At a recent meeting of the Beneath the Sea Trustees, Don Reynolds (left), Beneath the Sea VP Human Resources, Trustee, and former President of The Scuba Sports Club presented Armand Zigahn with his Accolade Award and neck medallion which Don had brought home from Bonaire’s Captain Don Stewart, Beneath the Sea’s 2008 Pioneer Diver of the Year.

Captain Don first presented Zig with his Accolade Award at the Fish and Famous Gala on Friday during the March Beneath the Sea conclave.

Zig’s Accolade recognizes his outstanding efforts in creating and pursuing the goals set forth in Beneath the Sea’s Ocean Pals program. In part his Accolade reads: "Armand Zigahn is hereby awarded the Bonaire Accolade for Zig's undaunted perseverance and leadership of Beneath the Sea's Ocean Pals. This outstanding achievement expresses Zig's unselfish and generous vision and recognition of the importance of environmental education of the next generation.” 

Don Reynolds (left), and Armand Zigahn

The Accolade Award is a very select award given only to those who are leaders and doers in promoting education and preservation of the world's oceans. Previous awardees are invited to nominate a candidate for the award; consequently the award has a very varied and dynamic group of Medalists. Among the dozen or so recipients are included John Fine - ocean author and marine educator; Gerald Comeau who has taught SCUBA for some 50 years while strongly encouraging marine conservation; Jack Chalk who has chaired both the Bonaire STINAPA environmental group and the EarthEcho Foundation along with Jan, Philippe and Alexandra Cousteau; and Harvard’s George Buckley for his work with Earthwatch, EarthEcho, Harvard's Environmental Management program and the Marine Ecology Project. In all, the Accolade recipient cadre spans the spectrum of ocean commitment from marine researchers, educators, writers and film makers, while also including fishermen and leaders of environmental groups all working together for the preservation and sustainability of the world’s oceans.