Jessie Armacost - 2004
REEF is very proud to award the 2004 Volunteer of the Year honor to Jessie Armacost. Jessie has been an active REEF member since 1999 and has completed over 500 surveys. Until recently, Jessie lived in Bonaire and was locally known as the REEF “ring-leader”. She is an enthusiastic supporter of REEF and has done an incredible amount of work to generate a consistent stream of high-quality data from Bonaire. She coordinated periodic fish identification training classes for the Bonaire Marine Park volunteer divers, as well as through many of the local dive shops. Through the years, Jessie’s training introduced hundreds of local and visiting divers to the joy of fishwatching, and she enabled 7 local divers to progress up to REEF’s Expert Level. Jessie is a member of REEF’s Advanced Assessment Team and she participated in, as well as helped coordinate, several of the REEF-Ocean Conservancy training workshops held throughout the Caribbean in 2001 and 2002. She also served as a REEF representative during the annual Bonaire Dive Festival as well as the Great Annual Fish Count. The REEF staff and Board of Trustees extend a big thanks to Jessie and to the many other volunteers who help REEF achieve success.