Donate to the James J. White Memorial Conservation Fund:
The NEC James J. White Memorial Conservation Fund
To quote Janne Ekstrøm's article in AMAZONAS 31, September/Oktober 2010, Seite 8–12,
"We, the humanity on Earth, have only two choices: We either stand back and watch when our beautiful planet turns into dust or we act and do something about the problem before it’s too late."
The NEC Conservation Committee was established to help conservation efforts through fundraising and donations to well-established and working conservation groups. For several years now the Committee has hosted a silent auction at the Annual NEC Convention to benefit organizations that are involved in conservation.
The History of James J. White Memorial Conservation Fund
Jim passed away suddenly on August 3, 2010 at the young age of 46. He was a long time member of the Pioneer Valley Aquarium Society and served as auctioneer at many of his sister club auctions. We miss him greatly.
Jim was active in the Northeast Council of Aquarium Societies for many years, working first for PVAS and in the last 14 years with the NEC as well. Jim was also very involved in breeding fish, bringing fish to other club auctions and participating in the NEC Breeder Participation Program.
Jim’s dedication to the NEC was fierce and he wore many hats. First he served as PVAS’s delegate and he went on to serve as a BOD member (since 1998) and Vice President of the NEC for several 2-year terms. He was a consistent volunteer at our annual Convention, running the fish room during the Sunday auction, being a runner and auction feeder; as he honed his auctioneering skills he became the main auctioneer for the NEC and all the NEC Clubs. For many years Jim chaired the Competitive Events Committee and ran the Photo Contest. Recently he organized the Conservation Committee’s efforts to raise money for fish-related conservation efforts around the world.
Jim worked for the benefit of the aquarium hobby, clubs and the NEC, both in the background as well as in the spotlight. His efforts were highlighted in 2005 when he was awarded the NEC’s highest honor, the Betty Mueller Award. Jim represented the NEC well and his adorable face and dedication to the aquarium hobby will be sadly missed throughout the clubs in the Northeast.
The NEC honors the dedication that Jim had for the Conservation Committee’s efforts by renaming the fund as the James J. White Memorial Conservation Fund.
This year, the conservation recipient is
The James J White Memorial Conservation Fund in action
Our conservation fund has supported the following organizations:
2001 American Cichlid Association’s Paul V. Loiselle Conservation Fund
2002 Project Piaba
2003 Pupfish of Southwest US
2004 Fish Ark Mexico
2005 American Killifish Association’s George Maier Fund
2006 CARES Preservation Program
2007 Project Amazonas
2008 Project Piaba
2009 Conservation Fisheries
2010 Project Amazonas
2011 International Rivers, American Livebearer Association’s Langhammer Fund for Conservation, and the Stuart M. Grant Cichlid Conservation Fund
2012 CARES Preservation Program and Center for Research in Global Change and Sustainability
2013 Indonesian Marine Ornamental Symposium (LINI) and Conservation Aquariums in the Classroom
2014 The Goodeid Working Group (GWG) and Project Seahorse
2015 Conservation International and Ozalul (Innovation for Marine Conservation)
2016 The Congo Project (American Museum of Natural History) and The Nature Conservancy
2017 Project Piaba and Bahamas Reef Environment Educational Foundation (BREEF)
2018 The Ocean Foundation "Sawfish Mating Project" and Coral Restoration Fund
2019 IUCN Freshwater Fish Specialists Group's Home Aquarium Fish Sub-Group (HAFSG)
2020
2021 Project Piaba
Updates on past conservation recipients
Stuart S. Grant Cichlid Conservation Fund Update:
http://cichlidpress.com/smgfund/smgfund25.html
The Goodeid Working Group:
plans to put the funding to use over the next six months. Our goals are to
1) Provide material and technical support for the conservation of rare goodeids in captivity and in the wild by the Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolas Hidalgo in Morelia, Mexico; and
2) Help pay costs associated with bringing new populations of rare goodeids into the U.S. and distributing them to serious hobbyists and public aquaria/zoos for long-term captive maintenance.