WHOPaul Ellis, 61, Chairman, Austin Business College; grandfather, former Marine pilot,
environmentalist, community activist, sports enthusiast.
WHATEllis will attempt to swim approximately 7 miles on Austin's Town Lake, from Miller Dam to
Longhorn Dam in recognition of the Swim4theReef public awareness campaign addressing local and planetary water issues and National Senior Citizens Month.
WHENThe swim begins at 8 a.m., Saturday, May 8, with plans to exit the water six or seven hours later.
(Media are requested to be on site by 7:30 a.m.) The City of Austin will provide a 15-person power boat to accompany the swimmer.
WHERE Ellis will start just below Miller Dam at Red Bud Island Park (Red Bud Trail and Lake Austin
Boulevard). He plans to exit at the east end of Pleasant Valley District Park (Pleasant Valley Road on the north side of Town Lake) at Longhorn Dam.
A news conference and victory party will be held at Lucy's Boat Yard Grill, 3826 Lake Austin
Boulevard, at 3 p.m. with LCRA, City of Austin and Mexican officials to elaborate on Austinites' role in maintaining clean water in the Colorado River, the Gulf of Mexico and the world's oceans.
WHYEllis, who has been training up to six hours a day at Barton Springs during the past four years, will
make his Swim4theReef attempt on August 5 to swim from Cozumel to Cancun -- about 35 miles across the Yucatan Channel. He hopes to raise public awareness to the fact that our coral reefs and oceans are in serious trouble; to inspire citizens to get informed and take action; and to recognize and support the organizations, foundations and citizens groups committed to preserving earth's
life-giving eco-systems. This includes recognizing the Mexican government for its major success in implementing a National Marine Park in Cozumel protecting the Meso-American Reef system.
DETAILSEllis, personally coached by former Mexican Olympic swimmer Josh Ilika, will make his
Channel swim this time based on more than 20 years of studies of Yucatan currents. He has already spent about $30,000 of his own money to undertake the “dangerous enterprise“ (sharks, jellyfish, currents, winds, etc.). “I am not a daredevil. I'm an educator.“ For more details and digital images, go to www.swim4thereef.com.
INVITEES Austin environmentalists and Sierra Club members; area scuba divers, distance swimmers,
current and former U.S. Marine Corps members, City water authorities.
CONTACTS
- Dale Chrisman, APR, The Chrisman Group, 512-345-8969
- Preston F. Kirk, APR, Senior Associate, The Chrisman Group, 830-693-4447
- Brad Boyd, Executive Producer, Angel Productions, 512-528-0180; Cell: 512-626-7080
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