Suzuki Marine sponsors beach clean up
Suzuki Marine USA leadership, staff, and company volunteers teamed up with key representatives of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers organization and regional non-profit Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful to remove trash from the beaches along Picnic Island Park.
The Inaugural Bucs Beach Cleanup Powered by Suzuki took place March 8. With support, logistics and equipment provided by Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful, Suzuki Marine and Bucs volunteers collected plastic waste, bottles, cans, cigarette butts and other waste items from the water and sand. At the end of the two-hour event, volunteers had removed and disposed of 210 pounds of trash off the beach.
The Buccaneers contingent included members of its cheerleading squad, team mascot Captain Fear and a special guest, rookie offensive lineman Luke Goedeke, whom the team selected in the second round of the 2022 NFL draft.
“We are very fortunate to live in paradise here on the west coast of Florida with the terrific weather and some of the world’s greatest beaches that we get to enjoy year-round,” said Buccaneers COO Brian Ford. “That’s why it is so important to work together to ensure that our beaches stay beautiful and safe for everyone—including marine life. We are proud and excited to partner with Suzuki Marine on this first Beach Clean Up and we look forward to many more impactful community outings together in the coming years through this partnership.”
“Clean up events such as this have long been a key part of Suzuki’s ongoing CLEAN OCEAN PROJECT initiative,” said George “Gus” Blakely, Suzuki Marine USA executive VP, Sales & Service. “This event is especially significant for us, as it allows us to explore additional possibilities we know will come through partnering with a respected organization like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. More importantly, this joint experience will help us move a step closer to our ultimate goal of future public volunteer events, where we could have thousands of people fanning out to remove micro plastics and trash from the beach. Talk about making a positive impact for the community. Our entire company is looking forward to this eventuality.”
