Inland Seas Education Association volunteers were slated to be honored tomorrow night (Friday), Feb. 1, during a special program at the Traverse City Golf and Country Club.

The ISEA volunteer with the greatest number of hours contributed in 2007 is Robert Hagerman of Glen Arbor with 1,071 hours of teaching and working on the association’s tall ships.

Hagerman’s record “is all the more remarkable considering that (the schooner) Inland Seas has only 100 days of sailing time available during its Great Lakes Schoolship season,” ISEA executive director Tom Kelly said in a news release.

In 2007, ISEA attracted 267 individual volunteers who taught aboard its tall ships and assisted the organization in a variety of other ways. Growing steadily since the association’s founding in 1989, the number of ISEA volunteers is one of the largest groups of volunteers serving any non-profit organization in the Grand Traverse Bay region.

The 267 ISEA volunteers donated 11,852 hours with a total value of $232,976 as determined by an independent coalition of non-profit organizations based in Washington, D.C.

Of the 267 volunteers, there are 23 couples. The youngest volunteers are middle school students and the oldest is an 82-year-old retiree. Forty-nine of the ISEA volunteers have donated their talents to Inland Seas for more than five years (see related story for list of names).

“The number, quality and dedication of our volunteers is remarkable,” Kelly said. “There is no way we can thank them enough.”

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49 volunteers have served for 5-plus years

Forty-nine Inland Seas Education Association volunteers who have served for more than five years are being recognized Friday night. They include:

George Anderson, Lois Bahle, Del Banners, Don Blumenschine, Paul Budde, Alice Buell, Webb Buell, John Bull, Bob Bura, Chris Campbell, Ken Cerny, Rob Chapman, Dick Cookman, Tom Darnton, Mason Ferry, Bill Foster, Larry Garber, Diane Gilbo, Don Gorski, Claudia Goudschaal, Sherrie Hardie, Logan Hardie, Craig Holmes, Pat Holmes, Jerry Inman, Carol Inman, Bob Johnson, Martha Johnson, Randy Karfonta, Bill Klein, Barb Klein, Mary Krantz, Sarah Litch, Pete Magoun, Shar Maul, Bill Maul, Jim Menzies, Harvey Norris, Judy Pline, Donna Popke, Sally Somsel, Al Stachel, Kathy Turner, Diana Warner, Bill Weiss, John Welsh, Dick Wilson, Maury Witteveen, and Rob Young.