Alaska Communications, Summer of Heroes Honorees Includes Seldovia Summer Resident
by Annie Drury – For Alaska Communications
Alaska Communications announced the 2012 Summer of Heroes honorees yesterday at the Alaska State Fair. The Summer of Heroes program is a partnership between Alaska Communications and Boys & Girls Clubs – Alaska to honor Alaskan youth who are making a difference in their communities. Each of the six heroes, five from the general program and one from the employee program, received a $1,500 scholarship. This year’s recipients included Keefer Brown, a Wasilla youth who spends his summers in Seldovia.
Passionate about marine biology and paleontology, Keefer Brown hopes to someday follow in the steps of his hero, the famous aquatic explorer Jacque Cousteau, and learn how to protect the Alaska coastline.
Keefer first fell in love with Alaska’s harbor seals during an overnight school trip to the Alaska Sea Life Center (ASLC). There he learned about their playful nature and began to connect with these friendly sea creatures on a deeper level. Keefer decided to raise $50 so he could adopt and protect a harbor seal for the center’s SeaStar program.
All summer Keefer tirelessly hunted for shells and found objects along the Seldovia beaches near his grandparents’ cabin to decorate and sell beautiful candles. Word spread of his efforts to help the seals, and soon his fundraising topped $2,300. With this donation designated to support the sea animal rescue program, Keefer got to name the first seal pup born at the ASLC.
He dubbed her Kordelia, which means “jewel of the sea.” These days Keefer continues to sell candles to raise money to support the ASLC’s rehabilitation and care of sea animals. He is also a Boy Scout and participates on the Science Olympiad team at Deland Middle School.
Keefer observes that people are often surprised someone so young would be interested in protecting the marine environment, but volunteering in the community just makes sense to him. He doesn’t think of himself as a hero, and says he’s “doing what he can” and he “just wants to help.”
Category: Business, Editor's Favorites, Education
Seldovia Time
