a successful clothing business into a international cause marketing brand that artfully mixed education and science to promote marine conservation efforts.
Bill, as AFTCO’s president, has been a “player” in the West Coast marine conservation arena for many years, donating millions and thousands of personal hours to provide leadership and support on many fronts, including the elimination of gillnets and longlines.
“Public awareness is always the biggest problem,” said Shedd, who opined that too many take natural resources for granted. “People are just too busy in their daily lives to focus on or understand the depth of issues facing our oceans.”
A sentiment clearly shared by Dr. Harvey, who created the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation (GHOF) in 2008, which, like the Hubbs-Seaworld Research Institute, quickly became a leader in the marine research and conservation fields, funding an increasing number of very important innovative research and education projects.
The stars were aligned to pull Shedd and Dr. Harvey into the same orbit a few years back when the two shared some fishing at the Tropic Star Lodge in Panama and with input from hotelier Mark Ellert and Fort Lauderdale attorney Charlie Forman—both fishing fanatics and astute businessmen—the idea of creating an Guy Harvey Outpost (GHO), www.guyharveyoutpost.com, brand emerged.
“There was no doubt that the Outpost concept was viable,” Shedd reflected. “We were taking the credibility, familiarity and customer confidence that the Guy Harvey team had built over many years and planned to deliver that reliable brand to sportsmen and their families. Not too dissimilar from the confidence a golfer would derive from playing a Jack Nicklaus Designed Golf Course, our message was that hoteliers could build a hospitality and recreational resort lifestyle product around the personal and professional pursuits of Guy Harvey.”
The Guy Harvey Outpost’s brand mission, according to Shedd, is to:
Inspire: Our guests to travel with friends and family to unique destinations.
Promote: Sustainable tourism and the stewardship of resources for the benefit of our guests today, and those who follow in the years to come.
Engage: Our guests in environmentally responsible and memorable recreational activities that instill life-long memories and shape individual growth for they and our staff alike.
The hybrid “Edutation” concept emerged as the centerpiece of the GHO experience, which craftily combines education and entertainment, a blend that hopefully will provide families with a more educated perception of the ocean and the importance to sustain its ecosystems for generations to come.
“Our goal is to provide GHO guests with a unique understanding of these issues—an understanding they didn’t have before they arrived,” said Shedd. “We are building a legion of ambassadors, who will hopefully spread the message far and wide.”
The lessons learned are subtle, generally intertwined with resort or on-the-water outfitter experiences, where diving, fishing and watersports serve as extended classrooms, where science and conservation are part of the experience.
As president of the GHO, Mark Ellert is careful to build the brand around the destination’s capacities and challenges in protecting its environment, recognizing its unique eco-tourism potential mixed with marketing and management.
As an example, Ellert points to the GHO’s recent re-branding of the 211-room TradeWinds Resort on Florida’s Gulf Coast in St. Pete Beach.
“The Tampa Bay/St. Pete area is a perfect fit for our first every Guy Harvey outpost in the U.S.,” said Ellert. “Not only does the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation support a number of marine research organizations and conservation issues in the area, but there are a seemingly endless amount of outdoor activities in the Tampa Bay area to keep our Outpost guests busy.”
In converting to a Guy Harvey Outpost, owner and manager of the property TradeWinds Island Resorts intends to further its commitment to bringing conservation and recreation together. “The resort was the first to receive the coveted ‘Two Palm Florida Green Lodge’ designation for our ongoing conservation initiatives,” notes Keith Overton, president of TradeWinds Island Resorts. “By teaming up with Guy and his Outpost hotel brand, we’re boldly underscoring our company’s commitment to his vision that the future of sustainable tourism sits at the intersection of conservation, education and recreation.”
The TradeWinds, which is currently undergoing the Guy Harvey Outpost rebranding, will serve as the host hotel this fall for a Gulf Fishery Symposium, with scientists and researchers examining the state of the Gulf of Mexico fisheries two years after the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill.
“Our Outpost in St. Pete is the standard bearer for our program,” said Shedd. “It’s a great property with conference facilities in place and in an area with high levels of tourism and many opportunities for activities on the water—the best place to learn about and appreciate the true value of our oceans.”
The latest GHO destination is the historic Green Turtle Club on Green Turtle Cay in the Abacos.
The Green Turtle Club is our new island-in the-stream,” said Shedd of the 31-room hotel. “The Club sits on a picturesque harbor surrounded by some of the most spectacular beaches in the world.”
Someday, as Shedd envisions, there will be another little boy standing on a pier somewhere in this world watching and learning—taking stock of and appreciating what men like Shedd and Dr. Harvey have worked so hard to preserve and protect.
