What About “The Bob”?

“The Bob” from Andy Robinson on Vimeo.

Thank you kindly to Bob Werner’s son-in-law Andy Robinson for producing this video and capturing the spirit of “The Bob” emanating from the legacy Dr. Robert Werner has left for the lake community. Andy is a retired professor with Syracuse University’s Newhouse School and owner of PR Productions.

The Dr. Robert Werner Research and Education Boat, named in celebration of Bob Werner’s life and the legacy he left for Skaneateles Lake, hit the waters in the summer of 2022.

Dr. Werner, who passed in 2020, was the Skaneateles Lake Association’s volunteer lake ecologist and dedicated board member. He has become known to many in memoriam as “The Lake Professor.”
Dr. Robert Werner Research & Education Boat
The research and education boat, or “The Bob,” as some are starting to call it, will host ongoing research conducted by Syracuse University, ESF, and other higher education institutions.
Initially, The Bob is supporting:
  • lake turbidity monitoring and sediment studies,
  • aquatic plant surveys, including Eurasian Watermilfoil management planning,
  • harmful algal bloom monitoring, and
  • the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s (NYSDEC) Citizens Statewide Lake Assessment Program (CSLAP).

The Bob will also be host to small group education programs and teacher workshops that will complement the SLA’s Floating Classroom initiative.

Read about The Bob in the News – July 8, 2022 – Press Observer article submitted by Fran Rotunno Fish & Gretchen Roberts

Many thanks to our founding donors and in-kind supporters of The Bob including the countless hours SLA Board of Director and Lake Ecology Team Co-Chair Dr. Bill Dean and John Menapce with Aquatic Invasives, Inc. contributed to the fabrication of The Bob. Thank you to Fran Rotunno Fish for her critical role in supporting the Fund Development necessary to see The Bob hit the waters.

 

The Skaneateles Lake Association thanks the following for their donations that funded the Dr. Robert Werner Research & Education Boat:  David & Amy Allyn, Henry & Helga Beck, Dessa Bergen, David Birchenough & Carrie Lazarus, Wendy Blewett, Virginia Bryce, Laura Busby, Jeffrey & Marybeth Carlberg, Delores Chappell, Aimee Clinkhammer, Paul & Linda Cohen, The Columbian Foundation, Stephen Congel, Suzanne Congel, Jim & Sharon Cross, Robert & Roberta Culbertson, Jeffrey & Barbara Culhane, William & Barbara Dean, Merrill & Paula Denslow, Sid & Suzanne Devorsetz, Charles & Kimberly Driscoll, Ham & Fran Fish, Ronald & Rose Ann Gay, Sheila Goetzmann, David Graham, Greenville LLC, Holland Gregg & Patience Brewster, Amy Lynn Gregory, Brian & Maureen Harkins, Kenneth & Barbara Hearst, Donna Himmelfarb, Richard & Deborah Hole, Robert & Claire Howard, Peter & Jane Hueber, Jackie Keady, David & Sheril Ketchum, Edward & Lena Kochian, Richard & Mary Kokosa, Dorothy Krause, Judith Krieger, Lakeview Auto & Marine (Bob, Terri & Rachael DeWitt), Carolyn Legg, Brian & Jean Madigan, Mary Marshall, Kevin & Fran McCormack, Jim & Julie Moore, Judith Morrissey, Frank Moses, Patricia Orr, Michael Paciorek, Lawrence & Nan Pardee, Steven Phillippy & Janice Kemp Phillippy, Shirlee Powers, Floramay Racz, N. Sandor & Kristy Racz, Yvonne Racz, William & Gretchen Roberts, Andy & Kitty Robinson, Daniel & Linda Roche, Scott Rogers, Michael Schrader & Lauren Kochian, Steve & Sharon Songer, Wolfram & Elena Stahl, Mr. & Mrs. Robert A. Stevens, Gene & Joan Tarolli, Nancy Tiedemann, James & Deborah Tifft, Paul & Mary Torrisi, Larry & Katherine Weiss, Joe & Shasta White, Randall & Paula White & Frank Canastrano, Charles Williams, Lucy Williams, Marilyn Wurzburger

The SLA could not have completed the Dr. Robert Werner Research & Education Boat without the in-kind donations from members, vendors and Skaneateles community businesses.  Join us in extending a thank you to each of them.

John David Hammond who donated the pontoon boat, which was originally used in the Milfoil Project, and later provided the basic framework and two of the pontoons for “The Bob”; Dorothy Krause for the use of her trailer during the first summer of the boat’s construction; the Mercury Motor Company for a special non-profit organization price on the new Mercury motor; Pete Severson at Sevey’s Boatyard for facilitating and supporting our request to the Mercury Motor Company for the motor and for special pricing on accessories; the Skaneateles Sailboat Shop for special pricing on accessories and safety equipment; Brinson’s Marina for special pricing on the specific trailer we needed for the boat; Lakeview Auto and Marine for providing gratis, safe winter storage; and The Skaneateles Country Club which is providing a gratis mooring for “The Bob”.

You can help support the work of “The Bob” and all of the efforts of the Skaneateles Lake Association to keep Skaneateles Lake clear and its water pure by becoming an annual member of the SLA.  Join online at SkaneatelesLake.org or call Fran Rotunno Fish at 315-558-3142 for a Member Registration Form to be mailed to you.