News Photo by Darby Hinkley Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary Superintendent Jeff Gray, left, presents the TBNMS Volunteer of the Year award to Bob Krafft on Tuesday evening at a volunteer appreciation event held at the Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center in Alpena.

ALPENA — Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary celebrated its volunteers on Tuesday night at the Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center, where Bob Krafft was named Volunteer of the Year.

“We’re thrilled to recognize this volunteer,” Stephanie Gandulla, TBNMS resource protection coordinator, told a room full of volunteers.

Before announcing the recipient, Gandulla read the nomination that TBNMS submitted to the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation out of Silver Spring, Maryland.

“For nearly two decades, this person has been a passionate champion for Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary,” Gandulla said. “As a respected member of the Alpena community, he has a deep connection to the Great Lakes through his combined love for Great Lakes fishing and maritime history. Whenever there is a new project or opportunity, he is the first one to step forward, roll up his sleeves, and contribute to the success.”

Gandulla continued, noting that Krafft has helped during the Viking cruise ship visits to Alpena in recent years, as well as with the Thunder Bay International Film Festival for over 10 years.

“In fact, the sanctuary team has come to rely on his logistics, savvy, and management skills as a house manager for the five-day film festival,” Gandulla said. “He’s also been a consistent voice on our advisory council, providing sound advice and true representation in the community. He is the epitome of a dedicated sanctuary volunteer, and his enthusiasm is sincere and contagious.”

She added that Krafft is “a strong voice for the sanctuary in Northeast Michigan.”

TBNMS Superintendent Jeff Gray presented Krafft with the award.

“Bob was one of the very first people I met in town,” Gray recalled. “He truly is an ambassador for the sanctuary … When he’s traveling, he talks about the sanctuary, he visits other sanctuaries. We’re super proud of everything that he’s done.”

“This is an amazing honor,” Krafft said upon receiving the award. “I look around the room and see all the people we have here that care so much. To be selected for this award is truly an honor.”

He recalled the humble beginnings from two decades ago, and reminisced about taking this journey with so many great people, many of whom were seated in the room before him.

“No one, at that point, ever had the least inkling or dream that it would become what it has become today,” Krafft said of TBNMS. “Nobody ever thought it would be a major destination for people around the world on cruise ships … It’s just an honor to play a little bit of a smidgen role in making this a reality, because it’s so important to our community.”

“It is what it is today because of the amazing leadership that NOAA has provided through Jeff, and the staff that he put together is world-class,” Krafft added. “The Undersecretary of the Interior was here last summer, I was talking to him, and he said that Thunder Bay is the benchmark they use to try and get the other sanctuaries to achieve.”

Before presenting the award, Gray reminded attendees of its origins.

“I want to remind everybody how special this award is, because it was named after Betty Krueger, who was our first volunteer of the year,” Gray said. “Betty was a force of the sanctuary when there was only a couple of staff. She was an advisory council member until she passed. Betty left us a gift that helped us start Friends of the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary. And the desserts we have tonight remind me of Betty, because Betty would come into our office and bring dessert, usually pie, or something like that, and then tell us what we were going to do.”

The audience chuckled at that.

“A small, quiet woman that was one of most influential that could direct people,” Gray continued, speaking about Krueger. “So, we named it after her, because she had such a huge impact.”

As of Tuesday evening, TBNMS volunteers had logged 2,325 for the 2023, Gandulla announced at the volunteer appreciation event, which featured many gourmet desserts made by Annette Carlson.

Major volunteering events include: the annual Halloween Trick-or-Treating event held at the Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center; the Thunder Bay International Film Festival, which will be Jan. 26 to 28; Sanctuary Ambassadors helping Viking Cruise ship visitors navigate the visitor center when they get to Alpena; the Get Into Your Sanctuary program for third-graders; and all the hours the advisory council spends working behind the scenes.

Gray explained that in 2024, Viking Cruises will make more visits to Alpena.

“Two years ago, we had 10 visits,” Gray told audience full of volunteers. “Last year, we had 20. Next year, we’re looking at 26. So, it continues to be a major impact, and we’re excited, and that couldn’t happen without all this support.”

Prior to the award, the group enjoyed a virtual presentation by Alpena native Hannah MacDonald, the 2014 TBNMS Volunteer of the Year, who continues to advance her career, currently in Maine.