The Association For The Advancement Of Sustainability In Higher Education (AASHE) is an association of colleges and universities that are working to create a sustainable future.  It is a member-driven, independent 501(c)(3) corporation, providing resources, professional development and a network of support to institutions of higher learning to enable them to model and advance sustainability in everything they do. 

In 2001, the Education For Sustainability Western Network (EFS West) was established thanks to funding from the Compton Foundation and support from Second Nature.  EFS West served college campuses in the western US and Canada. 

In 2004, EFS West held its first North American Conference On Sustainability In Higher Education in Portland, Oregon.  The success of this conference, coupled with increasing demand for EFS West’s resources, led to the creation of AASHE.  

In 2006, AASHE held its first conference in Tempe, Arizona.  Over 650 people attended.  By the time AASHE held its next conference in 2008 in Raleigh, North Carolina, attendance had grown to 1700.  Even more people are expected to attend the 2010 conference, scheduled for October in Denver, Colorado. 

AASHE sponsors activities designed to make sustainable practices the norm in higher education; facilitate institutional efforts to integrate sustainability into teaching, research, operations and other areas; educate others regarding best practices and resource sharing; support all campus sectors in meeting sustainability goals; increase dialog among individuals, institutions and external partners to speed the adoption of sustainable practices; and influence education policy so that sustainability is a priority at the local, state and national levels. 

Through their business and membership office in Lexington, Kentucky and their executive office in Denver, Colorado, AASHE continues to advance the cause of sustainability across US and Canadian college and university campuses.  If their members continue to make sustainability a priority in their lives after graduation, they will certainly make this world a cleaner and greener place for all of us in the future!  We at GatorMoto Utility Vehicles applaud their efforts and urge colleges and universities that are not members to look into all that AASHE has to offer. 

For more information, visit their website at http://www.aashe.org.

Not many successful businesses can say that they were founded by a teenager, but Aqua East Surf Shop in Atlantic Beach, Florida is one of them. Surfer/skater Sandy Forsyth was 19 years old at the time that he opened his first surf shop in 1973.                                                                       

He learned to surf during the summer of his eighth grade year on a 9′6″ Velzy board that he purchased from a department store. Surf shops, as we know them today, were few and far between. 
 
A few years later, he began building surfboards in his parents’ garage and on April 1, 1973, he opened his first Aqua East Surf Shop in a small store about the size of his bedroom. After a while, he found that building boards and running a store didn’t leave him much time for the things he really loved – surfing and skating. He gave up building surfboards and concentrated on making his store the best possible, leaving him time to surf, skate, and test product.  
 
Aqua East Surf Shop grew in popularity, largely because its owner knew first hand what surfers and skaters wanted, since he was both. Soon the shop doubled in size and in 1983, Sandy built his own 5,000 square foot building. While a lot of people thought he was crazy, his customers appreciated the fact that the additional space allowed him to bring them more clothing (especially women’s), more surfboards and more accessories.  
 
In 1988 he opened his first superstore in Neptune Beach, Florida, giving him the chance to expand his inventory to not only include surfboards and clothing, but also skateboards, swimwear and equipment for other sports he really loved. In 1999, Sandy opened a second superstore in St. Augustine.  

Aqua East Surf Shop now carries not only items for surfing and skating, but also snowboarding, kayaking and wakeboarding. Every year, Aqua East’s employees go to a snowboard demo where they get to try out next year’s boards, bindings and boots to decide what to carry the next year. 
 
Aqua East has its own Surf, Skate and Wakeboarding teams, and many of the competitors have done well. Some have even won the USSC, the NSSA, the ESA, Pro Contests and other contests. The first female joined their team in 1974. 
 
Aqua East has always supported the sports they love through ESA, SurfRider Foundation, Wave Masters, public skate parks, beach access, and other environmental concerns.   They also sponsor surf contests, skate contest, wakeboard contests, and kayaking tours.                                           
 
Sandy is gone now, “surfing the perfect wave”, but his love of the outdoors, particularly the water, lives on with his stores and employees. Sandy believed that these sports were good to him and his “crew” and that it was their obligation to give back.

Sandy’s daughters Shauna and Andrea, and Shauna’s husband Adam, take very seriously this commitment to preserve and protect the environment and recently purchased a GatorMoto Utility Vehicles 6 passenger Electro Bubble Buddy, which Shauna and Andrea use to commute between home and the store. They have even equipped the back seat with child safety seats for Shauna and Adam’s two young sons, Austin and Colton! They hope that they can serve as an example to others and raise awareness about the ecological issues that face us all. As their website says, “We did not inherit the Earth, but instead we borrow it from future generations. Let’s leave it a better place than we found it.”

Gary Rhodes of GatorMoto Utility Vehicles recently attended the Florida Sheriffs Association 2010 Administrative Management & Jail Conference at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center in Kissimmee, Florida.  

The four-day event included a trade show, featuring products for use in criminal justice and jail applications and many opportunities were provided for the attendees to view and learn about existing and new technologies to help them perform their jobs faster, better, and more safely. 

Seminars were also held, covering many diverse topics including Ethics, Leadership Training, the ADA and its applications in a jail environment, and Crisis Intervention.  There were also round table discussions regarding Finance, Human Resources, SWAT Liability and Hot Topics In Corrections.    

This event drew more than 150 representatives of Florida Sheriff’s Departments and Crime Labs, as well as Corrections Officers and members of various County governments.  It provided a chance to learn new information, explore new technologies and ideas, and share experiences with other members of law enforcement.  

GatorMoto Utility Vehicles introduced the attendees to our 4 Passenger Low Speed Electro Enclosed Police Vehicle.  We thank the Florida Sheriffs Association for the opportunity to attend this informative event and we look forward to attending the next conference in Ft. Lauderdale in July.

Florida Statute Title XXIII (Motor Vehicles), Chapter 316 (State Uniform Traffic Control), Section 2122 provides for the operation of low speed vehicles and mini trucks on certain Florida roadways. 

•  A Low Speed Vehicle (LSV) or mini truck may be operated only on Florida streets where the speed limit is 35 mph or less.  This does not prohibit an LSV or mini truck from crossing a road or street at an intersection where the road or street has a posted speed limit of more than 35 mph.
• A Low Speed Vehicle must be equipped with head lights, stop lights, turn signals, tail lights, reflex reflectors, parking brakes, rear view mirrors, windshields, seat belts and a VIN (Vehicle Identification Number).
• A Low Speed Vehicle or mini truck must be registered and insured in accordance with Florida law.
• Anyone operating a Low Speed Vehicle or mini truck must have in his or her possession a valid driver’s license.
• A county, municipality, or the Florida DOT may prohibit the operation of these vehicles on any road under their respective jurisdictions if they determine that such prohibition is necessary in the interest of safety.

For the complete text of the Florida law, visit the Florida Senate’s website at  http://www.flsenate.gov/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=Ch0316/SEC2122.HTM&Title=-%3e2008-%3eCh0316-%3eSection%202122