Global expedition leader says “big announcement” planned for the 5th annual event
By Alex Junes-Ward
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Global Eco Adventures, Inc. (GEA) will host its 5th annual ECO BALL at Columbia’s Riverbanks Zoo & Garden, Wed. evening, Apr. 22 – Earth Day 2020 – and will present awards for Environmental Champion of the Year, Environmental Legislator of the Year, and Environmental Educator of the Year.
Previous award recipients have included S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster; S.C. Sen. Thomas Alexander; famed Ecuadorian Olympian and naturalist Dr. Diego Quiroga; Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Kathleen Parker; and the late American naturalist Jim Fowler, host of the Emmy-winning television series WILD KINGDOM.
“This year’s GEA ECO BALL will prove to be one of the most – perhaps the most – memorable Earth Day event(s) here in South Carolina,” says Tom Mullikin [pictured above], president and founder of GEA. “We will be making a big announcement as regards one of our forthcoming exploratory expeditions.”
The event, a black-tie gala including the awards presentation, dinner, dancing, and a silent auction will be held at Riverbanks’ Ndoki Lodge, and will begin with a reception at 6:30 p.m.
A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in Camden, S.C., GEA was founded by Mullikin – an attorney, retired military officer (former U.S. Army officer and retired commanding general of the S.C. State Guard) and internationally acclaimed global-expedition leader – who established GEA “to create awareness of environmental sustainability through education of protected areas that are considered natural phenomena with exceptional aesthetic importance and fragile ecosystems for future generations.”
An author, documentary film-producer, and university professor, Mullikin also chairs the gubernatorially established South Carolina Floodwater Commission, which Gov. McMaster has referred to as a national model. “There is nothing else like it,” McMaster has said, in terms of “identifying a comprehensive solution, and better facilitating a coordinated and collaborative mitigation effort” against disastrous flooding in South Carolina.
Mullikin brings years of natural-disaster mitigation experience and environmental sustainability expertise to both the S.C. Floodwater Commission and GEA.
In 2019, Mullikin’s GEA provided more than 2,000 hours of ecological training to students and participants from the Palmetto State. Throughout 2018 and 2019, GEA continued its focus on education and environmental participation; creating greater awareness of the overhunting of sharks – conducting field research aimed at protecting shark populations worldwide – protection of endangered species like the giant tortoises in the Galapagos; examining first-hand the effects of an ever changing climate; providing pro bono SCUBA training to Boy Scouts and as many marine enthusiasts as possible; and training environmental enthusiasts on four continents with 100-percent of all proceeds going toward GEA programs (with zero-percent of funds raised going to staff).
For tickets or for more information about GEA’s ECO BALL 2020, please contact Cam Mullikin or Brant Tomlinson at 803-425-7771.
