Legacy left by Paul Newman to Service at Sea, GIS, Conservation, and Indigenous People
Written by Andrew Stephens Sunday, 28 September 2008 22:36
News
The letter below was sent by Andrew Stephens, director of Service At Sea, to various friends. It is a revealing tribute to Paul Newman, and his financial support to The GIS Institute, Service at Sea. What surprised me most, was Paul's support of various Conservation and Indigenous GIS efforts. Andrew's letter and portrait appears here with his permission to share with Indigenous Mapping Network readers. Thank you, Drew! - Rosemarie McKeon
Paul Newman and Service At Sea
His legacy for the conservation GIS community...
Asheville, NC - September 27, 2008
Dear Friends of The GIS Institute,
I'd like to share a few thoughts on the passing of Paul Newman, and what his legacy means for all of us in, or near, the GIS community...
Like many of you, I am touched by the news of his death today, as I feel the connection to him and his family is a special one. We all know Paul; the cool-hand actor, the car-racing enthusiast, and the Newman's Own face on all of those products. Yet we in the Service at Sea and GIS community have another connection to him through The GIS Institute...
Above my desk is a treasure, a gift I received from Paul Newman in December of 2005. It arrived before Christmas in a plain white envelope - I opened the letter right there in the bustling post office in Boulder, CO. Inside was a short note, and a very generous check. He wrote that his daughter, Nell, had recommended he donate to Service at Sea, and he continued writing, "I am happy to support an organization she feels strongly about...I wish you and your organization continued success.
Sincerely,
(signed) Paul Newman".
I framed the letter that day, and hung it on the wall, just over my shoulder so I could glance at it while I worked on the plan for Service at Sea.
A few months ago we received another generous donation from him. When I called Newman's Own to confirm, a grant program manager joyfully said, "you have friends here - happy to help".
So how do the donations and legacy of Paul Newman affect the GIS community? In 2006, his funding for The GIS Institute provided the seed capital to run our first proof-of-concept trip "Service for Africa", a six week project that delivered GIS training for over 100 people from 20 different conservation organizations in five African countries. Alumnus of those courses have gone on to create a successful GIS Conservation community in Kenya, others have gone on to GIS related jobs in parks in Southern Africa, and still others are using GIS to care for the Gorillas in Uganda, the Cheetah of Botswana, and the creatures and mangroves of the Niger Delta.
In 2007 we refined our offerings, and began testing our courses in Spanish, running existing courses with the added challenge of a language barrier. Without the support of Newman's Own, the University students in Panama, and the community leaders working for healthy forests and Tepehaun Indian land rights in Mexico, would not be using GIS in their efforts to create a just and ecologically rich world.
In the United States, funds went toward supporting Sealife Conservation, who work to eliminate marine debris from the oceans and estuaries of California, The Alaska Marine Conservation Council, who advocate for native fishing and hunting rights, and The Prince William Sound Science Center, supporting science and education efforts in that unique setting. These organizations all received GIS software grants from ESRI, and GIS training services from The GIS Institute, supported by Newman's Own donations.
Now in 2008, water and ocean health continue to attract us at The GIS Institute. We are continuing our work in California, and now we are in Belize, looking at and mapping the atolls, coral reefs, and mangroves of this, the 2nd largest reef system in the world. I am hopeful that these waters will continue to reveal their mysteries, as we learn to support them and look at them in new ways with GIS and other technologies.
Service at Sea has not yet become the program of The GIS Institute that I envision as the founder and chief steward of this organization. For all the right reasons, we did not purchase and launch a boat last year as planned, but it was not for the lack of support from Paul Newman.
So just what is this legacy that he leaves us with? I think it is to support audacity. He formed a for-profit company designed to give away 100% of its profits, he generously gave away 250 million dollars, and he did it without asking a lot of questions on the way in, nor did he ask for detailed reports on progress. He did the right thing, and trusted us all to run with it.
I saw recent video of him on the Newman's Own site today, a sort of goodbye I think. At the very end, he said "...lay back and raise hell, bye."
I will honor him by continuing to live knowing that geography and geo-technology are key platforms for adding to the sum of human knowledge, that simply staring at a map can enhance your experience on the earth, and that dreams should be big, and a little crazy.
We'll miss you Paul.
Drew Stephens,
Director, The GIS Institute, Service at Sea.
Newmans Own
