Vice President of Delivery Operations Angela Curtis (fourth from left) is joined on stage
by other presenters and special guests at the unveiling of the Eugenie Clark Forever stamp.
Marine biologist and ichthyologist Eugenie Clark, widely known as the “Shark Lady,” was honored with a Forever stamp on May 4th on what would have been her 100th birthday.
The first day-of-issue (FDOI) stamp event took place in front of
several hundred attendees at Sarasota’s Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium,
of which Clark was a founding director.
“One of the goals of the Postal Service’s stamp program is
to celebrate the people who represent the best of our nation and Eugenie Clark certainly
deserves this recognition,” said USPS dedicating official Angela Curtis, vice
president of delivery operations. “She was a brilliant scientist whose groundbreaking
work added to our understanding of sharks and marine environments.”
Clark, who carried out groundbreaking experiments and more
than 200 expeditions, worked during her career to preserve marine environments around
the world and to debunk myths about sharks as vicious, fearsome creatures.
Clark’s daughter, Aya Konstantinou, told attendees her
family was “thrilled to see Grandma Genie recognized and honored on a stamp. Her
work as an ichthyologist was groundbreaking for proving that sharks are
intelligent, and she was a pioneer for female scientists, researchers, and
scuba divers. We are so proud of her legacy.”
In 2018, a newly discovered species of dogfish shark found
in the Gulf of Mexico was named Squalus clarkae in her honor. Clark died in 2015 at age 92 in Sarasota.
Sarasota Postmaster Rory Sullivan (left) and Florida 2 District Manager Steve Hardin.
From left, R&B and pop singer Shantel Norman, President and co-founder of
Minorities in Aquarium and Zoo Science Jennie Janssen, USPS VP Delivery Operations
Angela Curtis and Mote’s Board of Trustees Vice Chair Sandra Stuart
await the start of the stamp dedication program.
Fort Myers Postmaster James Chambers (left) and Acting Customer
Relations Coordinator M.J. Cummings.
Post Office Operations Support, hand out programs to FDOI attendees.
Angela Curtis, VP of Delivery Operations, signs autographs.
and Supervisor, Customer Services Stephanie Zimmerman assist
customers with purchases of the new Eugenie Clark Forever stamp.
the Eugenie Clark special postmark offered to stamp enthusiasts at the event.
