Cynthia Kelly is seen standing in front of the schooner replica at the Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center in Alpena. Kelly was named “Volunteer of the Year” for the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary (TBNMS) on Dec. 16.

ALPENA — The Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary (TBNMS) celebrated a banner year in volunteerism on Dec. 16 and named its “Volunteer of the Year,” Cynthia Kelly, an Alpena resident.

Sophie Stuart, TBNMS volunteer coordinator and education and outreach specialist, said there were 80 individuals who volunteered at TBNMS this past year, clocking in a total of 1,713 hours. She said that the federal government values a volunteer hour at $33 per hour, which equals over $57,000 of in-kind support.

“That’s the equivalent of one full-time employee for the marine sanctuary,” she added.

Stuart explained that the TBNMS team is the “biggest we’ve ever been.”

She said that the TBNMS team started out with two or three employees and “we’ve slowly built up to the powerhouse team that we have now.”

Stuart explained that volunteers help support operations at TBNMS, which in turn allows the sanctuary to build a larger team.

“That is what’s so important,” she added. “We recognize that, as we’re doing our jobs, our volunteers are still just as vital because then it gets the word out … as we are doing more things, this is how we spread the word about how Thunder Bay is getting bigger and continuing to get better at what we do.”

Stuart said that Kelly has donated about 80 hours of her time to the sanctuary in 2025.

Kelly explained that she was born and raised in Alpena, though she moved away for a number of years. She moved back to Alpena four years ago and started volunteering after getting reacclimated to the area.

She said that volunteering at the sanctuary was a learning experience for her.

“I was born and raised here in Alpena … I didn’t pay much attention to Alpena at that time,” she added. “I’ve actually learned more about Alpena since I’ve been volunteering here than I knew before.”

She explained that she volunteered at the TBNMS information booth for Viking Cruise passengers over the summer, at the 2025 Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) World Championship, and at the Thunder Bay International Film Festival.

Stuart said that Kelly primarily spent her time volunteering at the TBNMS information booth.

At the information booth, Kelly answers questions from passengers about the area, welcomes them to Alpena, and even has helped drop off mail from passengers.

“She’s often one of the first faces they see,” Stuart added. “It’s a friendly face.”

Kelly said that she’s recruited additional volunteers by just encouraging people to explore TBNMS and visit various events that the sanctuary puts on throughout the year.

“I just tell people, ‘Do you know what NOAA does?'” she said. “I’ve gotten a couple of people interested.”

“Working with the very professional and dedicated staff at NOAA is probably the best experience I have had,” she added. “They are all so knowledgeable about their jobs which relates to the success each of them brings to NOAA.”

Stuart said that TBNMS hopes to give “Volunteer of the Year” recognitions to multiple people “eventually.”

“We always want people who volunteer in a variety of ways … is really important for us,” Stuart added. “We have so many volunteers who do incredible work for us, and we wish we could give Volunteer of the Year to everybody.”

Kayla Wikaryasz can be reached at 989-358-5688 or kwikaryasz@TheAlpenaNews.com.