More Than $11,000 Collected For Local Charities At West Marine's Flagship Store Grand Opening

PRLog (Press Release) - Aug. 1, 2012 - West Marine, (Nasdaq:WMAR) the country’s largest specialty retailer of boating supplies and accessories, announces more than $11,000 was collected for local charities at the grand opening celebration of its newest flagship location in Fort Myers.

To launch the grand opening weekend, West Marine held a “Cruising for a Cause” charity event. Tickets were available for ten dollars through: Edison Sailing Center; Golisano Children’s Museum of Naples (C’mon); Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation; Snook & Gamefish Foundation; Bonefish & Tarpon Trust and J. N. “Ding” Darling Wildlife Refuge. A live and silent auction was held on site and all of the proceeds benefited these local charities.  

A highlight of the live auction was a fishing trip with Edgar Hansen, deck boss and chief engineer of the F/V Northwestern featured on “Deadliest Catch”. Les Achilles with Venture Out Charters will sponsor the fishing trip. The winning bid of $2,100 was donated to the Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation.

“Our grand opening festivities exceeded our expectations and we are very grateful for the support of the community and our partners for contributing to its success,” said Dusty Felts, General Manager of the Fort Myers Flagship Store. “Part of West Marine’s mission is to improve and protect marine habitats and promote youth boating. The funds raised at “Cruising for a Cause” will help to support these goals.”

The largest West Marine Store in Southwest Florida, it is nearly three times the size of a standard store. The store is located at 7070 College Parkway, Suite 102 at the intersection of College Parkway and U.S. 41 / Tamiami Trail.

About West Marine
West Marine, (Nasdaq:WMAR) the largest specialty retailer of boating supplies and accessories, has more than 320 company-owned stores located in 38 states, Puerto Rico and Canada and three franchised stores located in Turkey. Our call center and Internet channels offer Customers over 60,000 products plus the convenience of exchanging catalog and Internet purchases at our Store locations.  Our Port Supply division is one of the largest wholesale distributors of marine equipment serving boat manufacturers, marine services, commercial vessel operators and government agencies. For more information on West Marine's products and store locations, or to start shopping, visit http://www.westmarine.com or call 1-800-BOATING (1-800-262-8464).