Articles

• Farm raises boutique oysters:
  Project shows business potential for oyster growers
• Program lands charter-boat operators in classroom
• Extension trains leaders
  to market foods online
• Volunteers create habitat
  on Deer Island
• Ole Miss School of Law wins environmental moot court competition
• Deborah Jefferson joins Sea Grant
• John Grigsby marks 10 years
• Group aims to encourage climate-adaptation efforts
• Facilitators learn about resilience self-assessment
• Kay Bruening retires after 20 years
• Girl Scouts to grow oyster garden
• From the Director

Sea Briefs is a report on the results of the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium.

Editor: Melissa Schneider

This newsletter is available in PDF format from:
masgc.org/seabriefs

MASGC supports applied, interdisciplinary marine science research, education and outreach efforts to foster the sustainable development and management of the Mississippi and Alabama coasts and nearshore ecosystems of the Gulf of Mexico

Mississippi-Alabama
Sea Grant Consortium
703 East Beach Drive
Ocean Springs, MS 39564
Phone: 228-818-8838
E-mail: seabriefs@masgc.org
MASGP 011-012-01

Kay Bruening retires after 20 years

Kay Bruening, executive support assistant for Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant, retired July 1 after 20 years of service.

Kay started her career with Sea Grant as a part-time publications clerk working from a desk next to the refrigerator in the kitchen area of the Sea Grant office suite. In less than a month, the office manager position became available, and Kay applied for the job. She was the office leader under four different directors.

“I’ve made a lot of friends during my 20 years at Sea Grant and have worked with a total of 35 employees (past and present) during that time,” Kay said. “Because of the amount of time we spend with fellow employees (work 8 hours, with family 8 hours, sleep 8 hours – I read this somewhere a long time ago), I like to think I get along with everyone and try my best to bring a social factor to the office with our monthly lunches, Christmas parties and other get-togethers.”

Kay plans to spend the summer with her granddaughter, Kaylin, traveling around the Mississippi and Alabama coasts.

“Then, I have lots of projects to work on at home that I’ve neglected over the years,” she said.

The Sea Grant staff will miss Kay, whose attention to detail, organizational skills and understanding of university policy made their jobs a lot easier.

“I am going to miss Kay Bruening very much,” said Director LaDon Swann. “She has been a friend to me since my first day on the job. She understands me so well that I sometimes believe she is a mind reader. Kay never walked away from a good challenge during a significant growth period for MASGC. For that I will always admire and respect her.”