So proud of two of my newer friends, Morgan Knowles and Cat Uden, for their selfless, enthusiastic and imaginative efforts to keep Broward residents' eyes on the #Environment and natural beauty that sometimes gets taken for granted in South Florida; @mo_seas_, @flipflops365
* Updated: January 31st, 2019
I'm so pleased and proud to see that as 2019 continues apace that two newer friends of mine are continuing to make such a big and positive difference in keeping Broward County residents' eyes clearly on the prize -the environment and natural beauty we all sometimes take for granted in South Florida, via their selfless, enthusiastic and imaginative efforts.
In fact, one of them, Catherine "Cat" Uden was on the front page -and above the fold- on the first edition of the year's South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
"Cat" is a very impressive and savvy woman and former school teacher, the latter being a fact that completely makes sense the more time you spend around her. She is a born teacher in the best sense of the phrase.
I first met her earlier in 2018 at a City of Hollywood City Commission meeting. There, sitting directly right behind her in the chamber, my friend, Hollywood civic activist and Friends of Hollywood president Patty Antrican introduced us and mentioned some things about each other to one another that made the three of us wonder how Cat and I had never met before.
Well, me being me, as the City Commission continued talking about an issue we were not closely following as we waited for Cat's topic of discussion to come up and get up in front of a microphone, we chatted non-stop, and in the months since I met her, she has continued to show her great leadership and dedication to the local community by standing up and being counted when it comes to some very important environmental and recreational efforts in #HollywoodFL, #Broward and #SoFL.
What a cool way to begin 2019- front page! Thanks @SunSentinel �� Happy New Year pic.twitter.com/shLV43FqPT— Catherine Uden (@UdenCatherine) January 2, 2019
I'm so pleased and proud to see that as 2019 continues apace that two newer friends of mine are continuing to make such a big and positive difference in keeping Broward County residents' eyes clearly on the prize -the environment and natural beauty we all sometimes take for granted in South Florida, via their selfless, enthusiastic and imaginative efforts.
In fact, one of them, Catherine "Cat" Uden was on the front page -and above the fold- on the first edition of the year's South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
We are so close to reducing/removing the harsh restrictions on stand up paddling at Hollywood Beach ๐ @BrowardChapter ๐ And we will have a celebratory paddle when it happens. https://t.co/jt5fqI6CzB pic.twitter.com/ZkalTBhGN1— Catherine Uden (@UdenCatherine) January 4, 2019
Wave warriors say Hollywood's paddling rules are way too strict https://t.co/rIZOPbRjvT— Susannah Bryan (@Susannah_Bryan) December 28, 2018
And even appeared in Cahoots!
Thanks Cahoots Dania/Hollywood Beach for the flattering article #daniabeach #hollywoodbeach #hollywoodflorida pic.twitter.com/somszv7HrS— Catherine Uden (@UdenCatherine) January 3, 2019
"Cat" is a very impressive and savvy woman and former school teacher, the latter being a fact that completely makes sense the more time you spend around her. She is a born teacher in the best sense of the phrase.
I first met her earlier in 2018 at a City of Hollywood City Commission meeting. There, sitting directly right behind her in the chamber, my friend, Hollywood civic activist and Friends of Hollywood president Patty Antrican introduced us and mentioned some things about each other to one another that made the three of us wonder how Cat and I had never met before.
Well, me being me, as the City Commission continued talking about an issue we were not closely following as we waited for Cat's topic of discussion to come up and get up in front of a microphone, we chatted non-stop, and in the months since I met her, she has continued to show her great leadership and dedication to the local community by standing up and being counted when it comes to some very important environmental and recreational efforts in #HollywoodFL, #Broward and #SoFL.
And it's no surprise at all that she's pals with my personal mermaid friend and fellow #SUP aficionado, Morgan Knowles, whose always-fascinating Instagram photos and videos of her on a Stand Up Paddleboard, especially while cleaning up local waterways or while interacting with marine animals or plants, are a definite MUST-FOLLOW!
I'd first met Morgan in 2017 with her twin sister at a Florida state legislative update meeting in Hallandale Beach at the HB Cultural Center that was surprisingly crowded for a summer night with residents from both Hollywood and Hallandale Beach.
My plan that night had been to grill Florida State senator Gary Farmer and state Representatives Shevrin Jones and Joe Geller about some legislative matters that they probably hoped to ignore completely, or give short shrift, one of them being the sorry state of ethics locally, and Rep. Jones' vote against the state's Sunshine's Laws, which had been the object of a withering Sun-Sentinel editorial taking him to task, seemed like low-hanging fruit for someone like me used to having connect-the-dots for newbies.
https://www.sun-sentinel.com/opinion/editorials/fl-editorial-sunshine-law-20170503-story.html
https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/florida-politics-blog/fl-reg-sunshine-report-card-20170620-story.html
Naturally, I'd also planned on video-recording the proceedings, good and bad, and posting excerpts here on the blog for everyone to see, and then post the whole thing to my YouTube page.
But Rep. Jones was a no-show at the meeting in Hallandale Beach, with Sen. Farmer claiming that he was sick. The truth emerged weeks later that Jones had actually been in West Park at the time, his home base, pressing the flesh and schmoozing, avoiding hard questions from me about his curious vote against transparency, which as regular readers of this blog know, is par for the course for him.
So instead of giving the umpteenth version of a speech I've given in Hallandale Beach many times over the preceding 15 years about local and state elected officials giving citizens short shrift on the ethics front, and deciding that they had special rules, with Jones a no-show, I spent the night videotaping the meeting and just listening.
And then, just when I was thinking of bouncing and leaving early to get a late dinner, I instead became genuinely dazzled by Morgan's knowledge and boundless enthusiasm.
She is pure energy and an absolute delight to be with!
I can say that with some authority since we were among less than a handful of people left in the room, talking as everyone left and the room got ready to have its lights switched off by an employee standing at the light switch.
Yes, a familiar situation I have been in many times, as many of you veteran readers of the blog know quite well from personal experience.
And, like me, Morgan loves Iceland, and was actually there in 2017, with me being very envious!
Unless something very unexpected comes up, I plan on being in Iceland at some point in 2019, most likely on an Icelandair Stopover on the way back from a vist to Stockholm, Copenhagen and Oslo, to make-up for a great trip I was supposed to take a year ago at this time that was postponed.
Here's a great video of Morgan last year with Paola Espitia of Ola'pi Creative in one of her firm's Wavemakers series of videos, talking about the marine debris epidemic.
https://youtu.be/12BBKAZEi3A
More info about the video and the series: https://www.facebook.com/events/345501432688327/?active_tab=about
Morgan and Catherine's devotion and passion for driving social change has led them to engage in several initiatives focusing on sustainable environmental practices and development, positive societal behavior changes, and in general, empowering residents -especially students- to act as changemakers in their local communities.
Every time I see one of them, given the longstanding apathy that is ever-present in South Florida, including this part of broward County, I think, "Wow, we could only use about 1000 more people just like them."
They're both 'keepers'!
And, Morgan and Cat, like me, are always interested in discussing working/collaborative relationships and partnerships with other stakeholders/firms/groups to help push for more positive changes in the South Florida area on the many issues we care so deeply about, so keep that in mind if you are someone who is a problem-solver who can add something to the equation.
We all have an interest in seeing the creation of better and more innovative programs across multi-stakeholder groups to scale social innovation and create positive system change.
SEPTEMBER 25 2017
Meet Catherine Uden, Surfrider Activist and Coastal Defender
by Ty Smith
http://www.surfrider.org/coastal-blog/entry/meet-catherine-uden-surfrider-activist-and-coastal-defender
Some of you in the Hollywood and Hallandale Beach area may've first become aware of Cat when she was on the cover of the August 2018 issue of the Hollywood Gazette, at bottom,
SEPTEMBER 25 2017
Meet Catherine Uden, Surfrider Activist and Coastal Defender
by Ty Smith
http://www.surfrider.org/coastal-blog/entry/meet-catherine-uden-surfrider-activist-and-coastal-defender
Cat's fabulous #Instagram page, @flipflops365, includes some amazing photos and videos of her on her #Paddleboard, often with her friends, interacting with the inviting blue and green water and amazing variety of nature that's here that draws so many people to this part of #Florida, and why so many people I know here are #SUP people. This attention befits someone who is such an important voice for positive change in #SouthFlorida, at both @oceana and @surfriderbroward.
Cat is currently serving as the Chair of #Broward's Surfrider chapter.
--------
Here are the Social Media links that Morgan and Cat are VERY ACTIVE on to let everyone know just what they are up to and what's what from their Point of View.
You ought to start FOLLOWING them and get involved with their activities before that band wagon gets too crowded!
Morgan especially loves doing live streaming of events, so if you can't get to something that she'll be at, check and see if she'll be streaming it.
I could do about 1,001 podcasts with Morgan without ever breaking a sweat and never run out of things to listen to her talk about. THAT is how fascinating she is!
Morgan Knowles
Just a little about her from her YeaFrog -Youth Environmental Alliance- bio page:
Twitter: M.S. Marine Biologist. Educator Mermaid. Surfer. Diver. Dog lover. Musician. Twin. Creative Being
@mo_seas_, https://twitter.com/mo_seas_
Instagram: Morgan Knowles, M.S., mawrgun https://www.instagram.com/mo_seas_/
Marine biologist๐ฌ๐ ๐ง๐ผ♀️Ocean Warrior ⚔️๐ฆ๐Diver๐๐ฆDog Whisperer๐๐ฏ PlanetLoveLife ♻️ SurfriderBroward ๐ BarnacleBabe๐ก YEA๐ธ
www.facebook.com/events/345501432688327/?active_tab=about
Catherine "Cat" Uden
Twitter: @UdenCatherine, https://twitter.com/UdenCatherine
Instagram: flipflops365 https://www.instagram.com/flipflops365/
Cat- BOGA Ambassador, SUP Gladiator Race Fins Team, Mom, Surfrider Broward, Oceana, dreaming of O’ahu, views are my own, #teamuden
South Florida Campaign Organizer for Oceana, Twitter @oceana https://twitter.com/oceana
More about Cat's activities with Oceana here:
https://oceana.org/about-oceana/people-partners/oceana-staff/catherine-uden
Catherine believes strongly in a quote by David Suzuki, "unless we are willing to encourage our children to reconnect with and appreciate the natural world, we can't expect them to help protect and care for it."
See also, yet another embarassing story about something in Hallandale Beach:
I'd first met Morgan in 2017 with her twin sister at a Florida state legislative update meeting in Hallandale Beach at the HB Cultural Center that was surprisingly crowded for a summer night with residents from both Hollywood and Hallandale Beach.
My plan that night had been to grill Florida State senator Gary Farmer and state Representatives Shevrin Jones and Joe Geller about some legislative matters that they probably hoped to ignore completely, or give short shrift, one of them being the sorry state of ethics locally, and Rep. Jones' vote against the state's Sunshine's Laws, which had been the object of a withering Sun-Sentinel editorial taking him to task, seemed like low-hanging fruit for someone like me used to having connect-the-dots for newbies.
More than 60 lawmakers, including 7 from Broward/Palm Beach, voted to gut Sunshine Law. Don't forget their names. https://t.co/pTSWfvXBRq— Sun Sentinel Opinion (@SoFlaOpinion) May 4, 2017
https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/florida-politics-blog/fl-reg-sunshine-report-card-20170620-story.html
Naturally, I'd also planned on video-recording the proceedings, good and bad, and posting excerpts here on the blog for everyone to see, and then post the whole thing to my YouTube page.
But Rep. Jones was a no-show at the meeting in Hallandale Beach, with Sen. Farmer claiming that he was sick. The truth emerged weeks later that Jones had actually been in West Park at the time, his home base, pressing the flesh and schmoozing, avoiding hard questions from me about his curious vote against transparency, which as regular readers of this blog know, is par for the course for him.
So instead of giving the umpteenth version of a speech I've given in Hallandale Beach many times over the preceding 15 years about local and state elected officials giving citizens short shrift on the ethics front, and deciding that they had special rules, with Jones a no-show, I spent the night videotaping the meeting and just listening.
And then, just when I was thinking of bouncing and leaving early to get a late dinner, I instead became genuinely dazzled by Morgan's knowledge and boundless enthusiasm.
She is pure energy and an absolute delight to be with!
I can say that with some authority since we were among less than a handful of people left in the room, talking as everyone left and the room got ready to have its lights switched off by an employee standing at the light switch.
Yes, a familiar situation I have been in many times, as many of you veteran readers of the blog know quite well from personal experience.
And, like me, Morgan loves Iceland, and was actually there in 2017, with me being very envious!
Unless something very unexpected comes up, I plan on being in Iceland at some point in 2019, most likely on an Icelandair Stopover on the way back from a vist to Stockholm, Copenhagen and Oslo, to make-up for a great trip I was supposed to take a year ago at this time that was postponed.
How very disturbing news re violent #crime in #Sweden U didn't see/read/hear abt in the U.S. media yet affects me... or, why I did't fly to #Sweden ๐ธ๐ช & #Iceland ๐ฎ๐ธ last week as I'd previously planned, ๐and missed seeing #amazing ๐ค@CallMeCilia ☹️. https://t.co/mcg8gidFmv pic.twitter.com/O0qdF8AWE2— HallandaleBeachBlog (@hbbtruth) February 3, 2018
Here's a great video of Morgan last year with Paola Espitia of Ola'pi Creative in one of her firm's Wavemakers series of videos, talking about the marine debris epidemic.
https://youtu.be/12BBKAZEi3A
More info about the video and the series: https://www.facebook.com/events/345501432688327/?active_tab=about
Morgan and Catherine's devotion and passion for driving social change has led them to engage in several initiatives focusing on sustainable environmental practices and development, positive societal behavior changes, and in general, empowering residents -especially students- to act as changemakers in their local communities.
Every time I see one of them, given the longstanding apathy that is ever-present in South Florida, including this part of broward County, I think, "Wow, we could only use about 1000 more people just like them."
They're both 'keepers'!
And, Morgan and Cat, like me, are always interested in discussing working/collaborative relationships and partnerships with other stakeholders/firms/groups to help push for more positive changes in the South Florida area on the many issues we care so deeply about, so keep that in mind if you are someone who is a problem-solver who can add something to the equation.
We all have an interest in seeing the creation of better and more innovative programs across multi-stakeholder groups to scale social innovation and create positive system change.
SEPTEMBER 25 2017
Meet Catherine Uden, Surfrider Activist and Coastal Defender
by Ty Smith
http://www.surfrider.org/coastal-blog/entry/meet-catherine-uden-surfrider-activist-and-coastal-defender
Some of you in the Hollywood and Hallandale Beach area may've first become aware of Cat when she was on the cover of the August 2018 issue of the Hollywood Gazette, at bottom,
https://www.hollywoodgazette.com/2018/07/27/hollywood-is-at-the-forefront-of-ocean-conservation-and-cat-uden-is-on-her-paddleboard-leading-the-way/
SEPTEMBER 25 2017
Meet Catherine Uden, Surfrider Activist and Coastal Defender
by Ty Smith
http://www.surfrider.org/coastal-blog/entry/meet-catherine-uden-surfrider-activist-and-coastal-defender
Cat's fabulous #Instagram page, @flipflops365, includes some amazing photos and videos of her on her #Paddleboard, often with her friends, interacting with the inviting blue and green water and amazing variety of nature that's here that draws so many people to this part of #Florida, and why so many people I know here are #SUP people. This attention befits someone who is such an important voice for positive change in #SouthFlorida, at both @oceana and @surfriderbroward.
Cat is currently serving as the Chair of #Broward's Surfrider chapter.
--------
Here are the Social Media links that Morgan and Cat are VERY ACTIVE on to let everyone know just what they are up to and what's what from their Point of View.
You ought to start FOLLOWING them and get involved with their activities before that band wagon gets too crowded!
Morgan especially loves doing live streaming of events, so if you can't get to something that she'll be at, check and see if she'll be streaming it.
I could do about 1,001 podcasts with Morgan without ever breaking a sweat and never run out of things to listen to her talk about. THAT is how fascinating she is!
Morgan Knowles
Just a little about her from her YeaFrog -Youth Environmental Alliance- bio page:
Passionate about the oceans and finding ways to conserve, protect, clean and educate about their vital role in survival of this planet, Morgan has dedicated her life to understand the complex yet captivating questions of the sea from a very young age. Her professional career began with a B.S. in Marine Sciences at East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania with field work in Wallops Island Marine Consortium, followed by a M.S. in Marine Biology concentrating on coral reef ecology, restoration and marine debris. Her research interests include but are surely not limited to: coral reef ecology, tropical reef fish, restoration, marine debris and environmental education & outreach. Her love for the sea has allowed for over 350+ logged dives (~200 being scientific) and had the extraordinary opportunity to work in many marine related biological projects here in South Florida including: Reef Fish Visual Census Research Assistant, Outreach & Media Coordinator, Sea Turtle Specialist, Marine Benthic Dive Technician, Coral Restoration Assistant, Marine Science Educator and her own research on marine debris .Her most recent volunteer work (2 years) in submerged and shoreline marine debris removal efforts on Southeast Florida coral reefs and beaches. As well as using social media for outreach and education on the importance of our seas, and all organisms within it. She also has a knack for teaching as she has been a Snowboard Instructor, American Red Cross Emergency Response Instructor, lifeguard in Training Instructor, Camp Educator, and Marine Biology Educator. With this wide variety of skills in her tool box, she is willing to accept any challenge thrown her way on fin at a time.
Twitter: M.S. Marine Biologist. Educator Mermaid. Surfer. Diver. Dog lover. Musician. Twin. Creative Being
@mo_seas_, https://twitter.com/mo_seas_
Instagram: Morgan Knowles, M.S., mawrgun https://www.instagram.com/mo_seas_/
Marine biologist๐ฌ๐ ๐ง๐ผ♀️Ocean Warrior ⚔️๐ฆ๐Diver๐๐ฆDog Whisperer๐๐ฏ PlanetLoveLife ♻️ SurfriderBroward ๐ BarnacleBabe๐ก YEA๐ธ
www.facebook.com/events/345501432688327/?active_tab=about
Catherine "Cat" Uden
Twitter: @UdenCatherine, https://twitter.com/UdenCatherine
Instagram: flipflops365 https://www.instagram.com/flipflops365/
Cat- BOGA Ambassador, SUP Gladiator Race Fins Team, Mom, Surfrider Broward, Oceana, dreaming of O’ahu, views are my own, #teamuden
South Florida Campaign Organizer for Oceana, Twitter @oceana https://twitter.com/oceana
More about Cat's activities with Oceana here:
https://oceana.org/about-oceana/people-partners/oceana-staff/catherine-uden
Catherine believes strongly in a quote by David Suzuki, "unless we are willing to encourage our children to reconnect with and appreciate the natural world, we can't expect them to help protect and care for it."
See also, yet another embarassing story about something in Hallandale Beach:
No way dude: Surfing ban by one South Florida town may be illegal, experts say https://t.co/M9tGMlVOh8— Susannah Bryan (@Susannah_Bryan) January 11, 2019
Thank you! #protectourcoast #keepoceansfishy #savetheoceansfeedtheworld #oceana #oceanaflorida #blocktheblast #finbannow pic.twitter.com/77Z94gAVXn— Catherine Uden (@UdenCatherine) January 18, 2019
I've updated that blog post of mine from earlier this month and added a great video of @mo_seas_ ๐ง♀️ talking about the #marine debris epidemic taking place. ๐ข— HallandaleBeachBlog (@hbbtruth) January 30, 2019
Morgan & @UdenCatherine are definitely two of the most passionate and awesome ppl in #Broward!๐https://t.co/90rRqnMiU1
Thanks @hbbtruth ๐๐ฝ๐๐. Want to learn about how you can save our oceans? Watch Paola from Ola’pi Creative and I discuss our oceans and simple solutions to the worlds biggest issues https://t.co/2lrfcetrIv— Morgan Knowles (@mo_seas_) January 30, 2019
Twitter: @hbbtruth, https://
Instagram: https://www.
Instagram: https://www.
Snapchat: SoBeHoosier
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