Today we’d like to introduce you to Mary Jo Naschke.
Mary Jo, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Sea Star Base Galveston was founded by Charles and Rosemary Doolin to provide a maritime location and experience for youth to learn about their environment. Charles’ father founded the Frito company, now Frito Lay; PepsiCo. After his retirement he focused his attention on his vision to provide a high-adventure marine and maritime destination, offering aquatic education programs that instill lifetime leadership, teamwork skills, and independence in body, mind and spirit. Galveston, and particularly, Offatts Bayou, was chosen as the site because of its accessibility, beauty, and availability.
The facility consists of a 60,000 square foot LEED Platinum Certified building including classrooms, conference rooms, dormitories, special events rooms, and offices. The state of the art marina houses a fleet of sailboats that are used for lessons and charter, and a 110 foot vessel, BaySmart Express that is a floating classroom. Students, Scouts, Members and those interested in marine related activities utilize Sea Star Base Galveston on a daily basis. In addition, there is a large swimming pool, volleyball court, pavilions for outdoor events, and retail store on the ground level. Classes offered on a continuous basis are focused on STEM learning, boating safety, and quarterly lectures on various marine topics. Adaptive sailing is available for lessons and competition and Community Sailing hosts regattas ‘year round.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The community at large is just now getting to know Sea Star Base Galveston and how they can participate in activities all year. Teachers are increasing their visits thanks to a generous grant provided by The Moody Foundation that enables students to learn aboard BaySmart Express.
Sea Star Base Galveston – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
A non-profit educational organization, Sea Star Base Galveston invites the community at large to become familiar with the facility and educational programs.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
The Moody Foundation recently showed their confidence in Sea Star Base Galveston by providing a generous grant that enables hundreds of students to experience the 110 foot floating classroom, BaySmart Express.
Contact Info:
- Address: Sea Star Base Galveston
7509 Broadway
Galveston, TX 77554 - Website: www.ssbgalveston.org
- Phone: (409) 572-2560
- Email: tgonzalez@ssbgalveston.org
- Facebook: Sea Star Base Galveston
Image Credit:
Images provided by Sea Star Base Galveston
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